Alternative finance is the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) world’s latest buzz term, promising companies a flexible recourse from a financial landscape dominated for too long by the shrinking availability of bank loans.Demand for credit is outstripping supply for all British businesses and this gap is experienced most severely by small and medium-sized enterprises. Alternative finance, particularly in the form of peer-to-business lending and crowdfunding, is rapidly filling the gap. Between 2011 and 2013 alternative finance grew by 254%, going from a niche to mainstream.  New legislation will make it compulsory for banksto refer SMEs to alternative sources of finance if they are refused credit, potentially increasing these numbers even further.