UK small business borrowing costs: definitions and calculation notes
Data checked: 11 October 2026. Data period: January 2024 to August 2026.
32 monthly rows, five published rate series (160 rates), no missing selected observations.
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom. Currency: sterling/GBP. Rates: annualised percent, not seasonally adjusted. Derived gap: percentage points.

CSV columns and official series codes:
sme_new: CFMZ6LD, UK resident banks' sterling weighted average interest rate on other loans, new advances to SMEs.
sme_outstanding: CFMZ6LN, UK resident banks' sterling weighted average interest rate on outstanding other loans to SMEs.
pnfc_new: CFMBJ82, UK resident monetary financial institutions' (excluding the central bank) sterling weighted average interest rate on other loans, new advances to private non-financial corporations (PNFCs).
sme_new_floating: CFMZJ3L, new advances on a floating rate to SMEs.
sme_new_fixed: CFMZJ3U, new advances on a fixed rate to SMEs.
sme_minus_pnfc_pp: SME new-loan rate less all-PNFC new-loan rate. The SME series covers UK resident banks; the PNFC series has the broader stated monetary-financial-institution coverage excluding the central bank. The PNFC series includes SMEs, so this compares overlapping populations and is not a small-versus-large-only premium.

SMEs here are PNFCs with annual debit turnover on the business account of up to and including GBP25 million. Do not substitute an employee-count definition. Rates are weighted by lending amounts, not equally by borrower. Bank reporting sample, not every alternative lender or every sole trader. The new-advance series includes renegotiated loans; automatic contractual resets have different treatment. Fees, overdrafts and corporate credit cards are separately reported. New-business reporting excludes loans with maturities below one month. Data are subject to revision.

Change in percentage points = ending rate minus starting rate. Change in basis points = change in percentage points multiplied by 100.
The article's money example assumes GBP50,000 remains outstanding for one year at an unchanged input rate, with no repayments, fees, compounding or tax: interest = 50,000 x rate / 100. It is a simple rate sensitivity example, not product terms, a repayment schedule, forecast or APR. The CSV contains recorded rates and a derived gap; it does not report actual borrower savings.
Quarterly cross-checks use the arithmetic mean of three published monthly weighted rates, rounded to two decimals. They do not pool loan-level amounts across the quarter.

Source: Bank of England Interactive Statistical Database.
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?csv.x=yes&Datefrom=01/Jan/2024&Dateto=31/Aug/2026&SeriesCodes=CFMZ6LD,CFMZ6LN,CFMBJ82,CFMZJ3L,CFMZJ3U&CSVF=TN&UsingCodes=Y&VPD=Y&VFD=N
Definitions: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/details/further-details-about-effective-interest-rates-data
Latest release: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/money-and-credit/2026/august-2026

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