PetQuip and URICA offer members debt-free access to cash

URICA, the government-backed early payment network for SMEs, has partnered with Gardenex and its pet division, PetQuip, to offer businesses access to cash. PetQuip, a trade association for manufacturers and suppliers of petcare goods and services, has announced that its members will run no risk, receive zero debt, and have no fear of late or non-payment of their invoices.

PetQuip’s and Gardenex’s members can access URICA’s online platform. It allows them to get their customer invoices paid in cash as early as the day after approval.

Amanda Sizer Barrett, chief executive of PetQuip, said: “The current economic environment means that our members are often confronted with challenging and unwelcome hurdles that detract from the day-today running of their business.

“What we’ve tried to ensure with this partnership is that those companies we support are unburdened from one of the biggest of these challenges – late payment and lack of cash flow. Giving them access to cash and freeing them from risk means that they can, with their often limited resources, trade on the terms they want and focus on the things that really matter to their businesses. We are therefore extremely pleased to be working with URICA and are excited to be forming what we hope will be a very long-lasting relationship.”

How it works

To take part, businesses that are members of PetQuip simply send their invoices online via URICA. They will receive cash payment on those invoices once URICA has confirmed payment from the customer. The customer then pays URICA the entire value of the invoice, up to 90 days after the original invoice date. In total, URICA is now in the position to pay Gardenex’s and PetQuip’s members a total of £72m in cash, tomorrow.

A critical advantage of URICA’s support for PetQuip’s members is access to their global partners, and in particular Euler Hermes. PetQuip describes it as a means of credit checking of existing and new customers both in the UK and internationally, helping protect their businesses from commercial risks.

Lindsay Whitelaw, founder and chairman of URICA, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with Gardenex to help their members grow and thrive. They do an incredibly important job in supporting those small companies who make up the garden and leisure manufacturing sector, which in turn is so vital to the UK economy as a whole.

“In an increasingly tough and globalised economy, and with the banks unable to provide the support that is needed, we aim to make sure smaller businesses can grow, employ more staff, export and thrive, but freeing them from the burden of late payment. We are thrilled to be doing this for Gardenex’s member’s and look forward to working with them for the foreseeable future.”