The Receivables Exchange

About The Receivables Exchange

The Receivables Exchange (RecX) operates as an electronic, auction-based marketplace designed to connect corporate sellers of trade receivables with a diverse network of institutional buyers. Established in 2007 by co-founders Justin A. Brownhill and Nicolas Perkin, the company pioneered its online trading platform in 2008. The founders, leveraging their backgrounds in fixed-income and equity systems, identified a need for greater efficiency and transparency in the receivables financing market. Brownhill previously served as a managing director at Citigroup's Corporate & Investment Bank and was part of the executive team at Lava Trading. Perkin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and a Master of Science in Finance from the London Business School. Though not Louisiana natives, they headquartered the company in New Orleans, drawn by the city's post-Hurricane Katrina entrepreneurial drive, and also maintain an office in New York. The firm's business model centers on providing a platform where businesses can sell their outstanding invoices to improve liquidity and manage working capital. This process offers an alternative to traditional factoring. Sellers list their receivables on the exchange, setting parameters such as the minimum advance and maximum fee they are willing to accept. A global network of institutional investors—including banks, hedge funds, asset-based lenders, and family offices—then compete in real-time auctions to purchase these receivables. This competitive bidding process is intended to drive down the cost of capital for the sellers. Upon completion of an auction, sellers can receive cash in as little as 24 to 72 hours. The platform is designed to handle all administrative functions, including member registration, listing receivables, auction monitoring, and transaction settlement. Transactions are structured as a "true sale" of the receivables, which can provide balance sheet benefits for the selling companies. The company has achieved significant milestones, including a partnership with NYSE Euronext in 2011 to jointly market the platform. Over its history, The Receivables Exchange has facilitated billions of dollars in liquidity. The firm has also secured funding from investors such as Bain Capital, Redpoint Ventures, and F-Prime Capital. One report indicates the company may have ceased operations, though other recent mentions suggest continued activity or evolution under different structures.