Reward Funding challenges traditional lending

Following another record year, Reward Funding has released an overview of its performance and activity across 2025, with a focus on providing funding for all sectors and leading on industry debate to further support introducers and SMEs. The business has also set out its early priorities for 2026.

Reward was named as The Sunday Times’ ‘Best Places to Work’ earlier in the year, for the second consecutive year. This acknowledges the company’s sustained focus on workplace culture and creating a supportive environment for growth. The business also passed the mammoth £350m lending milestone for the first time in its 15-year history, and to date has backed over £1.45 billion of ambition and over 2,000 clients.

A key focus throughout the year was a strengthened regional presence, with new team members onboarded across the Midlands, Greater London and the North East. These additions support increased deal activity and improved funding accessibility for introducers and their SMEs clients.

Throughout the year, Reward led the conversation on key industry discussions such as SME policy and economic conditions. This included challenging the government and regulators to do more in terms of supporting SMEs, leading the way in rate reviews, the Spring statement and Autumn budget. Commentary was focused on the challenges faced by SMEs and the importance of providing support to get the economy moving again.

Deal activity throughout the year continued to increase, enabling investment and growth for over 225 SMEs. Many of these businesses couldn’t be supported by traditional lenders due to time limitations or deal complexity.

Nick Smith, group managing director of Reward Funding, said: “2025 has been another successful year for Reward. We’ve taken the steps needed to lead the way in industry discussions, becoming a key voice in rallying the relevant bodies to support SMEs before it is too late. We pride ourselves on our flexible funding model, something others cannot match.”

“As we move into 2026, we plan to go even further. Supporting more businesses who want to shape their own investment, momentum and growth. Even in uncertainty, we plan to continue providing stability while helping SMEs across the UK seize opportunities that others may overlook.”

Looking to 2026, Reward is preparing for further expansion of its loan book and client portfolio.