Asset Advantage comments on UK Finance Business Finance Review

11 June 2026

Gary Thompson, sales director at Asset Advantage, said:

“Given everything that has been going on in the world over the past few months, we should be hugely encouraged by today’s figures. SMEs continue to demonstrate real resilience and ambition to invest in growth despite a challenging operating environment. It certainly mirrors what we are seeing on the ground in terms of business volumes and what we are hearing from our broker partners.

“As businesses continue to navigate economic uncertainty and the impact of geopolitical tensions on supply chains, trade, costs and confidence, access to finance will remain absolutely critical. While uncertainty doesn’t eliminate opportunity, it does force us to be disciplined and to think more strategically – particularly when it comes to funding needs. Lenders have to be willing to provide that opportunity, looking beyond ever-tightening risk appetites and lending criteria to really understand the story behind the application and ensure good businesses get the fair hearing they deserve. This remains a key strength of more specialist funders, who are able to offer a more flexible and pragmatic approach to work with brokers in support of their SME clients.”