Funded by SMEs Launching the UK’s First One-Stop Finance Platform for Construction and Manufacturing SMEs

A new specialist finance platform aimed squarely at the UK’s construction and manufacturing sectors has been launched in a bid to ease one of the nagging headaches facing small business owners: getting the bank to say yes.

SME Funded, founded by real estate and acquisitions specialist Bradley Lay, has positioned itself as the country’s first real crowdfunding shop for these two capital-hungry industries. The platform combines access to more than 130 lenders with its own funds, promising faster decisions and more flexible terms than the traditional high street route.

The time is specified. Britain’s SMEs have spent the past two years facing tougher lending conditions, lengthening approval times and a visible retreat from small business banking by the big lenders. The Federation of Small Businesses has repeatedly warned that funding constraints are slowing growth at a time when the country needs it most, while construction defaults remain stubbornly high and manufacturers struggle with volatile input costs.

Lay, who knows the construction industry well after helping to scale the business from £12 million to more than £150 million in revenue before he exits in 2022, is unrepentant about the problem he is trying to solve.

“SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, but when it comes to finance, they are often underserved,” she said. “Traditional lenders are slow, restrictive and risk-averse. When businesses grow, they back them up, and when they’re under pressure, they back out. We built SME Funded to change that. This is about giving business owners real access to money, quickly, smartly and without unnecessary barriers.”

The product range is deliberately broad: business loans, property and equipment finance, bridge and property finance, car finance and software, each designed around the individual borrower rather than being fitted into a standard template. The point is that working capital, growth funding and trade channels should look different to a Midlands developer precisely than a London-based subcontractor, and the platform is built around that difference.

What differentiates SME Funded from the consumer pack, the company says, is service. Rather than acting as a broker and walking away, the team takes on what they call a “white glove”, arranging deals, pitching the borrower’s case to lenders and managing the process from end to end. The three-step application aims to get business owners from inquiry to expense in days instead of weeks.

The team has already worked with over 600 UK business owners, a knowledge base that informs both the platform’s design and its industry focus. A spokesperson for the company said: “Too many strong businesses are being held back by slow processes, strict terms and a lack of understanding from traditional lenders. Our role goes beyond finding a lender. We arrange the right funding, tell the right story and manage the whole process, so our clients can focus on running and growing their business.”

Lay’s pedigree adds weight to the proposition. As founder of Peak Capital Group and founder of TrueNorth Capital Group, he has led strategic acquisitions across the UK and European construction markets and has advised over 100 SME owners on growth, financial strategy and exit planning. Having sat on both sides of the dinner table, he understands what lenders really want to see and what SMEs often fail to deliver.

With the economic climate still uncertain and high interest in SME lending showing few signs of recovery, SME Funded is betting that the sector’s specialist, capital-based platform can make a meaningful contribution. If the company delivers on its promise of speed, certainty and structuring of the right deals, it is likely to identify one of the most compelling gaps in Britain’s small business finance market.