Temp Agency Finance UK 2026

Market Invoice is an independent UK invoice finance comparison site that ranks 85 active UK lenders.

Temp agency finance is specialist UK invoice finance designed for temporary recruitment agencies running weekly worker payroll while waiting 30 to 90 days for client invoice payment. The dominant UK proposition is Sonovate (one platform for timesheets, payroll, AWR tracking, holiday pay accrual, factoring, and client billing). Bibby and Aldermore serve larger established temp agencies with separate payroll bureau bundled with confidential invoice discounting. Typical fee 1.5 to 3 percent of worker invoice value, scales with agency growth without requiring proportional working capital injection.

Last updated: 8 May 2026.

Temp agency finance is specialist UK invoice finance designed for temporary recruitment agencies running weekly worker payroll while waiting 30 to 90 days for client invoice payment. More detail + scope

Summary

Temp agency finance is specialist UK invoice finance designed for temporary recruitment agencies running weekly worker payroll while waiting 30 to 90 days for client invoice payment. The dominant UK proposition is Sonovate (one platform for timesheets, payroll, AWR tracking, holiday pay accrual, factoring, and client billing).

Bibby and Aldermore serve larger established temp agencies with separate payroll bureau bundled with confidential invoice discounting. Typical fee 1.5 to 3 percent of worker invoice value, scales with agency growth without requiring proportional working capital injection.

This page covers

temp agency finance UK: weekly worker payroll funding, AWR, holiday pay, best providers for temporary recruitment

Not covered here

General invoice finance education (see /guides/), individual provider reviews (see /providers/), full pricing breakdown (see /guides/costs/)

UK providers worth knowing

ProviderFee fromMin turnoverWhy it fits
Sonovate1.5-3%No minTech + finance, AWR/holiday pay built-in
Bibby Financial Services0.5%+£100kEstablished agencies + credit control
Aldermore0.7%+£750k£5m+ confidential discounting
IGF Invoice Finance1.0%+£50kSub-£500k startup temp agencies
AP

Adam Parker

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.

Last reviewed: 16 July 2026

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How we make money: Market Invoice is an independent comparison service, not a lender. If you take a facility after we introduce you, the provider pays us a commission; you never pay us and it is never added to your costs. How we are funded.

Temp Agency Finance UK FAQ

How does temp agency finance work?

Workers submit weekly timesheets, the agency pays them weekly via PAYE (with holiday pay accrual + AWR rights tracked), invoices the end client at week-end, and the finance provider advances 70-90% of the invoice within 24 hours. End client pays the invoice 30-90 days later, the balance (minus fee) is released to the agency. The provider funds the gap between weekly payroll outflow and monthly client inflow.

What is AWR and how does it affect temp agency finance?

Agency Worker Regulations 2010 give temp workers parity rights with permanent employees at the same client after 12 weeks. Specifically: same basic pay, working hours, holiday entitlement, paid time off for ante-natal appointments. Temp agency finance providers like Sonovate auto-track week count per worker per client and flag week 11 so the agency can adjust contracts. Without AWR tracking, agencies risk back-pay claims of £1k-£10k per worker.

Best temp agency finance provider?

Sonovate for tech-led temp agencies, especially in IT, engineering, healthcare and education. Bibby for established temp agencies (£2m+) needing credit control plus separate payroll bureau. Aldermore for £5m+ temp businesses with confidential discounting requirement. IGF for sub-£500k startups. Skipton for mid-market temp with industrial / engineering bias.

Holiday pay handling with temp agency finance?

Workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year (28 days for full-time equivalent). Sonovate auto-accrues holiday pay from week 1 (typically 12.07% of gross pay), holds it in a separate liability, and pays out when worker takes leave. Bibby and standalone payroll bureaus handle holiday pay similarly. Failure to accrue properly results in worker complaints to ACAS or employment tribunal claims.

Temp vs permanent recruitment finance?

Temp finance: weekly funding cycle, factoring on every weekly invoice, fees 1.5-3% bundled with payroll. Permanent finance: one-off invoice per placement (typically 15-25% of first-year salary), factoring at standard invoice finance fees (0.5-2%). Most agencies use a blended facility covering both. Sonovate, Bibby and IGF all offer combined temp + permanent facilities.

Cost of temp agency finance UK?

Sonovate: 1.5-3% of worker invoice value (all-in). Bibby: 0.5-2% factoring + payroll bureau (£15-25/worker/week). Aldermore: 0.7%+ confidential discounting + agency-managed payroll. For a typical 30-worker temp agency at £600/week each, all-in cost is 8-20% of agency margin per worker.