UK200Group member comments on a challenger bank supporting small business

A member of the UK200Group of independent accountancy and law firms has today commented on data that shows a challenger bank’s profits to have soared while supporting small businesses in their struggle for loans. Shawbrook’s loan book has grown to £2.9bn during the first nine months of the year – an increase of 23%. In the same period, its underlying profits leapt by 68% to now stand at £54.5m.

Duncan Montgomery, tax partner at UK200Group member firm Whittingham Riddell, said: “This is great news for small business, as the marketplace is much broader than it was, with challengers not only providing an alternative but pushing larger banks to innovate. Prices on key products for some businesses, including import loan facilities and invoice discounting, have moved downwards, and service is key to retaining customers. With individual banks bombarding business with FATCA requests and Know Your Client packs that are twenty pages long combined with a threat to close accounts if they are not completed, they risk departure of longstanding clients to more understanding lenders.”