UK Transport and Haulage Invoice Finance Statistics 2026
UK transportation and storage had about 329,000 private sector businesses with a combined turnover of £265bn at the start of 2025 (Department for Business and Trade), and 861 companies in the sector entered insolvency in England and Wales in 2024 (Insolvency Service). We removed haulage-specific revenue, driver, payment-term and fuel figures that we could not trace to a published source.
Key statistics
Invoice finance and asset-based lending that UK Finance members provide to UK businesses at any one time (UK Finance, checked 1 October 2026). Source: UK Finance
Bank of England Bank Rate, last changed on 18 December 2025, which feeds into the discount charge on invoice finance for transport firms. Source: Bank of England
Statutory payment term under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which applies where the contract sets no payment date. Source: legislation.gov.uk
Statutory interest rate that can be charged on overdue business invoices under the 1998 Act, currently 11.75% (base rate 3.75% plus 8 percentage points). Source: GOV.UK
Private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025
People employed by private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025
Annual turnover of private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025
People employed by private sector businesses in land transport (SIC 49, which includes road haulage) in the UK at the start of 2025; there were 227,215 such businesses. Source: Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025
Company insolvencies in transportation and storage in England and Wales in 2024, down from 881 in 2023 (provisional, not seasonally adjusted). The category includes warehousing and courier businesses as well as road haulage. Source: The Insolvency Service
Payment term that must be included in all public procurement contracts, and in subcontracts that substantially contribute to them, from 24 February 2025 under the Procurement Act. Source: GOV.UK
Estimated amount owed to UK businesses in late payments at any given time, on average £17,000 per business affected. Source: Small Business Commissioner
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice finance and asset-based lending that UK Finance members provide to UK businesses at any one time (UK Finance, checked 1 October 2026). | £20bn+ | UK Finance |
| Bank of England Bank Rate, last changed on 18 December 2025, which feeds into the discount charge on invoice finance for transport firms. | 3.75% | Bank of England |
| Statutory payment term under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which applies where the contract sets no payment date. | 30 days | legislation.gov.uk |
| Statutory interest rate that can be charged on overdue business invoices under the 1998 Act, currently 11.75% (base rate 3.75% plus 8 percentage points). | 8% + BoE base rate | GOV.UK |
| Private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. | 328,960 | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 |
| People employed by private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. | 1.62 million | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 |
| Annual turnover of private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. | £265bn | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 |
| People employed by private sector businesses in land transport (SIC 49, which includes road haulage) in the UK at the start of 2025; there were 227,215 such businesses. | 717,000 | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 |
| Company insolvencies in transportation and storage in England and Wales in 2024, down from 881 in 2023 (provisional, not seasonally adjusted). The category includes warehousing and courier businesses as well as road haulage. | 861 | The Insolvency Service |
| Payment term that must be included in all public procurement contracts, and in subcontracts that substantially contribute to them, from 24 February 2025 under the Procurement Act. | 30 days | GOV.UK |
| Estimated amount owed to UK businesses in late payments at any given time, on average £17,000 per business affected. | £26bn | Small Business Commissioner |
Source: UK Finance, Bank of England, legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025, The Insolvency Service, Small Business Commissioner
View as plain-text Markdown
### UK Transport and Haulage Invoice Finance Statistics 2026: key figures | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Invoice finance and asset-based lending that UK Finance members provide to UK businesses at any one time (UK Finance, checked 1 October 2026). | £20bn+ | UK Finance | | Bank of England Bank Rate, last changed on 18 December 2025, which feeds into the discount charge on invoice finance for transport firms. | 3.75% | Bank of England | | Statutory payment term under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which applies where the contract sets no payment date. | 30 days | legislation.gov.uk | | Statutory interest rate that can be charged on overdue business invoices under the 1998 Act, currently 11.75% (base rate 3.75% plus 8 percentage points). | 8% + BoE base rate | GOV.UK | | Private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. | 328,960 | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 | | People employed by private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. | 1.62 million | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 | | Annual turnover of private sector businesses in transportation and storage in the UK at the start of 2025. | £265bn | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 | | People employed by private sector businesses in land transport (SIC 49, which includes road haulage) in the UK at the start of 2025; there were 227,215 such businesses. | 717,000 | Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025 | | Company insolvencies in transportation and storage in England and Wales in 2024, down from 881 in 2023 (provisional, not seasonally adjusted). The category includes warehousing and courier businesses as well as road haulage. | 861 | The Insolvency Service | | Payment term that must be included in all public procurement contracts, and in subcontracts that substantially contribute to them, from 24 February 2025 under the Procurement Act. | 30 days | GOV.UK | | Estimated amount owed to UK businesses in late payments at any given time, on average £17,000 per business affected. | £26bn | Small Business Commissioner | Source: UK Finance, Bank of England, legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, Department for Business and Trade, Business Population Estimates 2025, The Insolvency Service, Small Business Commissioner
“Insolvency data for transport and storage includes warehousing and courier businesses alongside road haulage, so it overstates the position for road haulage alone, and the Department for Business and Trade figures for land transport include more than haulage. Sector revenue, payment-term and cost figures for haulage were not traceable to a published source and are not shown.”
