The UK business lending market continues to evolve, with a broader range of finance providers than ever before. 2024 saw a relatively subdued market defined by uncertainty, but our focus remained on offering competitive funding solutions, and consistent delivery.

We invested significantly in our Transaction management team and made a number of process improvements, speeding up funding timelines and increasing overall capacity.

In 2024, we deployed over £335m of capital to ambitious entrepreneurs across the UK. This reflects the dedication of our team, the strength of our relationships within the business finance community, and the flexibility of our offering.

We continue to be a market leader in funding M&A transactions, with over 50% of our total funding used to finance change in ownership, and rank consistently as the top non-bank debt provider for UK M&A transactions.

You can read the full Annual Review here

Providing a range of funding solutions

During 2024 our sponsor lending franchise, supporting lower mid-market private equity backed businesses, continued to perform providing over £150 million in funding and we also saw a resurgence in funding appetite from owner-managed businesses, with over one-third of our total funding dedicated to supporting private SMEs.

Transitional Capital remains one of our most flexible and impactful products and we provided over £50 million to support owners and investors with several ambitious buy-and-build projects.

The ThinCats Healthcare team delivered over £60 million in funding to ambitious operators in the care sector. This significant contribution highlights our focus on enabling businesses to meet the rising demand for high-quality care services.

Additionally, we enhanced our proposition with the launch of the Agile Capital solution, an all-in-one solution for growth and working capital funding, and increased our maximum loan size to £20 million.

Highlights from 2024

• Launching a £300 million Owner-Managed Business Funding Programme.
• Raising the maximum initial loan size to £20 million.
• Surpassing £2 billion in total funding provided to SMEs.
• Leading UK debt provider for M&A lending.

Supporting ambitious UK SMEs in 2025

Our strategy for 2025 and beyond will focus on deepening relationships with financial advisors and ambitious SMEs, helping businesses navigate growth opportunities. By providing funding tailored to each client's unique needs, we aim to partner with many more UK SMEs to help them achieve their ambitions.

As the UK lending market continues to transform, ThinCats remains steadfast in its mission: to deliver flexible, expert-driven funding that empowers businesses to thrive in today’s dynamic environment.