Charles & Dean partners with FXE Technologies to boost SME lending

Charles & Dean Finance has announced a strategic collaboration with fintech firm FXE Technologies, marking a major step forward in the evolution of embedded SME finance in the UK.

The partnership will see Charles & Dean license FXE Technologies’ Funding Xchange Marketplace, integrating its digital lending technology into the brokerage’s existing business finance offering. The move is designed to deliver faster, more accessible funding solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises.

By combining FXE’s Assisted Lending technology with Charles & Dean’s brokering expertise, the collaboration aims to offer SMEs a hybrid approach to finance – blending digital speed with specialist advisory support. Businesses will be able to search, compare and apply for funding through a seamless digital platform, while still benefiting from expert guidance across areas such as working capital, asset finance and commercial property finance.

Tom Perkins, Co-Founder of Charles & Dean, said the partnership represents a significant shift in how SMEs access funding.

“This collaboration is about unlocking better access to funding for small businesses,” he said. “By embedding FXE’s technology into our proposition, we’re giving SMEs the tools to search, compare and apply for finance digitally – but with the added value of support from our specialist finance brokers.”

Katrin Herrling, CEO of FXE Technologies, added that the partnership would help drive greater transparency and efficiency across the SME lending landscape.

“By combining FXE’s technology with Charles & Dean’s expert brokering, we are delivering a solution that truly meets the needs of growing businesses,” she said.

Now embedded as a core component of Charles & Dean’s offering, the Funding Xchange Marketplace strengthens the firm’s ability to provide a single destination for both tailored support and digital-first lending.

The collaboration also builds on FXE Technologies’ established industry relationships, including its work with the British Business Bank, further reinforcing the partnership’s ambition to improve access to finance for UK SMEs.