This is an interview with SWIG Finance’s Managing Director Matthew Wilde.

Can you tell readers more about your background?

I began my career in commercial banking at Lloyds, building a foundation in credit, risk and SME relationship management. I then moved to the Development Bank of Wales, where I structured and delivered equity and structured debt transactions supporting businesses from start-up through to exit. I also developed funding solutions to address specific gaps in the market, working closely with accelerators and growth-focused businesses.

More recently, I led commercial strategy at Go.Compare for a multi-million pound data services division, managing major contracts and driving recurring revenue growth.

I come from a family of small business owners, so I have seen first-hand the difference between having supportive finance and being constrained by it. That shaped my interest in SME finance early on. I am motivated by commercial performance, and equally by social value. SWIG sits at that intersection.

And about your role and what it is SWIG do? 

We’re a South West-based lender supporting SMEs who struggle to access mainstream finance – specifically we are a CDFI (Community Development Finance Institution – that’s a complex way of saying not for profit social impact lender). Last year we supported the economy with just under £15 million to more than 500 businesses across the region, from Bristol tech firms to family manufacturers in Cornwall.

SWIG is at an exciting inflection point. With evergreen capital now in place, we have a real opportunity to scale sustainably. My role is to lead that next phase of growth, modernising the organisation and driving a technology-enabled transformation so we can deploy more capital, more efficiently, without losing our relationship-led approach.

I see my role as creating the conditions for success. I set direction, build capability, remove barriers and trust the team to deliver. I do not believe leadership is about having all the answers. It is about building the right environment for good decisions to be made consistently.

Can you share more on the funding you have available and the types of businesses you are looking for?

We currently offer two primary strands of funding.

First, Start Up Loans, typically £500 to £25,000 per director, supporting early-stage entrepreneurs as they establish their businesses.
Second, our core business lending, typically up to £250,000 over five years, supporting established SMEs with growth, working capital, acquisition or refinancing requirements.

We are sector-agnostic within our fund criteria. We look for viable businesses with credible management teams and a clear path to repayment. We often support businesses that may not meet traditional bank security requirements due to limited assets, shorter trading history or previous credit challenges, but which are fundamentally sound.

One of our key value propositions is ensuring that every customer has is able to be supported by a dedicated loan manager. Our lending teams take the time to understand each business and the people behind it. This is especially important because, in many cases, we lend based on potential, often supporting businesses whose growth is projection-led.

What does a business need to do in the first instance?

Clarity is critical.

A business should be able to explain:

What the funding is for

How much is required

How it will be repaid

What impact it will have on the business

Up-to-date financial information and realistic cashflow forecasts are essential.

It is also important to understand that taking on debt is a serious commitment. It requires transparency, responsiveness and financial discipline. Businesses that approach the process in that way tend to achieve better outcomes.

What does the funding process typically look like?

When a new enquiry comes in, a Business Manager will make early contact to understand the business, the requirement and the impact the funding will have. Following an initial viability review, typically focused on the current financial position and the credibility of the proposal, the Business Manager works alongside the customer to gather the information needed to progress the application to Credit, where appropriate.

Once the application has been reviewed and approved by Credit, the loan documentation is prepared, and the Business Manager supports the customer in meeting any pre drawdown conditions.

Timescales vary depending on the complexity of the case and the purpose of the funds, but for straightforward applications the journey from initial enquiry to drawdown can be as quick as two weeks.

Strategically, we are reviewing and modernising this process to make it faster, clearer and more intuitive, while maintaining robust credit standards. Technology is central to that transformation.

Can you share your thoughts on what is good and bad practice when raising funding?

Poor practice often stems from lack of preparation or transparency. Incomplete information, unrealistic projections or failing to disclose issues early in the process can slow or undermine an application.

Good practice is openness, clarity and responsiveness. If challenges exist, explain them and outline credible mitigation. Funders understand risk; what matters is realism and integrity.

The strongest proposals are well thought through, grounded in evidence and commercially credible.

Examples of recent successful fund raises?

Encouragingly, we are seeing an increasing number of Start Up Loan customers progressing to follow on funding. Twist Board Game Café and Bar is a strong example of this. Founder Hayley Summers first approached SWIG Finance in 2019 for a Start Up Loan to establish her business. Six years later, she returned for a larger facility to upgrade the kitchen in response to rising demand from larger group bookings.

Another standout case study is Bristol-based photonics pioneer Duality Quantum Photonics. The business received funding to hire senior staff, including a Vice President of Chip and Processor Sales, support ongoing research and development, and provide working capital while navigating an anticipated rise in sales. This is the company’s second loan facility with SWIG Finance, following earlier expansion funding in 2023.

A recent refinance example is Baillie Reynolds Maintenance, a business operating in the social housing maintenance sector. We provided funding to improve affordability and stabilise cashflow. By restructuring their debt with a £250k facility, we reduced their annual cash repayments by around £140,000, releasing significant funds back into the business to invest in staff, equipment, and growth rather than servicing expensive short term debt.

We are also seeing more SMEs use our funding as a stepping stone into the investment market. Increasingly, small businesses are attracting significant equity investment precisely because their SWIG facility enabled them to build capability, unlock capacity, or achieve key commercial proof points sought by investors.

What are the trends you are seeing in the funding space? 

We are seeing an increase in refinancing enquiries, particularly from businesses that previously relied on higher-cost lenders.
Those lenders have a role in the market, particularly in terms of speed and accessibility. The challenge for CDFIs like SWIG is to evolve, becoming more accessible and efficient without losing the strength of relationship-led underwriting and impact focus.

There is also greater scrutiny on affordability and cashflow resilience. Businesses are expected to demonstrate financial robustness more clearly than in previous years.

Your thoughts on the South West as a business environment?

The South West has strong entrepreneurial energy and sector diversity.

We see innovation across technology, advanced engineering, creative industries and green sectors. There is also a substantial base of owner-managed SMEs that form the backbone of the regional economy.

However, productivity gaps and pockets of deprivation remain. Access to appropriate growth capital is uneven, particularly outside major urban centres.

That combination presents both challenge and opportunity. But with strong financial infrastructure and collaboration between public and private sectors, the region has the opportunity to unlock significant potential.

What are you doing to ensure more funding reaches underserved communities?

Ensuring inclusive access to finance is central to our mission – we firmly believe that finance should be available to all, regardless of demographic.

We track impact against the UN Sustainable Development Goals and monitor deployment across geography and demographics to identify gaps.

Broadening introducer networks beyond traditional professional advisers to reach communities that may not naturally engage with formal finance is a priority, and we work closely with a wide range of business support organisations to ensure our services are accessible to as many people as possible.

We are also proud signatories of the Investing in Women Code and remain committed to supporting and advancing female entrepreneurship.

Internally, we continually review our criteria to ensure they are proportionate and not unintentionally exclusionary, and we are investing in technology to reduce friction in the application process and widen access.