SME funding provider Ultimate Finance has entered into a partnership with SIG, a leading distributor of specialist building products in the UK, to support SMEs by ensuring a lack of funds is a thing of the past.

The partnership will see SIG customers offered a discounted rate on Ultimate Finance’s Cash Advance. The businesses will be able to use a bespoke portal where they can apply for a loan and while bank business loans can take months to come through, SIG customers would receive a decision in seconds and funding within a matter of minutes.

The Cash Advance is a super quick short-term loan, repayable in one to three months. It is said to ideal for topping up funds or managing short term cashflow issues which often occur at the least opportune time.

Anthony Persse, Director of Strategy at Ultimate Finance, said: “We are delighted to be launching this partnership with SIG to offer financial support to its vast number of customers in the construction space.

“We understand that cashflow issues can arise for even the most financially astute companies and can have a disastrous impact if problems hit at the wrong time. This partnership is designed as a safety net for when such issues arise and threaten to derail a business’ momentum in its tracks. When the worst-case scenario strikes – whether it’s late payments or urgent upscaling – the rapid nature of the Cash Advance loan will ensure SIG customers retain their financial stability even during the most testing of times.”

Simon Johnson, Director of Credit at SIG, said: “At SIG we pride ourselves on supporting our customers to ensure their businesses continue to go from strength to strength. This is why we’ve partnered with Ultimate Finance to give customers access to funding at short notice. Cashflow issues can be removed almost as quickly as they appear and our customers can then ease the burden of the difficult process of collecting cash and focus on the most important element of the business – growth.”