UK small-business lender Iwoca has closed a £250 million funding facility with Waterfall Asset Management and an unnamed leading UK bank. The company said the structure will increase the amount it can lend to small and medium-sized enterprises across the UK.
Iwoca said the structure can grow as borrower demand increases. The transaction expands wholesale funding for its loan book rather than raising new equity for the company.
Lending value rose 60% in 2025
Iwoca said it issued 58,000 loans worth more than £1.3 billion in the UK during 2025, a 60% increase in lending value from 2024.
The cumulative number of UK SMEs funded by Iwoca since 2012 rose from 60,000, as reported in 2024, to 96,000. The lender has built that growth with repeated debt facilities from institutions including Citi, Barclays, Lloyds, Värde Partners, Pollen Street Capital and Insight Investment. In November 2024, Iwoca announced a separate £200 million package from Citi and Waterfall, after securing other large credit lines earlier that year. The latest facility extends that wholesale funding programme as loan originations rise.
Demand has also shifted toward larger loans. Iwoca’s SME Expert Index found that applications for loans between £50,000 and £100,000 accounted for 42% of demand in the first quarter of 2026, up from 27% a year earlier. It said 57% of surveyed brokers expected demand for that loan range to increase over the following six months.
Romain Guilleminet, Iwoca’s head of capital markets, said the facility would help the company “offer more businesses the kind of support they’re looking for.” Waterfall partner James Cuby said the deal would add lending capacity for UK SMEs.
Sale reports remain separate from the funding deal
The new facility follows months of reports about Iwoca’s ownership options. Reuters reported on Nov. 13, 2025, that the lender was exploring a potential sale that could value the business at more than £1 billion. The report said an initial public offering had also been discussed and warned that a transaction might not proceed.
On July 22, 2026, Sky News reported that Iwoca had hired Qatalyst Partners to contact potential strategic and financial buyers. Iwoca did not confirm the process, telling Sky that it does not comment on strategic or financing plans as a matter of policy.
The potential sale therefore remains a reported process, not an announced transaction. The £250 million facility is confirmed, but neither Iwoca nor its shareholders have disclosed an offer, buyer or agreed valuation.
Alternative lenders take a larger UK market share
The facility comes as nontraditional providers account for a larger part of British SME finance. The British Business Bank said challenger and specialist banks supplied 60% of gross SME bank lending in 2025. When non-bank lenders are included, those groups provided 68% of overall SME lending.
Iwoca’s next measurable test will be how quickly it deploys the new capacity while maintaining credit performance.
