The value of Britain's online alternative finance market reached 4.6bn in 2016, new research has found, as growing numbers small business owners find lending opportunities outside of high street banking. more»
Nine of the UK's biggest high street banks will pass on the details of small businesses that have been rejected for loans to three alternative finance platforms. more»
Atom Bank serves both small business and personal banking clients through a smartphone app, doing away with the traditional face-to-face banking models of high street lenders. more»
Small business owners wait almost three weeks to book a face-to-face meeting with a bank advisor and open an account, as new research suggests high street banking is failing to serve Britain's entrepreneurs. more»
Insufficient access to finance costs the average small company 77, 651 in lost business opportunities every year, as owners struggle with limited cash flow. more»
Millennials are four times more likely to invest in UK startups through peer-to-peer platforms than people aged 55 and over, as new research suggests that alternative finance could be creating a new generation of investors. more»
Alternative finance platforms were almost unheard of five years ago. But from a humble start, theyve now provided billions of pounds of funding to small business owners. more»
As many as two-fifths of small business owners rated the service they received from their high street bank as less than good, whereas 52 per cent chose to ignore their bank's advice altogether. more»
Chairman of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), Paul Goodman, explains why small companies have, until this week's bank referral scheme, been woefully ill-equipped to navigate the UK finance landscape. more»
A growing number of Britons are looking at alternative finance opportunities in order to fund new enterprise, as a study shows the increased interest in the government's Enterprise Investment Scheme. more»
