Corporate Finance
Debtor & Trade Finance
Working capital solutions for trading businesses.
Corporate Finance
Transaction and capital advisory across the investment lifecycle.
Overview
How we help.
Businesses with strong customer bases and predictable trading patterns can unlock significant working capital through debtor, invoice and trade finance arrangements. The key is matching the structure to the trading profile and avoiding facilities that create more problems than they solve.
Corson Fiske advises clients on the full range of debtor and trade finance options — from traditional invoice discounting and factoring through to supply chain finance and trade finance facilities.
We help clients select the right facility, negotiate sensible terms and avoid the common traps.
Capabilities
- Invoice discounting and factoring
- Confidential and disclosed facilities
- Supply chain and reverse factoring
- Trade finance and letters of credit
- Inventory finance
- Export finance
- Facility structuring and negotiation
- Transition between providers
Client Situations
When clients engage us.
The issues that bring clients through our door tend to fall into familiar patterns.
Growth is constrained by working capital
The business is profitable but cash-constrained by stretched receivables or inventory.
An existing facility is under review
Terms, availability or cost of an existing facility need to be renegotiated or replaced.
A new trade arrangement needs support
A significant new customer or supplier relationship requires trade finance structuring.
Export finance is required
Growing export activity needs dedicated finance arrangements.
An unsolicited approach has been received
A potential acquirer has made contact. The board needs independent counsel on whether, when and how to respond.
A facility is approaching maturity
An existing debt facility is due for refinancing and the terms achievable in the current market need to be assessed independently.
Outcomes
What you can expect.
- Released working capital that funds growth
- Competitive facility terms
- Structures that reflect real trading patterns
- Smooth transitions between providers where required
Client Success
Outcomes from recent engagements.
Indicative results from engagements within this practice area. Client details have been anonymised; outcomes reflect actual matters completed by the firm.
$95M
Transaction Closed
Sell-side M&A
Led a competitive sell-side process for a family-owned industrial business, achieving a $95M transaction with strategic trade buyer.
Industrial business
$28M
Capital Raised
Growth capital
Arranged $28M of senior and mezzanine capital for a healthcare group’s multi-site acquisition program.
Healthcare group
1.4x EBITDA
Valuation Uplift
Sale readiness
Delivered an 18-month sale readiness program that lifted the valuation multiple from 4.2x to 5.6x EBITDA at completion.
Wholesale distributor
Options & How They Work
Understanding Debtor & Trade Finance
Debtor and trade finance are working-capital solutions that unlock cash tied up in receivables, inventory and supply chain positions. For trading businesses with predictable customers and recurring invoices, these facilities can release meaningful capital without the dilution of equity or the constraints of traditional term debt — but the options differ significantly in structure, cost and control, and matching the right facility to the business is what determines whether the arrangement actually helps.
Invoice Discounting
How it works. Invoice discounting allows the business to borrow against the value of its outstanding debtor ledger — typically 70% to 85% of approved invoices — on a confidential basis, meaning customers are not informed and the business continues managing collections itself. The facility revolves as new invoices are raised and old ones are paid.
When it fits. Best suited to established businesses with strong credit-worthy customers, clean sales ledgers and the internal finance discipline to manage collections independently. Particularly valuable where customer payment terms are stretching working capital.
Factoring
How it works. Factoring is similar to invoice discounting but disclosed to customers, with the factor taking over collection of the invoices directly. The advance rate is typically slightly higher (85%+) because the factor assumes credit-checking and collection responsibilities.
When it fits. Best suited to smaller or growth-stage businesses that do not have mature credit control capability in-house, or businesses expanding into new customer segments where outsourced credit assessment is valuable.
Supply Chain Finance & Reverse Factoring
How it works. Supply chain finance allows a strong buyer to offer its smaller suppliers early payment on approved invoices at favourable rates, using the buyer’s credit profile rather than the supplier’s. The buyer pays on its standard terms; the supplier gets paid immediately at a small discount.
When it fits. Suited to mid-market and ASX-listed companies with large supplier bases, where strengthening supplier relationships and shortening supplier cash cycles delivers strategic value — particularly in construction, manufacturing and retail.
Trade Finance & Letters of Credit
How it works. Trade finance covers the funding of cross-border purchases and sales — letters of credit, documentary collections, trust receipts and pre-shipment finance. These instruments allow businesses to import or export without tying up cash or taking counterparty risk on international buyers and suppliers.
