The worrying trend has been identified from independent commercial finance provider Nucleus who have seen the number and value of deals double in the last 12 months.

Data from Nucleus Commercial Finance shows that in the last two quarters the number of deals relating to firms with a turnover up to and including £10m has doubled.

Chief Executive Chirag Shah said that at the beginning of the year Nucleus was mainly seeing demand from smaller businesses with a turnover of between £1m and £5m.

He said: “Now we are being approached by far bigger, more established businesses and believe we are the only company consistently offering deals up to and including £10m.

“At the beginning of the downturn overdrafts were being routinely withdrawn from smaller businesses.

“Today there seems to be an alarming trend for overdrafts to be withdrawn from much larger, more established players as the banks change their risk criteria.

“Everyone is now feeling the pinch, but that means a huge opportunity for those lenders who are prepared to think and act differently.”

Nucleus provides funding against applications for a range of construction businesses throughout the supply chain.

It works closely with a team of Quantity Surveyors to ensure informed funding decisions are made within 24 hours of receiving the applications.

For more information on the firm’s services click here