Record levels of lending at ThinCats despite challenges in market

ThinCats, the leading alternative finance provider to mid-sized SMEs has today announced a record year of lending for its financial year ending 30 June 2025.

Over the past 12 months, ThinCats provided £381m of funding to businesses, a small increase on the previous financial year’s £378m.

Today’s figures are especially positive given the uncertainty and challenges facing UK mid-sized businesses ranging from global tariffs, tax increases on businesses and the Base Rate falling less frequently than forecasted; all of which have a dampening effect on the demand for borrowing.

This is highlighted in the most recent industry figures from Experian* showing a year-on-year dip in UK M&A activity by 24%. In spite of these challenges, ThinCats continues to be the number one debt provider for M&A funding.

ThinCats’ results also give insight into appetite in the market. Lending to owner-managed businesses has surged, especially following the Autumn Budget. ThinCats also saw a significant increase in use of its transactional capital proposition, a flexible borrowing product that is especially useful for companies engaging in ‘buy and build’ strategies. Private equity sponsored deals have remained stable.

In total, ThinCats has now lent more than £2bn to businesses across the UK while assets under management stand just under £1bn

Mike Hackett, Chief Commercial Officer, ThinCats said, “It’s been a hugely challenging year for UK companies.

At home and abroad, we have seen enormous challenges, but adversity can often lead to opportunity with interest and borrower activity across healthcare, telecoms and B2B services. There continues to be huge resilience across the mid-sized SMEs who are looking to grow and invest.

“Despite these challenges, there is more certainty in the market and we are seeing more activity in the market.

*Experian M&A MarketIQ: Q1 2025