Following recent news that lending to SMEs has declined sharply over recent months and lending to non-financial businesses suffered a £1 billion drop in September (according to statistics from the British Bankers Association), borro, the UK’s leading personal asset lender, continues to see an influx of small business owners and self-employed clients.        

Examples from borro’s SME customer base include:

-    A small business owner who raised £27,000 against a five carat diamond ring in order to maximise a business opportunity;
-    A small business owner looking to cover tax bills who was lent £11,000 against a Mao print by Andy Warhol;
-    A self-employed individual who wanted to raise funds for a new business venture raised £40,000 secured against a pair of Cartier diamond ear-studs.

Paul Aitken, CEO and Founder of borro, commented: “Securing finance remains one of the biggest challenges faced by the nation’s small business owners and entrepreneurs, with many still unable to access finance via traditional means. At borro, 60 per cent of our customer base consists of small business owners who use their personal assets to secure finance for a variety of reasons from facilitating a business transaction, to supporting an irregular income.

“The average loan value to small business owners and the self-employed has risen 41 per cent, from £17,000 to £24,000, since the beginning of 2012. The average loan term is five months, with prestige cars, fine art and antiques being the typical types of assets used as collateral. We are witnessing continued growth particularly when it comes lending to small business owners and the self-employed, proof that alternative forms of financing are becoming more mainstream.”