Legion Trade Finance, one of a growing number of non-bank letter of credit (L/C) providers in the UK, has been shortlisted for two industry awards.

The Birmingham based firm has been nominated in two categories in the Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015 - 'Innovation in the SME Finance Sector' and 'Best International Solution Provider'.

Legion services

Founded in late 2010 by management and private investors, Legion is an independent provider of trade finance solutions to UK companies that need facilities to purchase goods from their suppliers worldwide.

Legion offers structured trade finance solutions including L/Cs, paying suppliers direct and loans.

SME focus

The typical facility starts at £250,000 with no upper limit on the size of trades it can fund according to a company statement.

So far, the firm has facilitated trades worth over £40 million and targets the small- and medium-sized enterprise sector, which has found obtaining conventional bank finance harder to come by since the financial crisis.

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