Posted: Monday, 20 October 2025 @ 10:56
It's been a wonderful start to the last quarter of the calendar year at Rivers, with the team rewarded for their consistent hard work and integrity by winning Loan Provider of the Year at MoneyAge Awards 2025.
Dressed in our finest, we attended the awards at Waldorf Hilton in London on 15th October, alongside the other companies shortlisted this year. A glittering event, it was attended by many of our esteemed peers, including businesses of all sizes across the financial sector.
When the award was announced, our Chairman, Ratan Daryani proudly accepted it along with Business Development Manager, Ian Mills and Business Operations Manager, Rishi Shah, on behalf of the whole team. It is an achievement we are especially proud of because it recognises our portfolio of services, which we have developed over the course of our 15 years to date. We also consider it a reflection of the entire team, the way they uphold our values, and the trusted relationships they have developed with clients and brokers alike.
Serving the SME market
As we grow at Rivers, we continuously look for gaps in the market, creating products that we see a genuine need for and bringing them to market with care and due diligence.
We began in 2010 with Rivers Leasing, an independent niche asset finance and medium-term business loans funder, with strong experience and a dedicated team that is exclusively involved in running its own book. From the start, our approach was commercial, flexible, and primarily focused on the financial status of the customer, with a wide range of business sectors and assets within scope.
At the heart of our model, we allow for competitive pricing and a functional approach to facilitate the lease and loans contract process. Our approach has always been about steady, carefully managed growth, prioritising the relationships that we have with our various stakeholders and preserving the integrity of the business at all times.
Trust is a central tenet of the organisation, and as a result, we have grown steadily and sustainably winning multiple awards, including being named in the Financial Times FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020. We were also featured in The Financial Times’ inaugural Future 100 UK Special Report, detailing fast growing UK companies that are also making an impact on their industry or wider society.
Following challenges in the pandemic, we were able to return to and exceed our original business growth plan in 2021, primarily because of the shared support that our network of brokers and customers provided, and, we hope, the support that we provided in return. Relationships are at the core of Rivers, and that’s something we continue to safeguard.
Since 2021 we have been able to expand our product offering and expanded our team with new and respected members of the finance community having joined our ranks. By the end of FY2024 overall growth for all lending was up 33% on the previous year, and FY25 has so far seen the addition of more team members as well as the launch of more new products in the short-term loan market under Rivers Funding.
Rivers financial services
Today, our products include:
Asset Finance: Asset finance has been at the heart of Rivers Leasing since we began in 2010, building strong relationships with brokers, suppliers and business owners, concentrating on transaction values between £5,000 and £75,000. Brokers are an integral part of the way we work, appreciating their individual business style, needs and market focus.
Business Loans: Our business loans are for companies seeking to borrow between £5,000 and £75,000. Repayment terms are set between three and 60 months, interest is fixed over the term, and both capital and interest are paid monthly. Rivers is known for its quick decision making, giving businesses access to funds efficiently when they require it. Our business loans are designed to help companies operate, grow and develop by gaining access to fast working capital availability, thereby providing greater flexibility, facilitating cash flow and strategic investment.
Block Discounting: Our incubator block discounting is a unique offering, providing funding for independent brokers, who want to build a book from their own deal flow and build real future value in their book. Giving independent lenders, across all lending sectors, access to funding lines commencing at £250,000, it can be used to accelerate from an existing small base or as a top-up facility for larger funders or as a top-up facility for existing funders who require more flexibility.
Heading into 2026 we look forward to developing additional new services to support the growth and success of SMEs across the UK.
Rivers Finance Group Chairman, Ratan Daryani says: "Winning an award is an enormous privilege, especially one as prestigious as this. However, the reason I am so delighted about this particular achievement is because it highlights the consistently high standards and value-driven service that the team and I set out to offer. To have won awards in our early years as a newcomer to the market was fantastic, but to keep recognised more than 15 years on is a testament to the team and their ongoing hard work and commitment to all our clients, brokers, and stakeholders."