by business editor Trevor Sturgess

It’s business as usual, according to a financial services business that has a new owner.

Absolute Invoice Finance, which has offices in Turkey Mill, Maidstone, gains access to greater funding after its takeover by Aldermore Bank.

Aldermore bought Absolute from private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners, which acquired Aldermore earlier this year.

In a statement, the company said the transaction “will not affect the day-to-day running of Absolute or the services it provides to its customers.”

Absolute - formerly known as Cattles Invoice Finance - provides factoring and invoice discounting services for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Aldermore also markets finance facilities to SMEs and says the integration will enable Absolute to provide a broader range of specialist financial services as well as strengthening and extending its available pool of funding.

Doug Crawford, chief executive of Absolute, will leave the business after the integration of both businesses has been completed and Ian Wilkins will become managing director, invoice finance, with responsibility for the day-to-day running of Absolute. He will report to Phillip Monks, chief executive of Aldermore.

Mr Monks said: “This is an important step for Aldermore in its strategic development and represents an exciting opportunity for Absolute to realise its full potential though access to greater funding. Both Aldermore and Absolute have ambitious growth plans which are better achieved by joining forces than by approaching our shared market independently.”

Mr Wilkins added: “Our acquisition by AnaCap in September this year put Absolute on a sound financial footing and joining forces with Aldermore enables us to implement our growth plans at an even faster pace than before. By extending our product offering and pool of available funding, we will be able to strengthen our position in the market further.”