Concerns about potential tax changes in the upcoming Budget may be behind the lessening appetite for commercial borrowing seen by brokers, the latest SME Pulse from Atom bank has revealed.

Atom bank carries out a quarterly poll of commercial mortgage brokers, gauging their experiences and expectations for the market in the months ahead.

The SME Pulse for Q3 2025 found the vast majority of brokers (92%) said their clients had some level of concern about potential property tax or Capital Gains Tax changes in the Budget, with over half (53%) stating their clients were ‘very concerned’.

There was similar disquiet about rumoured changes to business rates, where the vast majority suggested clients are worried – again well over half (54%) of brokers said their clients were ‘slightly concerned’, while a third (32%) reported clients as being ‘very concerned’.

As a result, two fifths (41%) of brokers said their clients were delaying investment decisions until they have a clearer idea of the tax implications following the Budget.

Brokers were also quizzed on the attitude among their clients towards green lending. Over a third (35%) of brokers said they were currently not discussing the need to make commercial premises more energy efficient with their SME clients, yet the vast majority (90%) said clients were likely to seek finance to fund such a project should the Budget offer new tax breaks for green business improvements.

This suggests green finance represents an opportunity for brokers should the necessary incentives make it into the Budget. Even if it doesn’t, there will be some clients who might benefit from advice on funding efficiency improvements, yet those discussions are not currently happening with brokers.

Commenting on the latest figures Atom Bank head of business lending Tom Renwick commented: “Demand from business borrowers seems to have plateaued, with exactly half of the brokers polled for the SME Pulse reporting no change in appetite. And the reason seems pretty clear – this month’s Budget.

“Given the uncertainty about potential changes to the tax system, some business owners are understandably opting to pause their plans until they have a clearer picture of their future costs. Tax represents a significant outlay for SMEs, so it’s little wonder brokers are seeing so much concern among their clients about the likelihood of larger bills.”