Specialist outsourcing company taps into growth

What the business does

Established in 2023, the company provides specialist outsourcing services to the utilities and water industry. Today, it supplies people, vehicles, equipment and tools as a complete package, delivering services that water companies would otherwise manage in-house. Services include emergency response, project staffing, meter replacements, leak detection, and bottled water deliveries during supply interruptions.

The cash flow challenge

The founder and CEO came from the construction industry, where stage payments and valuation disputes made invoice finance harder to access. The water industry offered more straightforward invoicing and creditworthy debtors, but as the company expanded rapidly, so did its invoice volume. Ensuring cash flow kept pace with growth was the key challenge.

Tapping into FlexABL

The founder wasn’t sure he’d find a lender willing to back the business. He said: “I found our situation frustrating at first. I had a clear plan, goals, and objectives, and I knew we could achieve them, but I didn’t think anyone would support what we were looking to achieve. Plus, I had never used invoice finance before and wasn’t familiar with what it involved. I had several calls with FlexABL and we talked openly. They listened to what I had to say about the challenges I’d experienced in the construction industry and said they would support us. Looking back, that was the key moment in our story that changed everything.”

FlexABL provided an initial facility of £100,000. The target for year one was £1m in turnover; by the end of this period, £2m of invoices had been funded.

Powering growth

In the summer of 2024, roughly a year into trading, demand surged significantly. The company scaled to around 100 staff across multiple contracts. Because the FlexABL facility was already in place, the business was able to take on every new opportunity without cash becoming a bottleneck.

The founder added: “We had the foresight to get a facility in place that would allow us to handle those months of intensive growth. There’s no way we’d have been in a position to do that without the help of FlexABL.”

“The problem with sudden surges in growth is that you end up with both eyes on cash and none on production and profit. It becomes very easy to lose sight of the commercial aspects of what you’re doing”, he continued. “With FlexABL, you’re clear on the parameters, so you can focus on the deal and the profit. And they take care of the cash.”

A responsive relationship

During a period of rapid growth, when a member of the finance team was off sick, FlexABL provided the understanding and support needed to keep things moving. The team also keeps a close eye on the account, checking in when appropriate.

The founder explained: “I’d get a call or a text saying, ‘You haven’t drawn down your facility recently – do you need anything this week?’ I’d describe FlexABL as interactive. They’re very flexible and proactive in supporting our ambitions.”

Thriving with FlexABL

The business is thriving with FlexABL’s funding in place. It’s reinvesting its profits, with 45 owned vehicles and a strengthening balance sheet, while building a pipeline of longer-visibility framework contracts. The facility has grown with the company’s sales, increasing from £100,000 to £300,000, and the business uses it not just to manage cash flow but to fund asset purchases, such as vehicles, tools and equipment, that add lasting value.

The founder concluded: “Quite simply, we wouldn’t be where we are today without FlexABL saying yes to financing us. That decision, two and a half years ago, has made all the difference to our business.”