What the numbers mean
Road haulage sits in an awkward financial position. Customers are often large companies with payment leverage, and fuel, tyres, driver wages and compliance costs are paid weekly or monthly regardless of when invoices are settled. The result is a structural cash flow gap that invoice finance is designed to bridge: invoice discounting or factoring turns a receivable into working capital before the customer pays.
The Insolvency Service recorded 861 transport and storage company insolvencies in England and Wales in 2024, against 881 in 2023. The category includes warehousing and courier businesses, so it overstates the position for pure road haulage, and the data does not show why each business failed.
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 you can charge statutory interest on an overdue business invoice, and public contracts must include a 30-day payment term, passed down to subcontracts, since 24 February 2025. We could not find published figures for invoice finance penetration or typical payment terms in haulage, so we do not quote them.
FAQs
Can a sole-trader haulier access invoice finance in the UK?
Yes, though options are narrower. Some specialist transport finance providers will fund sole traders and micro-operators, but most mainstream invoice discounting facilities require the business to be a limited company with a minimum annual turnover, with a minimum that varies by provider. Factoring, where the provider manages the sales ledger, tends to be more accessible for smaller operators because the provider takes on credit control, reducing the administrative burden on the owner.
How does invoice finance differ from a fuel card or asset finance for a haulage firm?
Fuel cards and asset finance address specific costs, namely purchasing diesel on credit terms and financing the purchase or lease of vehicles. Invoice finance addresses the timing mismatch between delivering a service and receiving payment for it. The three products are complementary rather than alternatives.
A haulage business can use asset finance to fund a new trailer, a fuel card to manage running costs, and invoice finance to ensure cash is available the moment a delivery is made rather than 60 days later.
Do haulage invoices qualify for invoice finance if the customer is another SME rather than a large company?
They can, but the advance rate and cost will reflect the creditworthiness of the debtor. Invoice finance providers lend against the likelihood that the debtor will pay, so invoices raised against large, creditworthy customers attract higher advances, up to 90 per cent of face value for several providers, while invoices against smaller or less-established buyers may attract lower advances or require credit insurance. Some providers will decline invoices where the debtor's creditworthiness cannot be verified, so the debtor mix matters.
What happens if a customer disputes a haulage invoice that has already been funded?
This depends on whether the facility is recourse or non-recourse. Under a recourse arrangement, which is more common and cheaper, the haulier must repay the advance if the debtor disputes or refuses to pay. Under non-recourse or bad-debt-protected factoring, the provider absorbs the credit risk if the debtor becomes insolvent, though genuine trade disputes are typically excluded.
Hauliers should ensure proof-of-delivery documentation is robust before drawing against invoices, as disputes are easier to defend with signed CMR notes or electronic PODs.
How does the Bank of England base rate affect the cost of invoice finance for hauliers?
The service charge on an invoice discounting or factoring facility is usually quoted as a margin over the BoE base rate, which has stood at 3.75 per cent since 18 December 2025. A facility priced at base rate plus 2.50 per cent therefore carries an annualised funding cost of 6.25 per cent on drawn balances.
As base rate falls, so does the cost of the facility, all else being equal. Hauliers should compare the total cost of finance including service fees and credit protection premiums, not just the headline rate, when assessing providers.
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.
Published · Updated