An extra £1bn was borrowed against the previous year’s figures of invoice finance loans issued in 2010, figures released by the Association (ABFA) revealed.

The invoice finance market continued in positive mode as turnover from UK firms using invoice finance also grew by 12 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 as total turnover figures reached pre-recession record levels of £212.2bn.

The largest increase came from export invoice discounting, where loans are advanced to exporters against the value of their invoices, as ABFA members reported growth in client sales of 39 per cent to £3.5bn.

Commenting on the figures, Kate Sharp, chief executive of ABFA, said: ‘It is great to see that funding to SMEs and larger businesses from members is rising and, even better, that turnover from clients using invoice finance is at pre-recession levels.

What is needed now is more education to help make UK enterprise aware that funding is available and that invoice finance can help them grow their businesses.