Registrations soar on business funding aggregators as SMEs seek fast finance
Business finance aggregators have seen registrations from borrowers soar amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The platforms help match borrowers with alternative business finance, including peer-to-peer lending, either through direct applications or through the Bank Referral Scheme.
One provider, Funding Options has reported high volumes of requests, particularly for working capital and bridging finance, while another, Alternative Business Funding (ABF), said registrations from borrowers have almost doubled over just the past three days.
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“Roughly half is coming the Bank Referral Scheme and the other half is organically sourced,” Adam Tavener, chairman of ABF, told Peer2Peer Finance News.
“We are talking about swathes of relatively small business owners looking for some sort of lifeboat as incomes are compromised.
“The dominant offering tends to be looking at term loans or asset-based finance if they have something against which they can raise money, that and cashflow finance.”
He said there was no indication from P2P lenders on the platform so far that they will not take any new loans on but he said it could come to this if P2P investors continue withdrawing money.
Tavener said that he believed business aggregators could co-exist rather than compete with the government finance package that has been put in place
“Our platform is good at getting small amounts of cash to small businesses quickly.
“I am encouraged by the fact that if you look at our traffic patterns, there is awareness that aggregation is a quick way of accessing funds.”
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