Posted: Thursday, 29 February 2024 @ 12:35
This month, Asset Finance International reported that: "32% of small businesses successfully funded in 2023 having previously faced capital refusals elsewhere, marking a significant 10% increase in such successes year-on-year."
The previous refusals typically came from more traditional lenders, highlighting the fundamental importance of alternative lenders as well as the critical role of brokers, and how their efforts are directly contributing to the sustainability and growth of the UK's SME sector. It's a message that's featured in multiple publications and that's becoming increasingly widely reported back to us from all corners of the SME market.
What it underpins for us at Rivers, and what resonates with our brokers and our direct customers as well, is that this points to the need for lenders that truly understand the businesses they are talking to. When you take the time to learn why a business needs a loan, and provide funding when it facilitates meaningful cash flow requirements, can turn a no into a yes in a way that’s sensible for all parties.
Why brokers are giving great feedback on Rivers’ reliable financing
Having joined our team in January, our very own Business Development Manager - Corporate Loans, Ian Mills, wrote about the positive feedback he himself has been getting from brokers on our range of financial products for SMEs, as well as our approach to assessing and approving applications.
He wrote: "Having worked in business finance for more than 30 years, and having had a particular focus on short-term lending and alternative finance since 2017, what I find really exciting at Rivers is their storybook lending approach. That breadth of product availability allows the company to meet the needs of businesses at different stages of their maturity, but also their preference for human underwriting and careful due diligence is put to work in the best way possible - by making sure the loan is not only responsible, but actually helps businesses to thrive. That's something a computer algorithm simply cannot offer."
Lending that understands SMEs
What's reassuring in all of this is that sensibility when it comes to lending rings true. Doing the groundwork, lending sensibly, but crucially understanding the particulars of what it means to run an SME and to loan with a view to aiding that SMEs success is at the heart of what lending should be about.
This measured approach is what Rivers has been built on - taking the time to understand a client. On some occasions that understanding means that we may suggest a customer actually needs a larger loan than they have initially applied for, perhaps spread over a longer term in order to ensure affordability.
For us, it's not just about the size of a loan but the whole picture, and this is where niche funders and non-banks are making the difference in the market, making it possible for businesses to get the funding they need to thrive.If you're interested in business loans for sensible cash flow, speak to our team.
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