Whatever Happened to Greensill Capital?
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
Greensill Capital collapsed into administration on 8 March 2021 with approximately £7 billion in liabilities. Founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill in 2011, it was the UK's largest supply chain finance company before its failure. The collapse triggered a political scandal involving David Cameron and multiple government inquiries.
Summary
Greensill Capital was a supply chain finance firm that advanced cash to businesses waiting for payment. At its peak it managed $143 billion in financing. It collapsed when Credit Suisse froze $10bn of Greensill-linked investment funds and its insurers withdrew cover. David Cameron's lobbying on Greensill's behalf triggered parliamentary inquiries. The domain greensill.com (26 years old) is expiring in 2026.
This Page Covers
Full history of Greensill Capital from founding to collapse. Political scandal, what went wrong, impact on customers.
Not Covered Here
Supply chain finance explained (see /working-capital/), current invoice finance providers (see /providers/)
Greensill Capital filed for administration on 8 March 2021 with approximately £7 billion in liabilities, making it the UK's largest fintech failure. The company, founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill in 2011, had grown to manage $143 billion in financing before a cascade of events — including Credit Suisse freezing $10 billion of linked funds and insurers withdrawing cover — triggered its collapse in a matter of days.
What Greensill Actually Did
Greensill was a supply chain finance company — not a traditional invoice factoring provider. The difference matters. Traditional invoice finance advances cash against invoices you've already raised. Greensill's model was more complex: it would pay suppliers early on behalf of large buyers, then package those receivables into bonds and sell them to institutional investors through Credit Suisse funds.
At its best, this was genuinely innovative — it sped up payments across entire supply chains. At its worst, it was lending against "prospective receivables" — invoices that didn't yet exist, for work that hadn't been done, from companies that might not ever place orders. This was the fundamental problem.
The Collapse Timeline
The Impact
- Credit Suisse investors lost approximately $3 billion from the frozen funds
- Liberty Steel (GFG Alliance) lost its main financing line, threatening 5,000 UK jobs
- Supply chain finance regulation — UK government now scrutinises non-bank lenders more closely
- Political fallout — multiple inquiries into Cameron's lobbying, Greensill's access to government
What This Means for Invoice Finance Today
Greensill's failure was NOT a failure of invoice finance. It was a failure of lending against fictional future invoices, poor risk controls, and conflicted insurance arrangements. Traditional invoice factoring — advancing against real, existing invoices from creditworthy customers — is fundamentally different and remains one of the safest forms of business lending in the UK.
The UK invoice finance market has continued to grow since the Greensill collapse, reaching £22.7 billion in 2025. If anything, the scandal increased awareness of the importance of using established, regulated providers.
Oliver Mackman
Director, Market Invoice
Oliver leads Market Invoice's editorial and comparison research. With a background in UK commercial finance, he oversees provider analysis, rate verification, and industry reporting across all verticals.
Last reviewed: 6 April 2026