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.

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Approved amount	25%	14%	22%	25%	28%	27%	30%	18%	17%	23%
Cost of finance	50%	62%	58%	52%	49%	55%	53%	55%	55%	52%
Length of loan	12%	13%	12%	9%	14%	9%	10%	11%	14%	14%
Flexibility of product	14%	12%	9%	13%	10%	9%	7%	16%	13%	9%

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)

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
No arrangement fee	--	--	--	7%	6%	3%	11%	8%	7%	14%
Speed of receiving a decision	69%	61%	58%	70%	70%	63%	73%	72%	64%	71%
Duration requested meets lender's offering	26%	40%	21%	29%	29%	38%	28%	22%	37%	29%
Amount requested meets lender’s offering	39%	49%	26%	41%	42%	45%	43%	48%	47%	49%
Commissions available	18%	14%	10%	19%	19%	23%	10%	24%	16%	20%
Level of operational support provided by the lender	9%	7%	13%	12%	15%	10%	11%	21%	13%	10%
Number of documents required by the lender compared to size of loan	14%	18%	27%	18%	24%	20%	24%	24%	21%	13%
Pricing	69%	69%	69%	69%	71%	66%	77%	73%	64%	68%
Lenders reputation	13%	11%	8%	9%	11%	11%	11%	16%	8%	13%
Other	2%	1%	6%	4%	6%	2%	2%	2%	5%	--

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?

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Significantly fewer (down by over 50%)	4%	2%	0%	5%	3%	4%	7%	9%	1%	14%
Fewer (down by 10% to 50%)	11%	11%	8%	11%	9%	22%	34%	24%	12%	23%
Broadly the same (give or take 10%)	46%	49%	60%	45%	44%	35%	41%	40%	33%	42%
More (up by 10% to 50%)	24%	30%	22%	26%	28%	27%	14%	24%	34%	17%
Significantly more	15%	7%	10%	13%	16%	12%	4%	3%	20%	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?

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Up to £25,000	14%	7%	10%	11%	7%	7%	5%	6%	4%	3%
£25,001 to £50,000	26%	24%	35%	19%	27%	30%	19%	20%	24%	14%
£50,001 to £100,000	35%	40%	26%	33%	31%	27%	39%	29%	38%	42%
£100,001 to £200,000	20%	18%	22%	24%	25%	25%	30%	32%	26%	29%
£200,001 to to £500,000	6%	10%	8%	12%	8%	9%	6%	11%	7%	10%
Over £500,000	--%	--%	--%	1%	2%	2%	1%	1%	1%	1%

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

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Very concerned	8%	5%	5%	10%	8%	9%	11%	8%	9%	13%
Concerned	41%	36%	29%	37%	43%	37%	33%	40%	33%	41%
Neither concerned nor unconcerned	41%	41%	53%	40%	37%	37%	43%	38%	43%	38%
Unconcerned	8%	16%	12%	10%	11%	14%	12%	9%	14%	7%
Very unconcerned	2%	2%	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	5%	0%	1%

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

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Increased business running costs	45%	38%	40%	42%	53%	52%	52%	48%	58%	54%
Recession	4%	1%	1%	1%	3%	6%	2%	2%	3%	6%
Having to close their business	2%	3%	0%	2%	4%	1%	2%	2%	3%	1%
Higher interest rates	24%	17%	22%	16%	13%	10%	10%	10%	9%	12%
Access to finance	11%	10%	12%	11%	7%	8%	7%	2%	8%	7%
Ability to hire or retain staff	3%	1%	3%	2%	1%	2%	4%	2%	0%	3%
Supply chain issues	2%	1%	0%	0%	0%	3%	5%	2%	1%	3%
Decrease in consumer spending	3%	9%	6%	6%	5%	2%	4%	4%	4%	4%
Repaying loans	1%	6%	5%	2%	1%	1%	4%	2%	5%	0%
Political uncertainty	1%	3%	9%	13%	7%	8%	5%	23%	8%	4%
Inflation	2%	6%	0%	2%	3%	4%	1%	2%	1%	0%
Other options (combined)	2%	3%	3%	2%	2%	2%	5%	0%	0%	4%

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

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Strongly agree	38%	33%	45%	30%	31%	24%	33%	27%	21%	33%
Agree	39%	44%	29%	45%	46%	46%	39%	44%	36%	43%
Neither agree nor disagree	17%	13%	14%	17%	15%	19%	22%	20%	28%	19%
Disagree	7%	8%	6%	9%	6%	10%	5%	8%	14%	4%
Strongly disagree	0%	0%	5%	0%	2%	1%	2%	1%	1%	0%

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

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Significantly rise	26%	16%	33%	21%	24%	21%	19%	14%	13%	14%
Slightly rise	52%	70%	51%	55%	58%	60%	57%	52%	61%	43%
It will not change	14%	8%	5%	11%	11%	7%	12%	14%	16%	17%
Slightly fall	5%	3%	4%	9%	3%	7%	7%	15%	7%	19%
Significantly fall	0%	1%	0%	2%	1%	1%	0%	0%	0%	3%
Don’t know	3%	1%	6%	2%	3%	4%	5%	6%	4%	3%

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

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Significantly more	13%	11%	6%	3%	7%	9%	7%	6%	5%	10%
Slightly more	31%	28%	31%	28%	31%	30%	39%	29%	29%	33%
There was no change	45%	44%	49%	51%	47%	40%	40%	47%	46%	45%
Slightly fewer	4%	15%	5%	10%	11%	12%	11%	13%	13%	9%
Significantly fewer	2%	1%	3%	3%	2%	1%	2%	2%	3%	1%
Don’t know	5%	1%	6%	5%	2%	7%	1%	3%	4%	1%

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

	Q4 23	Q1 24	Q2 24	Q3 24	Q4 24	Q1 25	Q2 25	Q3 25	Q4 25	Q1 26
Short trading history	15%	14%	6%	7%	8%	9%	7%	5%	8%	4%
Poor credit history	24%	22%	31%	21%	22%	21%	19%	16%	13%	17%
Ongoing debt obligations	14%	16%	14%	13%	18%	16%	13%	27%	26%	29%
Poor cash flow	16%	15%	12%	25%	24%	28%	20%	22%	24%	20%
Insufficient income	8%	10%	6%	12%	7%	11%	16%	10%	9%	7%
Industry is deemed too risky	5%	0%	4%	5%	6%	3%	7%	3%	5%	1%
Late payments	2%	3%	1%	1%	1%	2%	0%	1%	0%	4%
Not a homeowner	--%	--%	--%	13%	11%	5%	13%	14%	12%	13%
Other options (combined)	2%	2%	8%	3%	3%	4%	4%	2%	3%	3%