Reach your savings goals with our simple, straightforward savings accounts and cash ISAs.
See all of our reviews
Have your cake, and eat it too, with our award winning Cash ISAs
Discover our range of specialist buy-to-let and residential mortgages, available through intermediaries.
If you're a landlord, you can only apply for our mortgages through an Independent Financial Adviser. Click below to find an advisor.
Don’t forget, our discounted buy-to-let products benefit from our Track to Fix feature!
Find the right finance to get you moving with our tailored business and personal loans.
Developed in response to your feedback about the need for speed, simplicity and accuracy of lending applications, you can now log in and apply in minutes.
Find all the latest press releases from Paragon Bank.
Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, half of the SMEs surveyed are feeling positive about the future of their business, with 49% believing that the learnings from the pandemic will help their business become more resilient in the future.
Decision makers commented that COVID-19 forced a positive need to re-invent their business which will make them stronger moving forward. Results show that businesses have implemented numerous changes to get through the pandemic, including reducing costs (34%), targeting new customers (33%) and increasing customer communication (30%). For the majority, these changes are permanent with 73% keeping costs reduced and 70% continuing to target new customers and communicate with customers more.
Interestingly, 19% of SMEs introduced new products or services, and 18% of these stated it would be a permanent change. Online distribution also saw an increase, with 21% starting to offer products or services online as a result. John Phillipou, Managing Director of SME Lending at Paragon Bank, said: “There were 5.9 million SMEs recorded in the UK in 2019, accounting for 60% of all private sector jobs. They are undoubtably crucial to the UK economy and have faced a multitude of challenges over the past few months. “Whilst it has been a difficult time, we have seen resilience and innovation come to the fore of our SME customer base, as businesses remain agile and evolve to the changing environment – targeting new customers, changing suppliers, producing new products and considering new technologies.” The evolution of customer bases during the pandemic has seen region, profile and type of customer changing for many businesses. Over a third of companies (34%) that had previously sold direct to consumers have adapted so that they now also offer products and services to business customers. Conversely, a quarter of companies (24%) that predominantly have small businesses as customers have experienced more sales to consumers. In addition, two in five (42%) businesses say their business is now more localised, whereas 45% have increased their geographical reach. Nearly half (48%) of decision makers developed more productive ways of working as a result of COVID-19. New working arrangements, especially working from home was most commonly embraced as a positive change, which was attributed to cost reduction, boosted employee morale, better engagement and increased wellbeing. To date Paragon has supported UK SMEs through this challenging period with over £20 million in CBILS lending, with a number of deals in the pipeline due to complete.
The full report can be found here.
For further information contact:
Amy LangeMedia Relations ManagerParagon BankTel: 0121 712 2526
Head officeParagon51 Homer RoadSolihullWest MidlandsB91 3QJ
Paragon Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England number 05390593. Registered office 51 Homer Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3QJ. Paragon Bank PLC is registered on the Financial Services Register under the firm reference number 604551