• Use of external finance by smaller businesses in the South East decreased by 3 percentage points in 2024, while the UK overall saw a 1 percentage point decline
• Despite seeing the lowest volume and value of loans and overdrafts per capita, the South East saw the biggest increase in the number of loans and overdrafts issued by the UK’s top small business lenders
• A decline in the use of credit cards was observed in the South East, falling 6 percentage points from 2023 to 2024
Tuesday 7 October 2025: The British Business Bank’s fifth Nations and Regions Tracker, published today, reports that the South East’s share of smaller businesses using external finance decreased by 3 percentage points in 2024, compared to a 1 percentage point decline UK-wide.
External finance use declines slightly in the South East of England
Though the South East saw the greatest increase in the number of loans and overdrafts from the UK’s largest SME lenders, the region reported a decline in the use of external finance as a whole, falling three percentage points in 2024.
The South East was among six Nations and regions that saw their share of smaller businesses using external finance decrease. However, this decline was less drastic year-on-year than other areas and followed a sharp uptake in 2023.
The South East also experienced a decline in the use of credit cards, with the region recording a six percentage point decrease. Nationally, types of finance used remained broadly consistent from 2023 to 2024, with small UK-wide declines of two percentage points for credit cards (15%),overdrafts (11%) and grants (4%).
Use of external finance stabilises in 2024 among the UK’s smaller businesses
External finance use among smaller businesses saw a slight decline in 2024 (-1 percentage point) to 45%, consistent with a trend of stabilisation since the sharp recovery (10 percentage point increase) in 2023. External finance across half of the UK’s Nations and regions remained stable or increased marginally, with Northern Ireland reporting the largest share of smaller businesses using external finance, with 52%.
Oxfordshire leading the way in expanding venture capital access outside of London
The report found that, although London remains the dominant hub for UK equity activity, venture capital access outside the capital is expanding, with investor numbers rising from three per 100 high growth enterprises in 2023 to five in 2025 and growth outpacing the capital for the first time since 2017.
In the South East, Oxfordshire performed strongest against this measure, with an average of 38 deals per 100 high growth enterprises versus an average of 10 elsewhere in the region.
Increased openness to using external finance
Smaller businesses had more appetite for risk in 2024, with the proportion of ‘Ambitious Risk Takers – those smaller businesses that want to grow and are willing to take risks - increasing from 27% in 2023 to 31% in 2024[1].
This was reflected in the Nations and Regions Tracker, which found that smaller businesses’ openness to using external finance to drive growth rose by five percentage points (up to 38% UK-wide).
However, a cautious approach remains. 19% of businesses that were open to considering finance to grow thought it would be difficult to secure it, and overall business sentiment remained muted. Many may be awaiting stronger recovery signs to feel more confident in seeking finance.
British Business Bank driving impact across South East of England
The British Business Bank has continued to deliver significant support to smaller businesses across the South East of England through its debt and equity finance programmes. This year, as part of its £5bn lending milestone for the ENABLE scheme, the Bank announced that it had delivered £830m to the South East of England. Similarly, the Bank marked a milestone of £2.5bn for its Growth Guarantee Scheme and revealed that it delivered £309m in funding to 1,845 smaller businesses across the South East.
The Bank is expanding geographically-focused interventions to support the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and unlock regional potential. In June 2025, the government committed £6.6bn to the Bank, increasing its total financial capacity to £25.6bn. Of this increase, £350m has been allocated to two new Nations and Regions Investment Funds in the East of England and South East, expanding targeted finance to every UK Nation and region outside London.
Steve Conibear, UK Network Director, South East for the British Business Bank, said: “This year’s Nations and Regions Tracker highlights how challenging the economic environment has been across the UK and regions like the South East of England. However, it is encouraging that strong hubs within the region, such as Oxfordshire, continue to demonstrate that growth and investment outside of London is increasing.
“The British Business Bank is pivotal to providing businesses across our regions with access to the finance they need. With the expanded capacity of the Bank under the Modern Industrial Strategy, we are poised to build on our existing work across the South East of England, including the new investment funds for the region.”
