How big is UK small business lending, who lends, what does a loan cost and which small businesses get turned down?
UK small businesses owed banks £198bn at the end of 2025 and drew £67.7bn of new bank lending, 60% of it from challenger and specialist banks. Only 14–22% of SME employers sought new finance in 2024, while 52% of SME loan requests were rejected (OECD, 2024) against 20% in 2017.
British Business Bank Small Business Finance Markets 2026; Bank of England Money and Credit (Aug 2025 and Aug 2026); DBT Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024 (8,396 SME employers); World Bank Enterprise Survey UK 2024; OECD SME Scoreboard; Invest in Women Taskforce 2026; HMRC research; ONS business counts 2026; Barclays, Lloyds and Wise filings. · verified as of
How big UK SME lending is and which way it is moving
Bank lending only: loans and overdrafts from banks and building societies to small and medium-sized businesses. Non-bank lenders, asset finance and equity sit outside these rows and are shown in the next section.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding bank loans and overdrafts to UK SMEs | £198bn | stock at end of year | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Same stock in real terms | £185bn | inflation-adjusted | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Change in the real stock of SME bank lending since 2012 | −22% | smaller in real terms than in 2012 | 2012–2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Gross new bank lending to UK SMEs | £67.7bn | new loans drawn in the year | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Real growth of gross SME bank lending since 2012 | +24% | new lending grew while the stock shrank | 2012–2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Annual growth of bank borrowing by SMEs | 4.1% | seasonally adjusted | Jul 2026 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Annual growth of bank borrowing by large businesses | 8.9% | benchmark · large firms borrow faster | Aug 2026 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Net bank borrowing by SMEs in the month | £0.9bn | including overdrafts | Aug 2026 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Outstanding SME loans from commercial banks | 6.53% of GDP | 2025 | api.imf.org | |
| SME share of new business loans | 23.5% | share of all new business lending going to SMEs | 2024 | sdmx.oecd.org |
| SME share of outstanding business loans | 33.3% | down from 38.4% in 2014 | 2024 | sdmx.oecd.org |
Who lends to small businesses
Shares are of gross SME bank lending. Bank rows come from the banks' own filings and cover their business-banking divisions, which are defined differently by each bank.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challenger and specialist banks — share of gross SME bank lending | 60% | the big high-street banks hold the rest | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Finance from non-bank lenders to smaller businesses | £18.3bn | outside the bank lending totals above | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Lloyds Banking Group — small business deposit share | 21% | versus high-street banks | Q1 2026 | sec.gov |
| Lloyds — loans to Business and Commercial Banking customers | £28.7bn | end of June | Jun 2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays UK — loans to Business Banking customers | £17.7bn | end of June | Jun 2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays UK — change in Business Banking loans | −5.9% | year on year | Jun 2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays UK — Business Banking customer deposits | £51.1bn | about 2.9 times its business loans | Jun 2026 | sec.gov |
What a loan costs and what lenders ask for
Bank of England rates are effective rates on new loans in the month. World Bank Enterprise Survey rows cover firms with 5+ employees; OECD rows use the national survey reported to the OECD Scoreboard. The two collateral measures have different bases — share of loans against share of enterprises.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effective interest rate on new bank loans — all businesses | 5.57% | private non-financial corporations | Aug 2026 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Extra interest an SME pays over the all-business rate | +1.06 pp | SME rate minus all-business rate | Aug 2026 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Effective interest rate on new bank loans — SMEs | 6.35% | a year earlier | Aug 2025 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Loans that required collateral — all firms | 23.98% | share of loans | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org |
| Loans that required collateral — small firms | 47.81% | share of loans | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org |
| SMEs asked for collateral | 41% | share of SMEs | 2024 | sdmx.oecd.org |
| Days to a decision on a loan application — all firms | 16.33 days | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org | |
| Days to a decision on a loan application — small firms | 31.39 days | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org | |
| Cost to receive the main type of electronic payment — all firms | 0.73% | of transaction value | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org |
| Cost to receive the main type of electronic payment — small firms | 0.55% | of transaction value | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org |
Who borrows, how much and for what
