iwoca closes £250m funding structure with a leading UK bank and Waterfall Asset Management to support more businesses with flexible finance
5
min read
iwoca closes £250m funding structure with a leading UK bank and Waterfall Asset Management to support more businesses with flexible finance
July 27, 2026
- The debt facility follows recent growth in demand for finance, with iwoca increasing the value of lending to UK SMEs by 60% in 2025.
- New funding comes as iwoca's SME Expert Index shows increased demand for mid-sized finance, with loans of £50,000 - £100,000 accounting for 42% of all applications in Q1 2026, up from 27% in Q1 2025.
- The facility expands iwoca’s lending capacity, enabling more small businesses across the UK to access the finance they need to grow.
iwoca, one of Europe's largest SME lenders, has closed a new £250 million facility with a leading UK bank and WAM Capital.
With this facility in place, iwoca can extend its lending to more small businesses across the UK - whether they’re scaling up operations, investing in new equipment, or seizing a growth opportunity. The new facility is structured to grow as demand scales.
Building on strong lending momentum
The new facility builds on a period of sustained growth at iwoca. The number of SMEs iwoca has funded across the UK since 2012 has grown from 60,000 (2024) to 96,000. In 2025, iwoca issued 58,000 loans worth over £1.3 billion across the UK, a 60% year-on-year increase in lending value from 2024. iwoca has completed a series of debt funding rounds over the past two years to support this increase in demand for finance, attracting investment from partners including Lloyds, Citi, Barclays, Värde Partners, Pollen Street Capital, and Insight Investment.
iwoca's latest SME Expert Index points to an increase in finance demand in the coming year, as well as an increase in the size of loans. Loans of £50,000 - £100,000 accounted for 27% of all SME loan demand in Q1 2025, rising to 42% in Q1 2026. This growth in mid-size loans looks set to continue, with 57% of brokers expecting demand to rise further over the next six months.
Romain Guilleminet, Head of Capital Markets, iwoca said: "We’re proud to have now grown to a size where we make a material impact on thousands of SMEs and their communities every month. This facility means we can offer more businesses the kind of support they're looking for, backed by some of the best institutional partners in the market. We're delighted to be working with another leading UK bank and Waterfall - their confidence in our approach means a great deal, and together we can make a real difference to UK businesses."
James Cuby, Partner, Head of Europe, Waterfall Asset Management: “We are excited to extend our funding relationship with iwoca through this new facility, unlocking further lending capacity for UK SMEs that are chronically underserved by traditional lenders. iwoca has been able to deliver growth consistently year after year, whilst maintaining strong credit performance and expanding its product offering for its client base.”

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