Asset Advantage, a provider of business finance for SMEs, has launched a survey to uncover the key challenges and opportunities facing commercial brokers in securing business funding for clients.

The business finance survey from Asset Advantage questions commercial brokers on a range of topics to determine the changing demands of the market and the growing complexity of cases. It will identify the key factors facing commercial brokers when securing funding, including how lenders have adapted their criteria and approach to lending.

The survey will also focus on the growing use of business loans as a means to secure funding for hard and soft assets, as well as for business expansion and acquisition. Asset Advantage just recently celebrated 10 years of offering business loans with the launch of its new online content hub for brokers.

The survey is now live and open to all commercial finance brokers to complete – including Asset Advantage’s own panel of more than 300 commercial brokers.

Philip Knight, credit and risk director at Asset Advantage, said: “There’s no question that demand for funding among SMEs has only increased in recent years. At the same time, the reasons and requirements for funding have continued to broaden too, whether it’s for investment, expansion or acquisition. Through the insights and experiences of commercial brokers, we will be able to take closer look at the current landscape of the market, its challenges and its opportunities.

“We will also be able to map out the continued growth of business loans and their use beyond pure business acquisition. This is something we are certainly seeing at Asset Advantage, although we do hear anecdotally of the difficulties some brokers face in securing this type of funding for certain cases and from other lenders. By exploring this topic in the survey, we can continue to provide brokers with real value to inform their decision making.”