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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.

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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.

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Q1 23Q2 23Q3 23Q4 23Q1 24Q2 24Q3 24Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25
Approved amount23%24%29%25%14%22%25%28%27%30%
Cost of finance53%57%53%50%62%58%52%49%55%53%
Length of loan15%10%12%12%13%12%9%14%9%10%
Flexibility of product9%8%6%14%12%9%13%10%9%7%
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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)

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Q1 23 Q2 23 Q3 23 Q4 23 Q1 24 Q2 24 Q3 24 Q4 24 Q1 25 Q2 25
No arrangement fee 0% -- -- -- -- -- 7% 6% 3% 11%
Speed of receiving a decision 65% 60% 61% 69% 61% 58% 70% 70% 63% 73%
Duration requested meets lender's offering 38% 34% 24% 26% 40% 21% 29% 29% 38% 28%
Amount requested meets lender’s offering 44% 35% 42% 39% 49% 26% 41% 42% 45% 43%
Commissions available 14% 21% 16% 18% 14% 10% 19% 19% 23% 10%
Level of operational support provided by the lender 16% 15% 9% 9% 7% 13% 12% 15% 10% 11%
Number of documents required by the lender compared to size of loan 31% 21% 19% 14% 18% 27% 18% 24% 20% 24%
Pricing 55% 61% 63% 69% 69% 69% 69% 71% 66% 77%
Lenders reputation -- 11% 13% 13% 11% 8% 9% 11% 11% 11%
Other -- -- -- 2% 1% 6% 4% 6% 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?

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Q1 23 Q2 23 Q3 23 Q4 23 Q1 24 Q2 24 Q3 24 Q4 24 Q1 25 Q2 25
Significantly fewer (down by over 50%) 0% 1% 7% 4% 2% 0% 5% 3% 4% 7%
Fewer (down by 10% to 50%) 14% 12% 13% 11% 11% 8% 11% 9% 22% 34%
Broadly the same (give or take 10%) 42% 52% 47% 46% 49% 60% 45% 44% 35% 41%
More (up by 10% to 50%) 29% 22% 18% 24% 30% 22% 26% 28% 27% 14%
Significantly more 16% 13% 15% 15% 7% 10% 13% 16% 12% 4%

4. In the past 4 weeks, what's the most commonly requested unsecured loan amount you’ve applied for on behalf of your clients?

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Q1 23 Q2 23 Q3 23 Q4 23 Q1 24 Q2 24 Q3 24 Q4 24 Q1 25 Q2 25
Up to £25,000 14% 12% 18% 14% 7% 10% 11% 7% 7% 5%
£25,001 to £50,000 30% 36% 30% 26% 24% 35% 19% 27% 30% 19%
£50,001 to £100,000 39% 29% 37% 35% 40% 26% 33% 31% 27% 39%
£100,001 to £200,000 14% 19% 11% 20% 18% 22% 24% 25% 25% 30%
£200,001 to to £500,000 4% 5% 3% 6% 10% 8% 12% 8% 9% 6%
Over £500,000 --% --% --% --% --% --% 1% 2% 2% 1%

5. How concerned are your small business clients about the possibility of a recession?

Q1 23 Q2 23 Q3 23 Q4 23 Q1 24 Q2 24 Q3 24 Q4 24 Q1 25 Q2 25
Very concerned 10% 20% 9% 8% 5% 5% 10% 8% 9% 11%
Concerned 53% 51% 56% 41% 36% 29% 37% 43% 37% 33%
Neither concerned nor unconcerned 34% 25% 32% 41% 41% 53% 40% 37% 37% 43%
Unconcerned 3% 1% 4% 8% 16% 12% 10% 11% 14% 12%
Very unconcerned 0% 3% 0% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1%

6. What do you feel small business owners are most concerned about at the moment? (Pick one option only)

Q1 23Q2 23Q3 23Q4 23Q1 24Q2 24Q3 24Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25
Increased business running costs40%37%41%45%38%40%42%53%52%52%
Recession6%6%3%4%1%1%1%3%6%2%
Having to close their business2%2%5%2%3%0%2%4%1%2%
Higher interest rates9%20%14%24%17%22%16%13%10%10%
Access to finance9%12%15%11%10%12%11%7%8%7%
Ability to hire or retain staff5%2%4%3%1%3%2%1%2%4%
Supply chain issues3.7%2%4%2%1%0%0%0%3%5%
Decrease in consumer spending0%4%4%3%9%6%6%5%2%4%
Repaying loans4%3%2%1%6%5%2%1%1%4%
Political uncertainty3%2%3%1%3%9%13%7%8%5%
Inflation11%7%4%2%6%0%2%3%4%1%
Other options (combined)6%5%0%2%3%3%2%2%2%5%

7. To what extent do you agree with the following statement: ‘High street banks are reducing their appetite for funding SMEs’

Q1 23Q2 23Q3 23Q4 23Q1 24Q2 24Q3 24Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25
Strongly agree44%50%33%38%33%45%30%31%24%33%
Agree33%34%50%39%44%29%45%46%46%39%
Neither agree nor disagree14%9%14%17%13%14%17%15%19%22%
Disagree5%2%3%7%8%6%9%6%10%5%
Strongly disagree0%1%0%0%0%5%0%2%1%2%

8. Do you expect demand for finance from SMEs to rise or fall over the next 6 months?

Q1 23Q2 23Q3 23Q4 23Q1 24Q2 24Q3 24Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25
Significantly rise36%31%26%26%16%33%21%24%21%19%
Slightly rise41%50%57%52%70%51%55%58%60%57%
It will not change8%6%12%14%8%5%11%11%7%12%
Slightly fall5%7%4%5%3%4%9%3%7%7%
Significantly fall0%4%0%0%1%0%2%1%1%0%
Don’t know10%3%2%3%1%6%2%3%4%5%

9. Did more of your clients’ applications get rejected for finance in the past 4 weeks compared to the previous 4?

Q1 23Q2 23Q3 23Q4 23Q1 24Q2 24Q3 24Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25
Significantly more7%18%11%13%11%6%3%7%9%7%
Slightly more32%27%24%31%28%31%28%31%30%39%
There was no change40%41%46%45%44%49%51%47%40%40%
Slightly fewer10%7%9%4%15%5%10%11%12%11%
Significantly fewer5%4%6%2%1%3%3%2%1%2%
Don’t know6%4%4%5%1%6%5%2%7%1%

10. What is the most common reason small businesses get rejected for finance?

Q1 23Q2 23Q3 23Q4 23Q1 24Q2 24Q3 24Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25
Short trading history15%18%13%15%14%6%7%8%9%7%
Poor credit history8%16%24%24%22%31%21%22%21%19%
Ongoing debt obligations19%19%12%14%16%14%13%18%16%13%
Poor cash flow22%15%10%16%15%12%25%24%28%20%
Insufficient income12%11%14%8%10%6%12%7%11%16%
Industry is deemed too risky6%2%4%5%0%4%5%6%3%7%
Late payments1%0%1%2%3%1%1%1%2%0%
Not a homeowner--%--%--%--%--%--%13%11%5%13%
Other options (combined)4%5%4%2%2%8%3%3%4%4%

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