New finance platform partners SMEs with lenders

BusinessFinanceCompared has £10 million worth of backing from fin tech incubators Bright Bridge Ventures and venture capitalists Blenheim Chalcot and utilises technology that, by simply answering a few short questions, builds an in-depth profile of the business that is applying for finance.

Businesses’ profiles are then compared with a huge range of funders – from high street loans to equity finance to peer-to-peer.  The platform then narrows down the options to the best deals for that business.  BusinessFinanceCompared also hosts lenders’ credit policies, meaning they know exactly what lenders are looking for.

This in turn means that only lenders who are very likely to approve the business in question are shortlisted – giving SMEs an invaluable head-start.  It provides only high quality matches, not every possibility.

One of BusinessFinanceCompared’s earliest success stories is matching Scottish company Warmthru, a specialist heated clothing provider for outdoor sports enthusiasts, with Merchant Money, who lent them £10,000.

Jack Gold, founder of Warmthru said:

“We needed extra finance to purchase re-chargeable lithium batteries for a new range of heated motorcycle gloves. I spent several months trying to get additional finance from my high street bank, and the extra admin was difficult, frustrating and took me away from running the company. BusinessFinanceCompared.com’s transparent and efficient service matched us quickly with a lender, allowing us to expand our business and buy in additional stock.”

Olly Betts, CEO and co-founder of BusinessFinanceCompared.com said:

“It’s not easy, as I know from my personal experience, running a small business. There are a thousand decisions to make every day. It’s hardly surprising that small business owners struggle to spend a great deal of time looking for outside finance, and the complexity of the market makes it hard to know where to get the best deal.

"At BusinessFinanceCompared.com, we’re creating a marketplace where small businesses can find the right finance for them. Our technology matches businesses with the best funders for them, quickly and transparently. We know small business owners are time-poor, so they need a head-start – and knowing which lenders are most likely to approve them can make all the difference. We also offer a completely independent service – businesses can be assured that we’re not incentivised to push any lender or type of lending.   

"Thanks to price comparison websites, individual consumers may have never found it easier to identify and agree the best finance options for them. But, until now, it’s a revolution which has failed to reach business finance – which is bad for businesses and bad for the economy. We want to change that.”