SME lending

Articles, news and advice on access to finance and lending for UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Small Business Banking

Q&A Ian Rand, CEO of Barclays Business Banking

The head of Barclays Business Banking says that small business owners value the human element just as much as the latest banking app

Small Business Banking

OakNorth offers mortgages to small business entrepreneurs

Challenger SME bank OakNorth aims to close £260m worth of mortgages by year-end as high-street banks are hamstrung by lending criteria

Small Business Banking

NatWest doubles its Growth Fund pot for small businesses to £6bn

Growth Fund has already deployed nearly £3bn of initial funding pot, with 30% deployed to green businesses

News

SME lending: 56% of the country saw value of loans fall last year

The value of bank loans to SMEs has fallen by over half in the past year, especially in areas industry and manufacturing heartlands.

Business Loans

The online lender that has seen funding to small businesses soar

Online debt is proving to be a popular form of funding for SMEs, as the growth of finance provider Fleximize has demonstrated.

News

Small business lending enjoys record levels over past year

Despite the backdrop of political and economic uncertainty surrounding the EU Referendum, small business lending hit an all-time high over the past 12 months.

News

Entrepreneurs not impressed by Business Bank

The vast majority of entrepreneurs feel that the Business Bank will not make a significant difference to boosting lending to UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

News

Enterprise Finance Guarantee not opening the floodgates for small business lending

Lending to small businesses under the government’s lending scheme, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG), has fallen to a new record low amount.

News

Credit unions now able to lend to SMEs

Small businesses struggling to access funding have been given an alternative option with the introduction of legislation allowing credit unions to lend to them.

Alternative finance

Social Lending Websites – A new era for small business finance

The banks aren't interested, but social lending websites are. SmallBusiness.co.uk talks to three early-stage companies that have benefitted from the growing phenomenon in peer-to-peer SME fundraising.