iwoca SME Expert Index data
Our quarterly survey on 100s of UK SME finance brokers who collectively submit ~3,000 - 5,000 small business finance applications a month.
How would you describe your SME client demand for finance over the past quarter?
1. When presenting two competing loan offers for unsecured finance to
your clients, which factor would you say is the most impactful?
*From Q1 21 until Q1 23, we had these four options instead of "Cost of finance": "Monthly repayment amount", "Total cost of borrowing", "APR", "Monthly interest rate". In Q1 23 we removed these options and added "cost of finance". We've added up the four old options to provide historical data for the new "cost of finance" category, as all four of the options were related to cost.
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved amount | 24% | 29% | 25% | 14% | 22% | 25% | 28% | 27% | 30% | 18% |
| Cost of finance | 57% | 53% | 50% | 62% | 58% | 52% | 49% | 55% | 53% | 55% |
| Length of loan | 10% | 12% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 9% | 14% | 9% | 10% | 11% |
| Flexibility of product | 8% | 6% | 14% | 12% | 9% | 13% | 10% | 9% | 7% | 16% |
2. In the last 4 weeks, which of these factors most often impacted the lender you chose to send an application to? (you can select more than one option)
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No arrangement fee | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 7% | 6% | 3% | 11% | 8% |
| Speed of receiving a decision | 60% | 61% | 69% | 61% | 58% | 70% | 70% | 63% | 73% | 72% |
| Duration requested meets lender's offering | 34% | 24% | 26% | 40% | 21% | 29% | 29% | 38% | 28% | 22% |
| Amount requested meets lender’s offering | 35% | 42% | 39% | 49% | 26% | 41% | 42% | 45% | 43% | 48% |
| Commissions available | 21% | 16% | 18% | 14% | 10% | 19% | 19% | 23% | 10% | 24% |
| Level of operational support provided by the lender | 15% | 9% | 9% | 7% | 13% | 12% | 15% | 10% | 11% | 21% |
| Number of documents required by the lender compared to size of loan | 21% | 19% | 14% | 18% | 27% | 18% | 24% | 20% | 24% | 24% |
| Pricing | 61% | 63% | 69% | 69% | 69% | 69% | 71% | 66% | 77% | 73% |
| Lenders reputation | 11% | 13% | 13% | 11% | 8% | 9% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 16% |
| Other | -- | -- | 2% | 1% | 6% | 4% | 6% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
3. For unsecured finance, how does the total number of applications you submitted in the last 4 weeks, compare to the 4 weeks before that?
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significantly fewer (down by over 50%) | 1% | 7% | 4% | 2% | 0% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 7% | 9% |
| Fewer (down by 10% to 50%) | 12% | 13% | 11% | 11% | 8% | 11% | 9% | 22% | 34% | 24% |
| Broadly the same (give or take 10%) | 52% | 47% | 46% | 49% | 60% | 45% | 44% | 35% | 41% | 40% |
| More (up by 10% to 50%) | 22% | 18% | 24% | 30% | 22% | 26% | 28% | 27% | 14% | 24% |
| Significantly more | 13% | 15% | 15% | 7% | 10% | 13% | 16% | 12% | 4% | 3% |
4. In the past 4 weeks, what's the most commonly requested unsecured loan amount you’ve applied for on behalf of your clients?
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £25,000 | 12% | 18% | 14% | 7% | 10% | 11% | 7% | 7% | 5% | 6% |
| £25,001 to £50,000 | 36% | 30% | 26% | 24% | 35% | 19% | 27% | 30% | 19% | 20% |
| £50,001 to £100,000 | 29% | 37% | 35% | 40% | 26% | 33% | 31% | 27% | 39% | 29% |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | 19% | 11% | 20% | 18% | 22% | 24% | 25% | 25% | 30% | 32% |
| £200,001 to to £500,000 | 5% | 3% | 6% | 10% | 8% | 12% | 8% | 9% | 6% | 11% |
| Over £500,000 | --% | --% | --% | --% | --% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
