New FWD member: Barclays Corporate
Matt Ryan, Head of Retail & Wholesale, discusses why Barclays Corporate has joined FWD, the support it offers to wholesalers, and the current trends affecting the sector
Being the first UK bank to introduce specialist industry relationship teams, we look beyond banking to help you see what really matters for wholesalers, whether that be consumer trends, supply chain or operational efficiency, dealing with tariffs, interest rates and foreign exchange fluctuations or cyber security. As part of our ambition to support UK business, our growth strategy aims to add value to the opportunities and challenges faced by our client base and build our wholesale market share.
WN: What can Barclays Corporate offer wholesalers?
We have a national team of dedicated relationship directors who provide extensive industry-specific banking experience with the resources and insight to support your business through all trading conditions. We can provide you with innovative financing solutions that help you achieve a more expansive, better- connected future for your organisation. If you’re looking to unlock growth opportunities to move your business forward, our £22 billion Business Prosperity Fund is available through some of our borrowing and refinancing options * .
As well as linking into our food and drink retailers, the team also work closely with various other teams, including agriculture, manufacturing, transport and logistics, hospitality and leisure and, increasingly, with our innovation banking team to provide an overview of the end-to-end supply chain.
Our spectrum of products and solutions can help support your business to transact and trade easily, manage risks efficiently and finance its plans for growth. In 2024, we were named Best Trade Finance bank by Global Trade Review, highlighting our range of trade finance solutions that complement our lending options.
WN: What are the current trends you are seeing?
Some of the current key trends we are seeing from our food and drink wholesale clients are:
- Continued focus on operations and the supply chain, particularly operational cost savings, supply risk and the impact of inflation and how this affects profitability and liquidity, including export and tariffs.
- Continued drive towards decarbonisation and sustainability including energy-efficient property, EV fleets, refrigeration and supply chain management, and ‘healthier’ product alternatives. Plastic Tax is also causing quite a few deliberations for businesses and opportunities to look at how they package products and manage waste.
- Increasing interest in consumer spend behaviour and the health-conscious consumer. Our Consumer Spend Report provides a unique and up-to-date picture of the nation’s spending habits based on actual transactions so you can take action and shape your strategy.
- Exploring the potential efficiencies and opportunities created by new technology that could reduce cost, and enhance the use of data and customer and supplier journeys.
- The tariffs imposed by President Trump have left wholesalers trying to find an appropriate response. Direct wholesalers to the US are working to understand the impact on demand, margin, working capital and actual operational practicalities. For others, it’s the consideration of how this might indirectly affect their supply chain and market dynamics.
- More recently, the UK-EU agreement has provided some optimism for our wholesale food exporters as some of the complexities and increased cost of selling into Europe post-Brexit, at times, have adversely affected a lot of the businesses we speak to. However, with details of the agreement still to be confirmed, it is hard to measure what the impact on this sector will be.
For more information…
We are delighted to become a member of FWD and we look forward to engaging with other members to deepen our understanding of the sector and add value in any way we can. To speak to Matt or to enquire about Barclays Corporate Banking services across the wholesale sector, please email matt.ryan@barclays.com.
* Subject to normal lending assessment, status and application. Terms and conditions apply
Banking Barclays Corporate FWD members Matt Ryan
