Commercial finance brokers are largely upbeat about their prospects over the next 12 months, according to new research from SME funder Asset Advantage.

The survey found that 46% of commercial finance brokers describe themselves as optimistic about the year ahead, while a further 43% take a neutral view of their business outlook over the coming 12 months.

Only 11% say they feel pessimistic, suggesting that caution remains, but that confidence broadly outweighs concern across the sector.

Despite this generally positive sentiment, brokers continue to face persistent challenges. When asked to identify their biggest obstacles, managing client expectations alongside information and process bottlenecks emerged as the most common response, cited by 21% of respondents.

Lender appetite and inconsistency also featured prominently, selected by 18% of commercial brokers. Respondents pointed to the difficulty of aligning their understanding of a client’s business with shifting or narrowly defined lender criteria, noting that deals can still fall outside appetite even when fundamentals appear sound.

Asset Advantage said its findings underline the importance of closer collaboration and clearer dialogue between brokers and funders, with an emphasis on trusting specialist expertise while ensuring opportunities are assessed within the right context and criteria.

Separate research from Asset Advantage suggests brokers expect asset finance and business acquisitions to be key drivers of SME funding demand over the coming year. This points to a growing appetite among small and medium-sized enterprises for lending to support expansion and growth.

Asset Advantage provides asset finance and growth-based business loans of up to £500,000 to UK SMEs, typically supporting hard and soft asset purchases, business acquisitions and management buy-outs. The lender adopts a flexible approach to asset types and sectors, provided debt serviceability and risk profiles remain robust.

Gary Thompson, sales director at Asset Advantage, said: “With our survey identifying significant appetite among SMEs for funding to help them grow, we shouldn’t be surprised to see many commercial brokers anticipating a positive year ahead.

“As these enterprises look to make critical investments and grow, both expert advice and flexible funding will be essential components in making these ambitions a reality.

“It’s clear that delivering on this for SMEs can still be far from straightforward for many brokers, with inefficiencies around processes and inconsistencies across SME lending.

“For us funders, this is a clear call to not just communicate appetite more clearly, but to broaden our horizons – particularly as brokers continue to find themselves held back by the opaque lending practices, rigid processes and restrictive appetites to credit of more mainstream banks and funders.

“To ensure brokers are supported and good businesses have access to the necessary funding, we need to be focused on growth, and agile and pragmatic enough to deliver that difference – something that is arguably a key attribute of more boutique, specialist funders and providers such as ourselves.”