Nucleus Commercial Finance reaches £2bn in cumulative SME lending

Over £450m of the total lending was distributed in 2020 alone.

Just two years after surpassing £1bn in lending, Nucleus Commercial Finance today revealed that its cumulative SME lending has now reached £2bn.

The figure was reached after a phenomenal 12 months of growth, which saw Nucleus lend over £450m to small businesses last year.

That acceleration was driven by demand from firms impacted by Covid-19, and also by the lender’s involvement in the government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

“SMEs have faced a challenging 18 months,” said Nucleus CEO Chirag Shah. “But we have demonstrated the crucial role fintech lenders play in providing the vital support businesses need to survive and thrive.”

During the last year, Nucleus has launched an automated underwriting process and implemented the use of open banking to make quicker lending decisions—Shah says 90 per cent of applications are made within an hour.

In March the lender introduced Growth Loans, aimed at funding growth and providing working capital of between £3,000 and £50,000 with a short term of up to 12 months.

“SMEs and brokers have experienced the benefits of our automated underwriting and Open Banking solutions, and we are extremely excited to take them on the next stage of our journey as we continue to build and evolve our technology to deliver what the industry needs for the future,” added Shah.