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Menna & Equifax UK add credit data for SME funding

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SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Menna has partnered with Equifax UK to add commercial credit data to its AI finance assistant for small businesses, as many UK SMEs report difficulty accessing funding.

The agreement gives Menna users direct access to Equifax credit information within the software. It is intended to show business owners how lenders may assess their applications, presenting that information in plain language and highlighting factors that could affect a borrowing decision before a formal application is made.

The partnership comes at a difficult time for the small business finance market. Figures cited by the companies show the Bank of England has identified a GBP £22 billion funding gap for SMEs, while average loan acceptance rates have fallen below 50%, down from 67% before the pandemic.

Confidence among small firms has also weakened. Public data referenced by the companies shows that only 45% of SMEs felt confident a lender would approve a finance request in the final quarter of 2025, down from a peak of 66% in 2016.

Credit visibility

The integration is intended to help business owners understand the information lenders review when deciding whether to offer credit. That includes late payments, outstanding invoices, cashflow, the age of accounts, and whether company information is up to date.

By surfacing those details earlier, the system is designed to let firms address weaknesses before seeking finance, rather than discovering credit issues only after an application has been rejected.

Small businesses account for 99.8% of the UK business population, but many still struggle to understand how credit assessments are made. The partnership is launching as the UK Government gathers evidence on the barriers smaller firms face when trying to access finance.

Menna is based in the UK and focuses on credit intelligence for smaller companies. Its founders, Dan Mines and Nick Carlton, previously worked on financial products at Admiral Group and built the business around the view that many lending systems are better suited to larger organisations than to small firms.

Equifax, which operates internationally in data and analytics, is supplying the credit data used in the service. In the UK, the group provides information and risk-related products used by lenders and other organisations in decision-making.

The aim is to make the credit review process less opaque for business owners. Instead of relying on a lender’s final verdict to reveal a problem, users can see what is shaping their profile in advance and take action.

Dan Mines, Co-founder of Menna, set out the company’s view of the problem facing smaller firms.

“Small businesses should not have to wait for a loan application to be denied before understanding their creditworthiness. By combining Menna’s Agentic AI-driven insights with trusted Equifax data, we’re helping business owners understand why a bank says no, what is affecting their credit profile, and the practical steps they can take to improve how they are seen by lenders – giving them greater confidence to borrow, plan ahead and grow,” said Mines.

Wider pressure

The launch reflects a broader debate over the availability of finance for SMEs in the UK. Lending to smaller firms has been under pressure for several years, and falling approval rates have raised concerns not only about access to capital but also about whether businesses are being discouraged from applying in the first place.

That has implications beyond individual borrowers. Smaller companies make up the overwhelming majority of the business base, so a sustained drop in borrowing confidence can affect investment, hiring, and day-to-day resilience across the wider economy.

For lenders, more transparent credit information could also mean applicants come forward with a clearer sense of their financial position. The companies argue this could reduce some of the uncertainty surrounding applications, particularly for owners without specialist finance teams.

Matt Jones, VP, Partners at Equifax UK, said the issue had become as much a confidence gap as a data gap.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, yet too many still face a confidence shortfall when it comes to seeking funding. Through our partnership with Menna, we want to help change that by democratising access to the financial and credit insights that have traditionally felt out of reach. This is about giving SMEs a clearer roadmap to funding readiness – helping them better understand the factors shaping lender decisions so they can approach borrowing with greater confidence, build resilience, and unlock future sustainable growth,” said Jones.



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Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant

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Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.

Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.

According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.

The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.

In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.

“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)

Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.

In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.

“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.

“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”

They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.

A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)

The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.

Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.

In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.

That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.

A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.

The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.

An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)

No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.

Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.

The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.

The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.





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Oxford startup secures Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award

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Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.

The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.

Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.

“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.

“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”

Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.

A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.

It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.

Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.

“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”





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UK bike manufacturer on brink of £30m collapse after 139 years

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The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.

Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.

This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.

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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.

The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.

Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.

It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.

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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.

The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.

It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.

Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.

“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.

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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.

“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”

At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.

The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.

Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.





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