77% of commercial finance intermediaries surveyed in July believe that the number of loans they broker will increase.

In addition, more than half of these even go so far to say that they believe it will rise by a lot.

business loan provider Spotcap surveyed 132 commercial finance intermediaries over the course of July, with the support of industry organisations NACFB and FIBA. The results were published as part of a report entitled The State of Commercial Finance in the UK.

Meanwhile, commercial finance intermediaries are divided on Brexit. One out of four respondents consider it a key challenge, while one fifth believe that it will bring new business opportunities

Property, professional services, construction and manufacturing are perceived as the key industries for business growth.

However, the number of documents required to process an application is viewed as a barrier. This is closely followed by generating new business and understanding the offering of different lenders.

Despite the healthy size of the SME loan market in the UK  there is still a £22 billion funding gap, with many businesses struggling to obtain capital for their needs , according to the Bank of England. In addition, recent statistics from the British Business Bank highlight the importance of commercial finance intermediaries stating that businesses receiving external support when looking for funding are  25 percent more likely to become high-growth companies.

Niels Turfboer, managing director at Spotcap, said: “Commercial finance intermediaries are an important part of the SME funding jigsaw. The survey insights show that there is a lot of potential for them to help fill the  £22 billion funding gap. The more adaptable and open-minded to change intermediaries – and lenders – are, the better and faster they can compete and grow their business.“

Adam Tyler, the executive chairman at FIBA, the Financial Intermediary & Broker Association, added: “We benefit hugely from such a wide range of lenders and to know that SMEs are still not aware of the choice is very disappointing. My own research has revealed similar shortfalls and the more we can do collectively, more small businesses can get the funding they require.”