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August 27, 2026
Partner, Chief Economist
Today's Spark comes with a welcome. Huw van Steenis has joined Apollo in London. He brings decades of experience across European banking and markets, and will be writing here on Europe, the UK and the ongoing evolution of private markets.
We start by looking at how the UK's corporate funding model has changed, see charts below.
Twenty years ago, banks provided 57% of UK corporate debt. Today, investors are the largest source, at 56%.
All the real growth has come from capital markets. Adjusted for inflation, bank lending to UK companies has fallen 10% since 2005, while market-based finance has grown around 50%.
The menu is also much broader. Twenty years ago, market finance meant bonds. Today, public bonds are 40% of UK corporate debt, with private bonds, direct and broadly syndicated loans, and other non-bank lending adding a further 16%. Most of it is investment grade.
Bank lending has gone global. Overseas banks have lifted their share of UK corporate bank lending from 17% before the 2008 financial crisis to 27% today.
The bottom line is that UK companies can now tap a deeper and more diverse pool of capital than at any point in two decades. More sources of funding mean more resilience, better access and less dependence on any single part of the financial system.
Sources: Bank of England, Apollo European and Policy Strategist
Sources: Financial Stability Report November 2024, Apollo European and Policy Strategist
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