LSBS covers UK businesses with 1–249 employees; "external finance" includes credit cards, overdrafts, loans, leasing and grants. British Business Bank rows cover smaller businesses in its finance survey.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SME employers using any external finance — micro (1–9) | 70% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| SME employers using any external finance — small (10–49) | 82% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| SME employers using any external finance — medium (50–249) | 87% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| SME employers using credit cards as finance | 38% | the most-used instrument | 2024 | gov.uk |
| Sought new finance in the last 12 months — micro | 14% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Sought new finance in the last 12 months — small | 18% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Sought new finance in the last 12 months — medium | 22% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Median amount of finance sought — micro | £30,000 | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Median amount of finance sought — small | £100,000 | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Median amount of finance sought — medium | £500,000 | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Using alternative (non-bank) finance — micro | 4% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Using alternative (non-bank) finance — small | 10% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Using alternative (non-bank) finance — medium | 18% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Smaller businesses that are permanent non-borrowers | 41% | do not use and do not plan to use finance | Q2 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
| Smaller businesses happy to use finance to grow | 35% | Q3 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk | |
| Considered more than one provider when last applying | 34% | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk | |
| Confident where to find information on finance | 62% | 2025 | british-business-bank.co.uk |
Who gets turned down — and who does not apply
Three different bases: OECD — share of SME loan requests rejected; World Bank — share of all firms whose last application was rejected; Bank of England — SMEs that said they were underinvesting. The gender rows are shares of total application or approval value, by who leads the business.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SME loan requests rejected | 52% | share of loan requests | 2024 | sdmx.oecd.org |
| SME loan requests rejected | 44% | 2022 | sdmx.oecd.org | |
| SME loan requests rejected | 20% | pre-pandemic | 2017 | sdmx.oecd.org |
| Firms whose most recent loan application was rejected | 8.18% | share of all firms, not of applicants | 2024 | data360api.worldbank.org |
| SME employers calling finance a major obstacle | 16% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Underinvesting SMEs: credit is too expensive | 58% | SMEs that said they were underinvesting | 2023 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Underinvesting SMEs: expect an application to fail | 29% | discouraged borrowers | 2023 | bankofengland.co.uk |
| Underinvesting SMEs: not enough collateral | 33% | 2023 | bankofengland.co.uk | |
| Women-led businesses — share of SME loan application value | 7% | male-led: 44% | Q2 2025 | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| Women-led businesses — share of approved SME loan value | 5% | male-led: 41% · mixed-gender: 36% | 2025 | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| Women-led SMEs using external finance | 37% | male-led: 49% | 2025 | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| Women-led SMEs that are permanent non-borrowers | 48% | male-led: 38% | 2025 | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
Late payment and trade credit
Trade credit = letting customers pay after delivery. The "problem" rows are shares of SME employers that give trade credit.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SME employers giving customers trade credit — micro | 45% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| SME employers giving customers trade credit — small | 52% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| SME employers giving customers trade credit — medium | 59% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Late payment is a problem — micro | 57% | of those giving trade credit | 2024 | gov.uk |
| Late payment is a problem — small | 59% | of those giving trade credit | 2024 | gov.uk |
| Late payment is a problem — medium | 52% | of those giving trade credit | 2024 | gov.uk |
| SME employers for whom late payment is a problem | 27% | all SME employers | 2024 | gov.uk |
| Businesses avoiding specific customers because of how they pay | 15% | all UK businesses, YouGov/IFF survey for DBT | 2024 (survey Jan–Feb 2025) | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
Finance software already in the back office
LSBS rows are shares of SME employers by size. The HMRC rows come from HMRC research on VAT-registered businesses.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accountancy software — micro | 78% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Accountancy software — small | 88% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Accountancy software — medium | 92% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Payroll software — micro | 53% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Payroll software — small | 74% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Payroll software — medium | 80% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Electronic invoicing — micro | 60% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Electronic invoicing — small | 69% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| Electronic invoicing — medium | 74% | 2024 | gov.uk | |
