This is well illustrated by the pandemic: when the UK government lowered the barriers to business lending in March 2020, fewer businesses failed.

Over 20,000 fewer, in fact, compared to 2019 (Source: ONS data).

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) made financing fairer for SMEs.

First, it wasn’t hard to discover the scheme – it was well advertised and all high street banks offering business funding were part of it.

This contrasts with today, when the best product for any given situation may not be one provided by a major bank nor advertised on a lender’s website.

Second, amounts under £250k did not require a personal guarantee. This was a significant levelling of the playing field.

Many of the business owners we speak to don’t want to or can’t give a personal guarantee.

Personal guarantees are great for people who are well off, who perhaps have more than one home, or who have a network of people who can help them if needed.

But the reality is that most small business owners don’t live in this level of luxury. (Don’t get us started on how this wealth inequality connects into a complex system of racial and gender disadvantage!)

According to the British Business Bank, if you aren’t already well off, you’re less likely to be successful as an entrepreneur: Business owners with household income of £75k+ have a median company turnover 12 times that of owners with an income of under £20k.

That’s because those with lower incomes are less able to invest in their ideas, have fewer resources to develop their business prior to launch, and struggle to access the finance they need to help with both those things.

That’s unfair, isn’t it?

Among these, we know which do and don’t need a personal guarantee – even when the amount requested is over £100k. As discussed in a previous article, we also help owners better understand what a personal guarantee is, how your home needn’t be at risk, and can facilitate insurance to cover the loan in the event of the business going bust.

We also do total cost comparisons across multiple lenders with different rates and set up fees, all to find the right deal for each situation.

We further reduce the barriers to lending by helping our clients present their business and accounts in ways that make them more appealing to lenders (here’s an example). We frequently work with businesses that are hugely successful, but just haven’t been able to put together the paperwork to show it to lenders.

By demystifying the SME funding system, we’re helping more business to Rise.