Former Equals Group execs launch platform with top fintech partners to tackle SME funding barriers
A new fintech venture, Stable, has launched with the aim of tackling the growing finance gap faced by UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Founded by former Equals Group executives Tom Kiddle and Steve Paul, alongside founding CTO Dom Hutson, the brokerage promises to make it easier for SMEs to access modern finance tools that are currently scattered across an overwhelming fintech landscape.
Stable acts as a strategic broker, helping businesses cut through the noise by partnering with carefully selected fintech providers. Launch partners include Stored, Equals Money, Spark Finance, Navro and Finseta, enabling Stable to offer streamlined access to lending, collections, and payments services.
“UK SMEs are still woefully underserved across core financial products which is hindering their growth,” said Kiddle, Stable’s co-founder. “We created Stable to bring together the best tech under one roof, so British businesses can stop wasting time and start smashing their growth goals in 2025.”
The company blends deep sector knowledge with AI infrastructure to fast-track access to funding and streamline the onboarding experience. The model is built to reduce the bureaucracy and delays that typically burden small business owners.
A fragmented market with billions left on the table
Stable’s launch comes at a critical time for the SME finance market in the UK. According to UK Finance, gross lending to SMEs stood at just over £16 billion in 2024—but that figure hides a more troubling trend. While challenger and specialist providers now account for 60% of SME lending, the proportion of firms using external finance has dropped from 50% to 43% in just one year, according to the British Business Bank.
Nearly 58% of SMEs say credit is simply too expensive, while many struggle to even identify funding options. A House of Lords Library briefing highlights how a lack of awareness of available funding sources is a key factor holding businesses back. Meanwhile, rejection rates from traditional banks have surged—loan approval rates have fallen below 50%, down from 67% in 2018, according to Department for Business and Trade figures.
The Federation of Small Businesses adds that many lending applications collapse due to cumbersome paperwork or the lack of human interaction. A separate report from Saffron Building Society found that almost 60% of SME owners believe big banks prioritise larger corporates, leaving smaller firms effectively “frozen out” of day-to-day financial services.
A curated fintech stack for growth
Stable is positioning itself as an aggregator and trusted intermediary that can plug this gap by helping SMEs find the right mix of tools for their specific needs.
Julian Dobbin, founder of Spark Finance, noted: “Our partnership with Stable means we can reach more business owners who need funding quickly and effectively. We aim to revolutionise SME lending in the UK using our AI engine to fast-track the process.”
Danny Howe, co-founder of Stored, added that Stable makes it easier for SMEs to deploy advanced checkout and payments experiences without the budget of larger enterprises.
“The checkout experience is evolving and customers expect more from their buying experience. Our Stable partnership gets our cutting edge experiential checkout product into the hands of SMEs who don’t have large multi-national budgets to build their own.” – danny howe
Other fintech partners echoed similar sentiments. James Hickman, CEO of Finseta, said the partnership gives SMEs access to high-quality payment and FX tools “quickly and without the usual pain points.” Equals-Railsr Co-CEO Ian Strafford-Taylor also praised the founders—calling them “graduates of the Equals Academy” with a strong understanding of the SME space.
For now, Stable is focused on building out its curated fintech ecosystem and driving adoption among UK SMEs. Its mission is clear: to empower smaller businesses with simpler, smarter access to the financial infrastructure they need to grow in a tough and competitive market.
