Close Brothers vs Bibby Financial Services
Close Brothers and Bibby Financial Services are two of the UK's most established invoice finance providers. Close Brothers is a merchant bank (est. 1878) that prices each agreement individually. Bibby (est. 1982, part of the 1807-founded Bibby Line Group) describes itself as one of Europe's largest independent invoice finance providers; it advances up to 85% and quotes its fees per facility. Both have specialist construction, recruitment, and export teams.
Close Brothers suits established businesses (£750k+ turnover) wanting a bank-backed provider; neither publishes its pricing. Bibby is more flexible with startups, has a specialist export product, and has the larger construction team. More detail + scope
This page covers
Head-to-head comparison of Close Brothers and Bibby invoice finance for UK businesses in 2026
Not covered here
Individual provider reviews (see /providers/close-brothers/ and /providers/bibby/), export factoring (see /best/best-for-export/)
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Close Brothers | Bibby |
|---|---|---|
| Service charge from | Not published | Not published |
| Advance rate | Up to 90% | Up to 85% |
| Min turnover | £750,000 | Not published |
| Setup speed | 5 days | 5 days |
| Type | Merchant bank | Independent (family-owned) |
| Established | 1878 | 1982 (Group: 1807) |
| Export finance | Available | Specialist export product |
| Construction team | Yes | Yes (larger) |
| Startup friendly | Moderate | Yes - day one |
| Bad debt protection | Available | Available |
| Our rating | 4.8/5 | 4.5/5 |
View as plain-text Markdown
### Close Brothers vs Bibby: head-to-head comparison | Feature | Close Brothers | Bibby | | --- | --- | --- | | Service charge from | Not published | Not published | | Advance rate | Up to 90% | Up to 85% | | Min turnover | £750,000 | Not published | | Setup speed | 5 days | 5 days | | Type | Merchant bank | Independent (family-owned) | | Established | 1878 | 1982 (Group: 1807) | | Export finance | Available | Specialist export product | | Construction team | Yes | Yes (larger) | | Startup friendly | Moderate | Yes - day one | | Bad debt protection | Available | Available | | Our rating | 4.8/5 | 4.5/5 |
Choose Close Brothers If...
- Your turnover is £750k or more (Close Brothers' published minimum)
- You want a bank-backed provider with a long track record
- Your business is well-established with a clean credit profile
Choose Bibby If...
- You're a startup or have challenging credit history
- You export to many countries and need multi-currency support
- You're in construction and need specialist stage payment handling
- You prefer an independent provider over a bank
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, founder and PSC of Best Business Loans Ltd
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind Market Invoice. He spent over three years as managing director of Penny, a UK invoice finance business, and his career runs through insurance, mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending. He writes the Market Invoice library.
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