Oxygen breathes life into Oldham

NEW base . . . Oxygen staff (from the left) Katy Cooper, Vicki Sloane, Debbs McDermid, Simon Whittle and John Moss

A FINANCE company is eyeing up new territory in the battle against late payments after setting up a new HQ in a former Oldham cotton mill.

Oxygen Finance Ltd, based in the City of London, has opened an office at Earl Business Centre, Oldham, to provide a northern base for its work with existing and new clients in the north and Scotland.

Oldham Council was the first public body to introduce an early payment scheme with Oxygen Finance. So far nearly 300 suppliers have signed up and approximately £75 million of payments to suppliers have been accelerated.

Simon Whittle, Oxygen’s director of client solutions, said: “We currently work with a number of local authorities in northern England and, until now, had several employees working remotely to manage those relationships.

“As Oxygen continues to grow, it makes sense to establish a base in the north. Because Oldham Council was our first client, it seemed natural for us to reinforce our commitment to the borough by finding new premises through the council. The new office works really well for us

Oxygen is working with several local authorities, including Oldham, Warrington and Barnsley, on automated early payment programmes which enable each council to generate a new source of revenue from their existing transactions.

Roberto Moretti, chief executive of Oxygen Finance, said: “Late payments to local suppliers have a real impact on business communities.

“We’ve already had huge success working with forward-thinking councils like Oldham, and we have now set up our new HQ there which will enable us to reach out to other large organisations in the region.”