2025 Credit & Collections Industry Award winners revealed

The winners of the 2025 Credit & Collection Industry Awards have been announced following a live in-person event yesterday (Thursday 22nd May) at the Milner Hotel in York There were eighteen winners (four of which were partnership wins) from the twenty awards categories, which were presented by awards compare’ Brennan Reece. The Credit & Collections…

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80% of SME owners are concerned about inflation and the cost of living

Nearly eight in ten (78%) of SMEs are worried about inflation and the cost of living, according to Shawbrook’s latest research amongst senior decision makers, an increase from 69% in 2024. SMEs are particularly concerned about the rising cost of running their business (76%), with three quarters (75%)  of decision makers listing economic uncertainty a…

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Percentage of small businesses that rely on finance hits eight year high

The percentage of small businesses that rely on finance or funding to invest in business growth has reached an eight-year high, and those most in need of it are the enterprises predicting significant expansion for the months ahead, according to new research by Novuna Business Finance. The nationwide poll of 1,242 small business owners revealed…

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Two in five finance brokers expect surge in demand for loans over £100,000

New research from iwoca has found that big-ticket loans are set to see increased interest from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as growth ambitions resurface. The research revealed that two in five (42%) brokers think loans above £100,000 will see the most growth in demand in the next twelve months. Currently, loans over £100,000 comprise…

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Companies that borrow are sixteen-times more likely to achieve growth than face insolvency

New research by ThinCats has found that mid-sized companies that borrow are sixteen times more likely to achieve growth than face insolvency. The data found that companies that borrowed were more likely to achieve growth than non-borrowers, with the level of borrowing proportional to growth potential. Nearly 40% of mid-market SMEs have achieved revenue growth…

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Personal guarantee-backed business loans rise by 9%

Despite an uncertain economy, applications for personal guarantee-backed business loans rose by 9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025.  This is according to the Q1 2025 Personal Guarantee Insurance (PGI) Monitor from Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance, the UK’s only provider of PGI to SMEs. The 9% rise suggests that the appetite for finance remains…

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Call for SME lending reboot

Research by Allica Bank has advised that the SME lending market needs a full reboot, with the UK having the lowest business investment rate in the G7. The report highlights how small businesses invest at only a third of the level of large corporate businesses, with a clear link between low levels of SME finance,…

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Asset finance new business grew by 1% in February

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in February 2025 by 1% compared with the same month in 2024.  In the first two months of 2025, new business was 2% higher than in the same period in 2024. The…

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Loans mostly commonly used to finance businesses

Time Finance has released new data that has found that businesses’ understandings, attitudes and behaviours towards commercial finance, with loans topping the bill as the most commonly and widely used form of finance. Figures found that 93% of UK businesses are aware of loans, in comparison to only 76% who are aware of Invoice Finance,…

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Lending to SMEs increased by 13% in 2024

Gross lending to SMEs rose by 13 per cent year-on-year to just over £16 billion in 2024 according to latest UK Finance data. The research showed that in each quarter of last year gross lending was up compared to the same quarter in the previous year. However, lending remains significantly below levels reported in the…

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Government announces review into SME lending

The Department for Business and Trade is launching a review into SME lending, due to the increase in the price of debt in recent years. Commenting on the Government’s publication of a call for evidence on SME access to finance, Emma Lovell, Lending Standards Board (LSB) Chief Executive, said “SMEs are the backbone of the…

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Taxi driver jailed after fraudulently securing two Covid loans

A Devon taxi driver who fraudulently claimed two maximum-value Covid loans by overstating his annual turnover by more than £350,000 has been jailed. Murat Dogantekin secured the Bounce Back Loans worth a combined £100,000 from two separate banks just months into the pandemic, when he was only actually entitled to just over £4,000 under the…

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Third of brokers say cutting taxes is key to SME growth

21st February 2025 Alternative Business Lending | #taxes

More than a third (38%) of finance brokers say lower taxes are needed to boost SME growth this year, according to iwoca’s latest SME Expert Index. This is double the next choice of reforming business rates (19%). With almost three-quarters (70%) of finance brokers saying conditions for SMEs have worsened since the Labour Government took…

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