Featured in Global Banking & Finance: The £22bn Question Facing SME Lending
Juice was featured in Global Banking & Finance Review in an article examining the £22bn funding gap facing UK SMEs and why traditional lending models continue to fall short.
The piece focuses on a structural problem. Small businesses are not short of demand or ambition. They are short of lending systems that reflect how modern SMEs actually operate.
Why the SME funding gap persists
The article highlights a well-documented issue. Despite strong entrepreneurial activity, a significant proportion of UK SMEs struggle to access appropriate finance.
This is not due to lack of opportunity. It is the result of lending frameworks built for a different era.
Many traditional models still rely on historic accounts, rigid affordability rules and slow decision-making. These approaches fail to capture real-time performance, particularly for digital-first and ecommerce businesses.
As a result, viable businesses are often underfunded or excluded entirely.
What traditional lending broke over time
Global Banking & Finance points to an unintended consequence of bank-led lending.
As risk models became more conservative, flexibility was removed. Products became standardised. Decision-making slowed.
For SMEs, this created friction at the exact moment speed and adaptability became more important. Working capital needs change quickly. Growth opportunities do not wait for committee cycles.
The gap widened as business models evolved faster than lending infrastructure.
How fintech is changing SME finance
The article argues that fintech’s role is not simply to replace banks, but to rebuild the mechanics of lending.
Modern platforms can assess businesses using live data, cash flow behaviour and trading trends rather than static snapshots. This allows capital to be structured around how a business operates today, not how it looked years ago.
The focus shifts from binary approvals to ongoing access. From one-off loans to funding that supports working capital over time.
What this means for business loans in the UK
The £22bn figure is not just a statistic. It reflects missed investment, delayed hiring and constrained growth across the SME economy.
Closing this gap requires lending that:
- Responds faster to real trading conditions
- Supports working capital rather than fixed borrowing
- Aligns funding decisions with profitability
- Treats SMEs as evolving businesses, not static balance sheets
This shift is already underway, driven by demand from founders who need funding to work with them, not against them.
Closing thoughts for SME founders
The Global Banking & Finance article makes a clear point. The future of SME lending will be shaped by relevance, not tradition.
As business models continue to evolve, funding needs to evolve with them. Flexibility, clarity and sustainability are no longer optional. They are essential.
If you are exploring business loans in the UK or business funding that better reflects how modern SMEs operate, you can explore Juice here.