Stenn International Ltd. ("Stenn"), a UK-based trade finance provider, announced that it has launched a $300 million financing platform to expand its capacity to help suppliers across the globe access and service buyers of their products in developed markets. Capital for the platform is being provided by Stenn and Crayhill Capital Management LP, an established alternative asset management firm based in New York.

The platform will acquire up to 120-day trade receivables from small-to-medium enterprises ("SMEs"), particularly in China and Southeast Asia, who produce and export goods for sale to U.S., European and other global buyers. Stenn's customers are primarily engaged in the production of consumer goods (such as apparel, shoes, toys and childcare supplies, home goods, hardware, electronics, and other consumer products) for importers, leading retailers and Fortune 500 corporations. Access to flexible short-term funding is essential for these suppliers, who need working capital to finance orders bound for global markets until payment is received from their buyers. Stenn's financing solutions offer payment for goods immediately after shipment, eliminating the delay and uncertainly of payment collections from buyers so Stenn's clients can focus on building their business.

The Stenn team has a successful track record of originating, financing and managing over $12 billion in receivables for companies in emerging markets. Stenn currently has offices in London and Singapore, and expects to open offices in Hong Kong and New York in the coming months.

"Our new $300 million platform will help Stenn achieve a critical goal: becoming the first choice for funding among SME exporters in Asia who wish to serve the global market for consumer goods," said Greg Karpovsky, Executive Chairman. "We are filling a market niche that has largely been abandoned by banks, which are retreating from financing smaller manufacturers in emerging markets due to rising regulatory capital costs and more onerous compliance requirements."

"There is a real lack of financing options for Asian exporters, and this inefficiency can be a burden for buyers in developed markets.  Retailers and importers are less willing to tie up their own capital in providing letters of credit to smaller suppliers. This had, until now, left the manufacturers with few viable financing options to support their growth and participation in the global supply chain.  This new platform is a further step forward in enabling Stenn to address those market needs," added Stenn's CEO, Walter Colebatch.

"This as an exciting opportunity for Crayhill to participate in a large and currently under-served global market for specialized trade receivables financing," said Josh Eaton of Crayhill Capital Management. "We were attracted to Stenn by the size of the market for this type of financing, the deep expertise of the management team, the quality of their network of buyers and counterparties, and a scalable origination and servicing platform."

Stenn International Ltd. is a UK-based international trade finance provider, servicing trade between Asia and developed markets. Stenn is led by Greg Karpovsky, Walter Colebatch and Andrey Polevoy, an experienced executive management team with a successful track record of building a multi-billion US dollar receivable finance business in emerging markets.