| VAT-registered SMEs using Sage accounting software | 48% | HMRC e-invoicing survey | 2025 | gov.uk |
| VAT-registered SMEs that do not recall HMRC e-invoicing communications | 91% | 2025 | gov.uk | |
| Time saved a year by businesses on full Making Tax Digital software | 32–49 million hours | all VAT businesses using fully functional software | 2022–23 | gov.uk |
| Value of time saved per business below the VAT threshold | £382 a year | 2022–23 | gov.uk |
How many UK businesses there are, by turnover
VAT- and/or PAYE-registered enterprises, all industries, ONS UK Business: activity, size and location 2026. Turnover bands in pounds.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover £0–49k | 384,010 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £50–99k | 515,275 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £100–249k | 884,940 | enterprises · the largest band | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £250–499k | 413,185 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £500–999k | 266,715 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £1–2m | 142,550 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £2–5m | 97,755 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £5–10m | 37,325 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £10–50m | 33,970 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
| Turnover £50m+ | 11,260 | enterprises | 2026 | ons.gov.uk |
What SME finance providers earn
Figures from listed providers' own filings, for their business segments. One fintech, one high-street bank — not a market average.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wise — active business customers | 0.9 million | FY2026 | sec.gov | |
| Wise — take rate on business cross-border volume | 0.39% | FY2026 | sec.gov | |
| Wise — new customers acquired by word of mouth | 70% | all customers | FY2026 | sec.gov |
| Wise Business customers with a balance using accounting integrations | 12% | Xero, QuickBooks and others | FY2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays UK — Business Banking total income | £1,081m | first half | H1 2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays UK — Business Banking income growth | +6% | year on year, first half | H1 2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays — credit-impaired (Stage 3) share of Business Banking exposure | 5.6% | end of June | Jun 2026 | sec.gov |
| Barclays — Stage 2 share of Business Banking exposure | 16.1% | loans with increased credit risk | Jun 2026 | sec.gov |
Rules a finance or accounting product has to plan for
Verified against the government's own announcement.
| Metric | Value | Segment | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies House — accounts filing only through commercial software (iXBRL) | from 1 April 2028 | all UK companies; web and paper filing close; small and micro companies may still file without a profit and loss account | announced Oct 2026 | gov.uk |
| CMA — proposed third-party access to iPhone contactless (NFC) for payments | proposed | consultation closes 17 November 2026 | announced Oct 2026 | gov.uk |
| CMA — proposed strategic market status for Microsoft in business software | proposed | final decision due by February 2027 | announced Oct 2026 | gov.uk |
Why UK SME finance numbers seem to disagree
Four things change the answer. First, stock against flow: the outstanding stock of SME bank lending is 22% smaller in real terms than in 2012, while gross new lending each year is 24% higher in real terms — firms borrow and repay faster, they do not owe more. Second, the denominator of a rejection rate: the OECD figure (52%) is the share of SME loan requests that were turned down, the World Bank figure (8.18%) is the share of all firms, most of which never applied, and the Bank of England figures are shares of SMEs that said they were underinvesting. Third, who counts as an SME: LSBS covers employers with 1–249 staff, the World Bank survey covers firms with 5+ employees, and the British Business Bank uses its own smaller-business survey; bank filings use each bank's own business-banking perimeter. Fourth, bank against non-bank: the £198bn and £67.7bn rows are bank lending only; the £18.3bn from non-bank lenders sits on top and is not in those totals. Read each row against its own base.
British Business Bank — Small Business Finance Markets 2026 · Bank of England — Money and Credit, August 2026 · DBT — Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024 · OECD — Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard · World Bank — Enterprise Surveys, United Kingdom 2024
Methodology
Every number on this page is a fact node in the God of Startups Atlas — a knowledge graph where each metric carries its source URL, reporting period, evidence tier and the verbatim quote it was taken from. All rows are tier 1: official or statutory sources (British Business Bank, Bank of England, Department for Business and Trade, HMRC, ONS, OECD, IMF, World Bank) and companies' own regulatory filings (Barclays, Lloyds, Wise). Regulations come from verified rule records with their primary source. Values are shown in the currency and precision the source reports; billions are the source's own units. Nothing is converted, estimated or modelled.
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