The lender was founded in 2017 by a group of asset finance specialists, backed by a private equity fund managed by Cabot Square Capital. Since inception it has provided more than £700 million in lending to more than 4,500 British SMEs, and focuses on sectors of the UK economy that are often overlooked by mainstream lenders, such as transport, construction, manufacturing, recycling and agriculture.

In September it launched its end-to-end digital finance service Simply Connect, which allows businesses to manage their funding from application to final payment entirely online. Simply Connect is Open Banking-enabled, making the underwriting process faster and more efficient for borrowers.

Mike Randall, CEO of Simply, said: “The last two years have been extremely difficult for a lot of British businesses and we have tried to do our part to ease the burden. We kept lending to UK SMEs when many didn’t and the growth we’ve seen is a testament to that.

“We see our customers as long-term partners, and that means sticking by them when times are tough. Our growth isn’t just numbers – it’s proof that we have helped thousands of SMEs steady the ship and return to growth through the pandemic.

“We couldn’t have achieved any of this without our customers and partners. Thanks to them, we’re well on track to continue our growth trajectory.”

The British Business Bank recently increased Simply’s funding line under its ENABLE Funding programme to allow £300m of capacity for Simply to support UK SMEs growth.

The FT1000 list, a joint venture between the Financial Times and research provider Statista, tracks the 1,000 fastest-growing businesses in Europe.

Simply revenues rise 22-fold in three years