When it fits. Essential for importers and exporters operating across Asia, and particularly valuable for Australian mid-market businesses expanding cross-border trade relationships into Singapore, China, Japan, Korea or Vietnam.
Inventory Finance
How it works. Inventory finance advances against stock on hand — raw materials, work in progress or finished goods — either as a standalone facility or as part of an integrated asset-based lending arrangement. Typically structured with field audits and monthly reporting requirements.
When it fits. Suited to wholesale, distribution and manufacturing businesses where inventory represents a significant proportion of working capital and seasonal or growth-related inventory builds need financing.
Benefits
Benefits of debtor and trade finance.
- Releases cash trapped in working capital. A healthy, growing business can still be cash-constrained if receivables are stretching and inventory is building. These facilities turn both into available cash, funding growth from within the balance sheet rather than through additional term debt or equity.
- Scales with the business. Unlike fixed term debt, debtor finance grows as the business grows — if sales increase, the available funding increases automatically. This removes the need to constantly renegotiate facilities during growth phases.
- Less restrictive than term debt. Debtor finance is typically secured against the underlying receivables rather than the whole business, which means fewer restrictive covenants, simpler documentation and lower reporting burden than senior bank debt.
- Preserves equity. For growing private businesses, debtor finance is one of the few ways to fund working-capital growth without giving up equity or accepting dilution.
- Credit and collections discipline. The facility provider’s credit-checking process often improves the quality of the business’s debtor ledger over time — a commercial benefit beyond the immediate financing.
Why Corson Fiske
Experience where it counts.
Clients engage Corson Fiske because they need advice they can act on — delivered by senior practitioners who understand both the technical detail and the commercial consequences. Every engagement is led by a partner with direct experience in corporate finance transactions.
Our integrated structure means tax, legal, accounting and advisory questions are resolved within a single firm. For clients operating across Australia, Asia, New Zealand or Asia, our office network in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore and Auckland provides consistent advice across jurisdictions.
Our Approach
A refined four-phase method for every engagement.
Corson Fiske applies the same disciplined framework to every matter, regardless of scale. The phases below are not a marketing device — they are the actual structure our partners use to move clients from uncertainty to resolution.
Phase One
01
Understand
A confidential partner-led briefing to establish the facts, commercial drivers, timing pressures and stakeholder dynamics.
- Confidential scoping conversation
- Document and data review
- Stakeholder mapping
- Initial risk identification
Phase Two
02
Analyse
Structured technical and commercial analysis of every realistic option, with a clear view of risks, costs and likely outcomes.
- Technical legal and tax analysis
- Commercial modelling
- Risk-weighted options assessment
- Precedent and market benchmarking
Phase Three
03
Recommend
A written partner recommendation in plain English — not a list of caveats. We stand behind our advice and explain our reasoning.
- Clear written recommendation
- Implementation sequencing
- Stakeholder communication plan
- Contingency and fallback positions
Phase Four
04
Execute
Hands-on delivery of the agreed plan with partner oversight, regular milestone reporting and clear handback at completion.
- Implementation leadership
- Stakeholder engagement
- Milestone tracking and reporting
- Completion review and handback
Key Considerations
What clients need to know.
Engaging external advisors on any significant matter raises practical questions about scope, timing, cost and outcomes. We believe in being straightforward about each of these from the first conversation.
How engagements typically begin
Every engagement starts with a confidential initial conversation — usually 30 to 60 minutes — in which we listen to the situation, ask the questions needed to understand it properly, and share a view on whether and how we can help. There is no charge for this conversation and no obligation to proceed.
How we scope and price work
We prefer fixed-fee or capped-fee arrangements wherever the scope allows. Where the scope is genuinely uncertain — as in contested matters — we agree hourly rates upfront and provide regular fee updates against defined phases. We do not bill for internal discussions, file opening or routine administration.
Who you will work with
Every engagement is led by a partner with direct experience in the matter type. That partner remains your primary point of contact throughout. Specialist colleagues join the team where their expertise is required, but you will never be passed from person to person or find the partner you hired is no longer on the file.
How we handle confidentiality and privilege
All engagements are subject to strict confidentiality. Where legal advice is being delivered, it is provided through our incorporated legal practice and attracts legal professional privilege. We take document security, information handling and communications discipline seriously on every matter.
Get the right advice from Corson Fiske.
Confidential, no-obligation initial consultations with a partner who specialises in corporate finance transactions.