How do commercial finance brokers find new business clients?
Updated 26 October 2026 · by Matt Vallis, Salenovo · counts from our own daily files, read from public registers
The firms that win most new commercial work reach a business at the moment it has to decide, before it has asked anyone for a quote. A haulier applies for its operator licence weeks before it's granted, a contractor wins a public contract and does the work before the public body pays, and a café pays for its fit-out before it opens. We see each of those when the record is published, and say which kind of finance it points to. In our daily files from 20 to 26 October 2026, 344 businesses across Great Britain were at that point for a commercial finance desk, 172 of them opening or about to.
Why timing matters for commercial finance brokers
A business that runs goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes needs an operator licence from the Traffic Commissioners before it uses a depot, and the application is published weeks before it's decided, with the number of vehicles. A business that carries waste registers with the Environment Agency before it starts. Public bodies publish the contracts they award on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender. Councils' food registers and the premises licence applications show a fit-out weeks before the doors open. Each is a dated public record of the moment a business needs an asset, a contract or a unit paid for, and we read them every day. We don't see who lends to them, what they owe or any credit record: this is the premises and the moment, not the books.
The usual ways to find new customers, and what each is good for
Referrals and repeat customers
The cheapest work there is, and the most likely to say yes. The catch is that you can't turn the volume up when you need more.
Your own website and Google Business Profile
These bring in businesses already searching for what you do. They're searching for your competitors too, so you're one quote of several.
Trade bodies and accreditation
The NACFB and the Finance and Leasing Association list their members.
Quote websites
Sites such as Bark pass on requests from businesses ready to buy. You pay to respond, and other suppliers can answer the same request, so the work goes to whoever answers first or cheapest.
Public tenders
Contracts Finder and Find a Tender list public sector contracts and are free to search. The jobs are larger and the paperwork heavier, and the decision takes months.
Bought lists
A list broker sells names in bulk by trade and area. Plenty of names, but no reason to call any of them today, and they go out of date quickly.
The moment a business needs you
Food registers, licence applications, the care regulators, operator licences and the councils' rates lists show the week a business takes on premises, changes hands or is about to open, each dated, if someone reads them every day. That's what we send: a file each weekday of the businesses at that point in your region, graded for your trade. Work the depots, the contract winners and the yards first, then the kitchens, clinics and van trades moving into premises. The job column says what you'd offer before you ring: asset finance, invoice finance, a fit-out loan or a refinance.
What a business at the right moment looks like
The moments at a premises that matter to commercial finance brokers:
| Coming | A business is about to open: a licence applied for, a unit being fitted out, a new company set up to trade from the address. |
| Just moved in | A business has started at premises that had nobody in them: a new ratepayer, a new food business, a newly registered care home, nursery, surgery or garage. |
| Changed hands | A new operator at premises that were already trading: a pub, shop or care home under new ownership, often keeping the old name on the door. |
Last week in numbers
In the daily files from 20 to 26 October 2026, businesses that took on premises, changed hands or were about to, graded A or B for a commercial finance desk: 344 across Great Britain, 172 of them opening or about to and 172 just moved in or under a new owner. 291 came with a landline to ring. 44% of them could not have been flagged by a service working from Companies House alone: the premises isn't the registered office, or nothing new was on the register.
| Region | Rows graded A or B | Opening or about to | Moved in or new owner | With a landline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North West | 45 | 24 | 21 | 41 |
| South East | 44 | 22 | 22 | 39 |
| East of England | 40 | 20 | 20 | 30 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 38 | 26 | 12 | 31 |
| East Midlands | 33 | 15 | 18 | 25 |
| West Midlands | 31 | 16 | 15 | 25 |
| London | 26 | 5 | 21 | 22 |
| Scotland | 26 | 19 | 7 | 22 |
| South West | 26 | 9 | 17 | 23 |
| Wales | 17 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| North East | 12 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
Some of last week's rows for North West, said in words (the file has the name, the address, the number and where each came from):
- A new premises licence business in Wigan, not open yet, 25 October. A landline to ring.
- A haulage or goods vehicle operator in Blackburn with Darwen, not open yet, 23 October. A landline to ring.
- A business premises in Manchester, not open yet, 22 October. A landline to ring. A mailbox.
- A shop in Cheshire West and Chester, opening or just opened, 25 October. A landline to ring.
- A cafe in Westmorland and Furness, opening or just opened, 24 October. A line at the premises, which may be the last occupier’s.
- A care home in Fylde, new owner, 22 October. A landline to ring.
Counted from the daily files dated 20 to 26 October 2026, the seven days to the latest file, as they were read on 26 October 2026. Each event is counted once, on the first file it reached.
What we send
A file by 8am every weekday with the businesses in your region at one of those moments, graded so your team rings the best first, each row saying what happened, when, what kind of business it is and a way to reach it where one is public. £250 a month for a region, or £1,000 for Great Britain, monthly, and you can stop at any month's end. The first two weeks are free.
Questions people also ask
Do you see who's lending to them now?
No. We don't read charges, loans or credit files for this file, and we don't guess. We tell you the business, the premises, what happened there and when, and the kind of finance it points to. Every row with a company number is a limited company or an LLP; whether a borrower is a regulated customer is your call.
Is it legal to email a business we haven't dealt with?
A limited company or an LLP can be emailed without its prior consent under PECR, as long as you say who you are and give a way to opt out. Sole traders and partnerships are treated as individuals, so the rules are stricter. Screen phone numbers against the TPS and CTPS before you ring.
What does it cost?
£250 a month for a region, or £1,000 a month for the whole of Great Britain, monthly, and you can stop at any month's end. The first two weeks are free.