Foremost Furniture found its competitive edge with TradePay

Foremost Furniture is a 50-year-old family business supporting many of the UK’s leading pub, restaurant and holiday park operators with new and repurposed high-quality furniture and end to end refurbishment solutions. As a long-standing partner to leading brands, the company has earned a reputation for craftsmanship, reliability and service in a sector where pricing, quality of service and timing are everything.

It’s an increasingly challenging market Foremost Furniture began to feel downward pressure to make cost savings to be able to satisfy the needs of the customer base. Its made to order model—built on designer led specifications and a growing salvaged furniture programme—sets the company apart. It requires high levels of agility, close supplier coordination and consistent access to working capital to allow the company to hold an appropriate amount of stock at the right price to meet customer demand as it arises.

“As a business, we have a number of issues that will impact on performance: we often have very tight deadlines - sometimes we’re asked to deliver within as little as a week,” says Finance Director, Mark Conboy and they need to be able to offer a cost-effective solution without compromising the quality of their product.

To maintain speed while meeting the need for competitive pricing, Foremost Furniture needed a funding solution that could keep pace with its fast moving operation. The company needed to buy better which required increasing it stock holdings and traditional trade finance offerings requiring paying suppliers upfront and reclaiming the money later was a model that, as Conboy puts it, “just didn’t work for a business operating to very tight deadlines.”

Mark Conboy had a long-standing relationship with HSBC throughout his career, and last year met up with his former relationship manager for a catch-up. He shared his experience as the recently appointed Finance Director of Foremost Furniture, and they quickly understood how the bank could help the company. It was clear the business could really benefit from TradePay. Once they shared how the digital trade finance solution was uniquely suited to Foremost Furniture’s operational needs and future plans, Mark knew this opportunity could provide a competitive edge and provide working capital to help to unlock growth. Foremost Furniture switched their bank account to HSBC and started using TradePay straight away.

HSBC TradePay is a digital one step solution loan facility, designed to fund orders at the moment of payment. It gives businesses rapid access to working capital, automated loan drawdowns and instant supplier payments when they need them most.

For Foremost Furniture, this marked a step change in their business model. “I’ve never come across a system like this,” Conboy says. “It’s simplicity itself.” With TradePay fully integrated into HSBC’s digital business banking platform, the team could manage payments online in minutes, maintain visibility over finance and spend, and buy ahead with confidence.

Foremost Furniture’s ability to purchase better helped to put in place adequate stock levels at reasonable prices to be able to meet customer demands which increasingly focused on price controls. To be able to meet customer demands required new stock purchases from suppliers across Europe, requiring the outlay of larger amounts of cash to be paid out before the stock was delivered.

Ordering on an ad hoc basis could mean paying significantly more than buying in bulk. “With the previous trade finance offering from HSBC you paid the money out first, then waited to get it back,” Conboy recalls. “It was a cash flow issue every time and this limited our ability to increase stock levels.”

Meanwhile, installation windows were shrinking. Foremost Furniture’s ability to respond quickly often helped it win new business. “We’ve had situations where someone has been let down the week before a pub opens,” Conboy says. “We’ve stepped in and delivered because we had the stock ready.”

That level of responsiveness is exactly what TradePay’s reliable, fast moving funding model makes possible — supporting cash flow and streamlining purchasing without manual delays.

Conboy’s experience with other trade finance solutions made TradePay’s ease of use stand out. Instead of paying suppliers upfront and claiming funds back later, TradePay allows Foremost Furniture to fund and process payments in one seamless step.

“In most cases the payment happens the same day and often will go through in less than five minutes” Conboy says. “If we don’t have the stock and the customer needs it tomorrow, we can’t win the work. TradePay lets us stay ahead. That makes a massive difference to us.”

The facility also gives the business the confidence to secure stock in advance and at better prices — allowing Foremost Furniture to buy ahead, reduce risk around tight deadlines and unlock economies of scale.

“If we place an order when goods aren’t in stock, we’re typically paying about 30% more,” Conboy explains. “But if we can buy in bulk, the savings are significant.”

The availability of salvage stock and being able to fund and hold core product lines in stock gives Foremost Furniture an advantage over competitors who only order materials once a project is confirmed. When installation windows are short, being ready to go often determines who wins the work.

This ability to buy better, act faster and deliver reliably helps Foremost Furniture support customers who are facing their own cost pressures — while protecting the company’s reputation for high quality service. “In this industry, you’re only as good as the last job you do,” he adds.

The onboarding of TradePay was the catalyst that led to the further consolidation of Foremost Furniture’s banking relationship with HSBC. The company has since consolidated receivables finance, equipment finance and loan facilities with HSBC, gaining dedicated specialists who understand its operation and sector.

“Twelve months ago, we didn’t have a relationship manager,” Conboy recalls. “Most of the major banks don’t offer one to businesses of our size. Now I can speak to someone who understands our business and acts quickly.”

That move from transactional to relationship led banking played a decisive role in Foremost Furniture’s decision to bring everything under one roof with the bank. With a banking team aligned to its goals, the business has been able to invest further in long term sustainability, including solar panels and newly installed biomass boilers that significantly reduce operating costs.

It’s a partnership built on the same values that define Foremost Furniture’s approach: responsive, personal and focused on long term success. With TradePay’s simplicity backed by dedicated relationship support, the business now benefits from a joined-up banking experience that keeps pace with its ambitions and underpins its future growth.