Traditional lenders in the United Kingdom rejected loan applications received from one-third of the small businesses across the country last year. Thus, the total of rejected loan requests amounted to £3.6 billion in 2021. Nearly a million SMEs were turned down, citing bad timing, low credit scores, or inadequate collateral as reasons for rejections. SMEs looking to invest in equipment and technology to develop their business requested an average of £331,275 but could get £50,000 less than that amount. Meanwhile, the first quarter of 2022 saw a record low in demand for finance, with only 9% of SMEs seeking funding from banks.
