53% of brokers involved in asset finance say it has become easier to secure funding for SMEs over the last 12 months.

The findings come from United Trust Bank’s recent broker sentiment poll which received 126 responses from intermediaries working in the fields of property and asset finance.

42% of asset finance brokers who took part in the survey felt that there had been no change to the availability of funding for SMEs whilst 5% felt it had become harder to secure the funding SMEs needed.

In addition, 28% of asset finance brokers believe that there will be more funders in the marketplace by 2020 with a further 54% expecting the number of funders to remain broadly static. Just 18% of asset finance brokers expected the range of funders to contract over the next few years.

38% of brokers also indicated that their average deal size had increased in the last year with 47% saying it had stayed about the same. Just 15% said they had seen their average deal size decrease.

Martin Nixon (pictured), head of asset finance at United Trust Bank, said: “Despite the uncertainty surrounding the effect Brexit might have on UK businesses, there’s still considerable demand from SMEs for asset finance and plenty of appetite to lend from most funders.

“Increased competition in the sector has been good news for customers. The cost of funding has fallen to record lows for most customers and lenders generally have continued to reduce margins to compete. That coupled with funders like United Trust Bank continuously extending the range of assets they will consider for purchase and refinance means that SMEs have a wide range of options available to them when opportunities to invest in their businesses arise.

“At UTB we continue to support our broker partners by providing swift and competitive bespoke funding solutions for SME customers located all over Great Britain.”