5. How concerned are your small business clients about the possibility of a recession?
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very concerned | 20% | 9% | 8% | 5% | 5% | 10% | 8% | 9% | 11% | 8% |
| Concerned | 51% | 56% | 41% | 36% | 29% | 37% | 43% | 37% | 33% | 40% |
| Neither concerned nor unconcerned | 25% | 32% | 41% | 41% | 53% | 40% | 37% | 37% | 43% | 38% |
| Unconcerned | 1% | 4% | 8% | 16% | 12% | 10% | 11% | 14% | 12% | 9% |
| Very unconcerned | 3% | 0% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 5% |
6. What do you feel small business owners are most concerned about at the moment? (Pick one option only)
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increased business running costs | 37% | 41% | 45% | 38% | 40% | 42% | 53% | 52% | 52% | 48% |
| Recession | 6% | 3% | 4% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 6% | 2% | 2% |
| Having to close their business | 2% | 5% | 2% | 3% | 0% | 2% | 4% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Higher interest rates | 20% | 14% | 24% | 17% | 22% | 16% | 13% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Access to finance | 12% | 15% | 11% | 10% | 12% | 11% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 2% |
| Ability to hire or retain staff | 2% | 4% | 3% | 1% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 2% |
| Supply chain issues | 2% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Decrease in consumer spending | 4% | 4% | 3% | 9% | 6% | 6% | 5% | 2% | 4% | 4% |
| Repaying loans | 3% | 2% | 1% | 6% | 5% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 4% | 2% |
| Political uncertainty | 2% | 3% | 1% | 3% | 9% | 13% | 7% | 8% | 5% | 23% |
| Inflation | 7% | 4% | 2% | 6% | 0% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 1% | 2% |
| Other options (combined) | 5% | 0% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 5% | 0% |
7. To what extent do you agree with the following statement: ‘High street banks are reducing their appetite for funding SMEs’
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 50% | 33% | 38% | 33% | 45% | 30% | 31% | 24% | 33% | 27% |
| Agree | 34% | 50% | 39% | 44% | 29% | 45% | 46% | 46% | 39% | 44% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 9% | 14% | 17% | 13% | 14% | 17% | 15% | 19% | 22% | 20% |
| Disagree | 2% | 3% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 9% | 6% | 10% | 5% | 8% |
| Strongly disagree | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 0% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
8. Do you expect demand for finance from SMEs to rise or fall over the next 6 months?
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significantly rise | 31% | 26% | 26% | 16% | 33% | 21% | 24% | 21% | 19% | 14% |
| Slightly rise | 50% | 57% | 52% | 70% | 51% | 55% | 58% | 60% | 57% | 52% |
| It will not change | 6% | 12% | 14% | 8% | 5% | 11% | 11% | 7% | 12% | 14% |
| Slightly fall | 7% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 9% | 3% | 7% | 7% | 15% |
| Significantly fall | 4% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Don’t know | 3% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 6% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% |
9. Did more of your clients’ applications get rejected for finance in the past 4 weeks compared to the previous 4?
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significantly more | 18% | 11% | 13% | 11% | 6% | 3% | 7% | 9% | 7% | 6% |
| Slightly more | 27% | 24% | 31% | 28% | 31% | 28% | 31% | 30% | 39% | 29% |
| There was no change | 41% | 46% | 45% | 44% | 49% | 51% | 47% | 40% | 40% | 47% |
| Slightly fewer | 7% | 9% | 4% | 15% | 5% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 13% |
| Significantly fewer | 4% | 6% | 2% | 1% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Don’t know | 4% | 4% | 5% | 1% | 6% | 5% | 2% | 7% | 1% | 3% |
10. What is the most common reason small businesses get rejected for finance?
| Q2 23 | Q3 23 | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short trading history | 18% | 13% | 15% | 14% | 6% | 7% | 8% | 9% | 7% | 5% |
| Poor credit history | 16% | 24% | 24% | 22% | 31% | 21% | 22% | 21% | 19% | 16% |
| Ongoing debt obligations | 19% | 12% | 14% | 16% | 14% | 13% | 18% | 16% | 13% | 27% |
| Poor cash flow | 15% | 10% | 16% | 15% | 12% | 25% | 24% | 28% | 20% | 22% |
| Insufficient income | 11% | 14% | 8% | 10% | 6% | 12% | 7% | 11% | 16% | 10% |
| Industry is deemed too risky | 2% | 4% | 5% | 0% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 3% | 7% | 3% |
| Late payments | 0% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 1% |
| Not a homeowner | --% | --% | --% | --% | --% | 13% | 11% | 5% | 13% | 14% |
| Other options (combined) | 5% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 8% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 2% |
Want to go back to the SME Expert Index home?
Learn more