£10m Environmental Manufacturing Funding Package: Case Study
Alex Kyriakides
Partnerships & Trade Manager · Jun 15, 2026 · 6 min read
This case study outlines how Spark Finance structured a £10m multi-facility funding package for a UK environmental manufacturing business developing the world's first truly reusable polypropylene. The deal covered multiple production facilities and required a combination of trade finance, invoice finance, and asset finance to support the business through its commercial scale-up phase.
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Background
Our client is a UK-based environmental manufacturing company operating across multiple production sites. The business had developed a proprietary process to produce the world's first truly reusable polypropylene, a material with significant commercial and environmental implications across packaging, automotive, and consumer goods sectors.
The company had secured long-term supply agreements with several large UK and European buyers and was in the process of scaling production to meet contracted demand. Turnover had grown to approximately £18m per annum, with strong forward order visibility. Despite healthy revenues, the business faced a structural working capital challenge common to manufacturers: long production cycles, extended customer payment terms (60 to 90 days), and significant raw material costs that had to be funded upfront.
The directors had previously relied on a single high-street bank relationship but found their existing facility inadequate for the pace of growth. The bank was unwilling to extend headroom beyond £1.5m without taking security over the directors' personal assets. The business was referred to Spark Finance by their accountants.
The Challenge
Structuring finance for a manufacturing business at commercial scale-up stage involves several compounding challenges. The key issues we identified were:
- A working capital gap of approximately £4m driven by the mismatch between raw material payment terms (30 days) and customer payment terms (60 to 90 days).
- Capital expenditure requirements across two production facilities totalling £3.2m for specialist extrusion and processing equipment.
- A requirement to fund forward purchase commitments on recycled polymer feedstock, which suppliers were only prepared to reserve against confirmed purchase orders.
- A further £2m headroom requirement for operational contingency and growth, given the contracted order pipeline.
- Director reluctance to provide personal guarantees beyond what was already committed, which ruled out several mainstream lenders immediately.
The business also had a complex trading structure: production at one site, processing at a second, and invoicing through a central entity. Any facility structure had to accommodate this without requiring the business to restructure its operations.
"This business had the contracts, the technology, and the customer relationships. What it needed was a funding structure that matched the complexity of its trading cycle. That is exactly what multi-facility packaging delivers."
- Alex Kyriakides, Partnerships & Trade Manager, Spark Finance
Our Approach
Spark Finance approached the case as a structured deal rather than a standard application. Our trade finance and working capital specialists worked with the management team over three weeks to map the full cash cycle, identify the right product mix, and prepare a structured information memorandum for our lender panel.
The funding package we structured comprised four components:
- Invoice discounting facility - £4.5m: A confidential invoice discounting facility secured against the business's debtor book, advancing 85% of eligible invoices within 24 hours of raising them. This addressed the core working capital gap and scaled automatically with revenue growth. Customer relationships were fully preserved as the facility operates without disclosed assignment.
- Trade finance facility - £1.8m: A revolving trade finance facility to fund the purchase of recycled polymer feedstock against confirmed purchase orders. The facility paid suppliers directly, with repayment triggered on customer invoice settlement. This decoupled raw material purchasing from working capital cycles entirely.
- Asset finance - £3.2m: Two separate hire purchase agreements covering the specialist manufacturing equipment across both production sites, structured over five years with no personal guarantees required beyond the assets themselves.
- Revolving credit facility - £500,000: A standalone revolving credit facility providing operational headroom, accessible on demand and priced on drawn balance only.
Total committed facilities: £10m. The full package was placed with three specialist lenders from the Spark Finance panel, each selected for their experience in manufacturing, sustainability-sector lending, and complex multi-site structures.
Outcome
The full £10m package was agreed and documented within six weeks of initial instruction. Key outcomes for the business were:
- Working capital headroom increased from £1.5m (under the previous bank arrangement) to over £6m across the invoice discounting and revolving credit facilities.
- Production capacity at both sites was fully funded and commissioned within four months of completion.
- The trade finance facility enabled the business to commit to forward feedstock purchases at locked-in prices, reducing input cost volatility.
- No additional personal guarantees were required from the directors beyond those already in place.
- The business successfully fulfilled its contracted order pipeline in full for the first time, avoiding the partial shipments that had previously damaged customer relationships.
Twelve months after completion, the business had grown turnover to approximately £26m and returned to Spark Finance to upsize the invoice discounting facility to £7m to support continued expansion.
Looking for Manufacturing or Trade Finance to Support Growth?
This case study illustrates why a single product rarely meets the full funding needs of a growing manufacturer. The combination of invoice finance, trade finance, and asset finance allowed this business to scale production, protect working capital, and preserve its director relationships, all within a six-week timeline.
Spark Finance works with 100+ UK lenders including specialist manufacturing and trade finance providers. If your business is facing working capital constraints, has a growing order book you cannot fully fund, or needs equipment finance alongside a revolving facility, our team can structure a package tailored to your specific trading cycle.
To find out what is available for your business, start an eligibility check at apply.sparkfinance.co.uk - decisions in 24 hours.
What is Trade Finance?
Trade finance is a specialist form of short-term funding that bridges the gap between a business paying its suppliers and receiving payment from its customers. It is most commonly used by businesses that import goods, manufacture using purchased materials, or trade internationally with longer payment cycles.
In a typical trade finance transaction, the lender pays the supplier on behalf of the buyer when goods are ordered or shipped. The buyer then repays the lender once their customer pays - often 60 to 120 days later. This eliminates the need to fund stock or raw materials from working capital, allowing businesses to take on larger orders than their cash position would otherwise permit.
Trade finance products include purchase order finance (funding against confirmed orders), supply chain finance (paying suppliers early in exchange for a fee), and letters of credit (bank-guaranteed payment instruments used in international trade). Combined with invoice finance, trade finance creates a full working capital cycle solution for manufacturing and trading businesses.
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The bottom line
Structuring a £10m package for an environmental manufacturing business required deep lender relationships, sector knowledge, and a clear understanding of how production cycles interact with working capital. Spark Finance placed this deal across three specialist lenders within six weeks, with no disruption to the business's operations or customer relationships. If you are a UK manufacturer looking for a funding structure that reflects the reality of your business, speak to our team. Apply at apply.sparkfinance.co.uk to discuss your requirements.
Check your eligibilityAbout the author
Alex Kyriakides
Partnerships & Trade Manager
Alex specialises in partnerships and international trade finance at Spark Finance, working with UK importers and exporters to structure letters of credit, supply chain finance, and trade facilities. With over eight years in commercial finance, he has arranged funding across manufacturing, distribution, and professional services.
