The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has revealed that it has received a letter from the British Business Bank, asking the trade body to provide a formal proposal of its suggested online referrals platform.

The NACFB believes the move means it stands to play a major part in helping SMEs across the UK find funding through a government designated finance platform run by the NACFB.

Its findSMEfinance.co.uk website is currently averaging £1.2 million in leads per day and is supported by a large proportion of its 1500 commercial finance brokers. The NACFB says its technology is there to handle a tenfold increase in leads.

The British Business Bank’s 2014 report found that two thirds of SMEs only go to one provider when seeking finance and 38% cancel their spending plans if their first approach is rejected. The NACFB argues that with 125 funders working with it, it is ideally placed to change that statistic and to send out the message that funding is available.