Supporting the British Pregnancy Advisory Service through flexible finance options

SAF Solutions successfully supported the British Pregnancy Advisory Service with the procurement of 24 Portable Colour Doppler Ultrasound Systems, with a value of £237,000.

SAF worked in partnership with Fujifilm to develop a bespoke five-year finance agreement that would help the British Pregnancy Advisory Service procure the latest ultrasound technology, with in-principal approval for further tranches of funding for a second round of investment.

Client Brief:

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) was established as a registered charity in 1968 to provide safe, legal abortion services. 

Today, they provide services on behalf of NHS facilities across the country, taking care of almost 80,000 women each year in over 70 reproductive healthcare clinics nationwide. More than 95% of the treatment and support they provide is paid for by the NHS.

Before the pandemic, BPAS had a clear medical product and equipment replacement strategy. However, disruption created by the pandemic and the various lockdowns resulted in a deferment to some of their product upgrade procurement plans.

With services at their clinics now fully operational and unlikely to be further impacted by national lockdowns, BPAS were keen to begin a phase of updating their ultrasound device stock.

BPAS were in the market for a number of Portable Colour Doppler Ultrasound Systems, but this would have required a significant upfront capital investment. The quantity of equipment needed was also variable, meaning BPAS needed the flexibility of changing their requirement based on which clinics they felt would benefit most from their first round of investment.

Procuring the ultrasound devices through a bespoke lease solution meant the service could spread the cost of investment across a structured repayment period, while retaining the ability to evolve the agreement and add further pieces of equipment when required.

SAF was able to support BPAS with the development of a finance agreement that understood and overcame challenges relating to market volatility, supply chain issues and budget constraints and ensured that they could access the equipment they needed quickly and efficiently.

SAF’s Solution:

During the development phase of our solution, the total quantity of devices required in the first stage of the transaction remained uncertain. As such, the lease pricing needed to consider a few variable factors, including:

• Asset cost – dependent on the number of devices needed
• Manufacturing and delivery timeframes – impacted by global supply issues
• Market instability – resulting in volatility of funding rates

Working in collaboration with Fujifilm, SAF developed a bespoke finance solution that would respond to the above factors, ensuring the British Pregnancy Advisory Service could retain flexibility in the quantity of devices ordered, while having a sound understanding of their costs irrespective of quantity.

SAF created a five-year finance option based on a price per unit, allowing flexibility around the quantity of devices ordered by BPAS.

To mitigate the impact of market rate volatility, SAF worked together with Fujifilm, considering the likely delivery timeframes and future forecast funding rates. This in-depth consideration ensured BPAS could avoid any significant payment increases in the intervening period between order and supply, at a time when economic factors were having a significant impact of funding rates.

SAF also sought an upper credit limit for BPAS, supporting the ease of procurement for any further equipment required.

Outcome:

SAF’s finance package provided a cost-effective solution for BPAS to invest in essential new ultrasound devices, without the need for upfront investment.

Many of the initial challenges relating to this transaction were borne of economic and supply chain factors. Through proactive management by both Fujifilm and SAF, BPAS were able to procure the much-needed device upgrades at a cost budgeted for, hugely important for their medium-term financial planning.

SAF’s proactive communication combined with a genuine desire to provide a beneficial outcome to both the customer, BPAS, and our retained equipment supplier, Fujifilm, highlights the high levels of customer service a partnership with SAF provides.