Posted: Monday, 19 January 2026 @ 10:07
One of the things that sets Rivers apart as an alternative lender is our willingness to consider funding for any business, regardless of the sector they operate in. Where lots of our competitors specialise in one area or actively avoid certain sectors because there's a perceived risk associated with it, we look at the strength of the business itself and consider funding based on its individual merits. In particular, we are unusual in our willingness to provide funding to businesses in the construction sector.
Financing business growth and development
The start of a new year is a quiet period for many companies following the festive rush, but that doesn't mean it can't be highly productive. For many, it's a time to paint, decorate, and do structural expansion work that would disrupt customers if it were done at busier times of the year.
For example, if you're a hotel, now might be the time you set aside to refurbish a number of your rooms, suites, or public spaces so they're looking their best for the peak periods around half-term, Valentine's Day, the Easter holidays, and heading into the summer.
At Rivers we can help because not only can we provide cash flow and business development funding for the hospitality sector (as well as others), but we are also unusual in that we are happy to finance the construction sector, which many lenders won't.
Business sectors many lenders won't finance
Rivers is a non-sector-specific lender. While lots of lenders limit the industries and assets they're prepared to finance, and others proactively exclude certain sectors considered high risk, such as hospitality, construction, air conditioning, businesses focused on cigarettes or vapes, and gambling-based organisations, we don’t.
As an independently run SME, Rivers was established to meet the needs of other business owners and their enterprises, understanding that the hard facts of a business are just one part of the story. As a result, we chose to be non-sector-specific, and in broad terms will consider any business for a business loan, as long as they meet our minimum lending criteria.
That approach offers benefits to us as a business and to our clients as well, ultimately giving us greater strength on which to be a reliable lender and business partner for SMEs seeking finance.
Customer benefits of working with a non-sector specific lender
As we don't place specific emphasis on the sector that a business operates in, not only will we consider business in all sectors for funding, but we also don't price differently because of the perceived risk in any given industry either.
For example, two separate businesses recently approached us - both were scaffolding companies. They assumed we wouldn't be able to help because they had tried other lenders before, but in both cases, we were able to provide funding.
Rivers' Business Development Manager – Corporate Loans, Ian Mills, says: "I have never worked for a lender that works with scaffolding companies before because it's deemed risky for a variety of reasons, but Rivers works differently. It's one of my great pleasures after more than 30 years in business finance, to work for a company where I have been able to provide support for businesses that other institutions simply cannot offer SMEs."
Why we’re not preoccupied with sector or asset-type
Ultimately, we're interested in the big picture when it comes to businesses, not one isolated aspect like the sector they operate in. Our business is to lend money, but our purpose is to help businesses to thrive because that way everybody wins.
We're excited to see businesses grow and be successful. It's the mentality that Rivers was built on. That's why a business's sector isn't the thing we're most focused on - it's where you're planning to take your business that excites us.
Find out more about funding with Rivers