‘If we don't invest in our businesses, we're going to fall further behind’ — Our latest webinar addresses the £65bn SME lending gap

The live webinar was hosted by Medianett Publishing's magazine manager, Dhuha Al-Zaidi.

The panel — which consisted of Anthony Gorman and Harry Lee, BDMs at Allica Bank and guests George Eleftheriou, managing director at Real Finance; Daniel Own-Parr, managing director at VAS Group and George Corrigan, senior funding specialist at Capitalise — discussed the cause of the significant funding gap and the probable cause for why many SMEs are battling to stay afloat.

The report spotlighted an evident link between low levels of SME finance, low investment and weak economic growth—and currently the UK has the lowest business investment rate in the G7. We learned from the panellists on what the impact of such chronic underinvestment in the UK's SMEs could mean for productivity, and why banks — and brokers, must adapt now or else risk stifling business growth.

We also heard directly from Allica Bank, which launched a bridge-to-term product this summer, on why such products offer measurable solutions for SMEs and brokers alike. This was further supported by Corrigan, who utilised the product to facilitate a transaction for Holm House in Pernath, Wales.

Despite addressing the challenges facing the SME market today, the panellists ended the webinar on a positive note, arguing that the emergence of such products, lender drive and with the implementation of AI and advancements in technology, the UK is steadily, but surely, working towards SME innovation.

You can watch the full webinar, here.