Why Going Straight to Your Bank Could Be Costing Your Business – Would You Be Better With A Commercial Finance Broker?
The bank isn’t the market – it’s part of the market
What You’ll Learn in This Article:
When a business needs finance, the first instinct is often to contact its bank. While that may seem like the simplest option, it can also mean limiting your choices before you’ve explored what the wider market has to offer.
The UK’s business lending landscape has changed significantly in recent years. Alongside traditional high street banks, there are now specialist lenders, challenger banks and alternative funders offering a wide range of funding solutions for businesses of all sizes and sectors. The challenge is knowing where to look and which lenders are best suited to your requirements.
In this blog, we explore why approaching a commercial finance broker can give businesses access to more options, greater flexibility and a better chance of securing funding that aligns with their objectives. We explain how brokers work, why a decline from one lender doesn’t mean funding isn’t available elsewhere, and how specialist funding solutions such as asset finance can help businesses invest, grow and preserve cashflow.
Whether you’re looking to purchase equipment, fund expansion, release capital from existing assets or simply understand the options available to you, this article highlights why it pays to look beyond a single lender and consider the wider market before making a funding decision.
Read on for more information:
For most UK business owners, the instinct when they need finance is to call their bank. It’s familiar. But familiar isn’t always best.
When you approach your bank directly, you’re choosing from one set of products assessed against one set of criteria. If your business doesn’t fit – specialist sector, shorter trading history, unusual asset – the answer is no, with no obvious next step.
The UK lending landscape has changed significantly. In 2014, the four largest high street banks accounted for over 80% of SME lending. By 2025 that figure had shifted dramatically, with challenger and specialist banks now accounting for around 60% of all business lending. More competition, more options, more chance of finding terms that actually work for your cash flow – but only if you’re looking across the whole market.
What a broker actually does
A commercial finance broker doesn’t lend money. They understand your situation and go to a panel of lenders to find the right match – knowing which lenders are active in your sector, which have appetite for your deal size, and how to structure an application properly.
The numbers make the case. NACFB data shows that in 2025, its broker members arranged £33 billion in SME lending, considering an average of six lenders per deal. One in four clients had already been declined elsewhere before being successfully funded through a broker.
Being declined by your bank is not the same as being declined by the market.
Asset finance approvals
Asset finance has an approval rate of around 96% when applications are structured correctly – compared to 44% for standard bank loans. Different lenders also have very different sector strengths. A broker who works across them every day knows who is best placed for your specific requirement.
If you only ever ask one lender, you only ever know what one lender can offer.
We’re always happy to have a straightforward conversation. Contact us to discuss your funding requirements or for a funding review. Call 01634 386869 or visit firstbusinessgroup.co.uk.
About First Business Finance
First Business Finance is an independent commercial finance brokerage helping businesses across the UK access the funding solutions they need to invest, grow and achieve their objectives.
With more than 25 years of industry experience and access to a panel of over 50 lenders, First Business Finance supports businesses of all sizes with a wide range of funding solutions, including asset finance, business loans, asset refinance, vehicle finance, invoice finance and commercial mortgages.
At the heart of the business is a relationship-led approach. The team takes the time to understand each client’s circumstances, objectives and challenges before identifying funding solutions tailored to their specific requirements.