UK SMEs are missing out on over
£9bn of interest every year
by leaving surplus cash in 0% current accounts and low-yield deposits.
Reference: Allica Bank 2024
A typical SME holding £1m with a single bank has 88% of that balance above the FSCS limit of £120k – effectively uninsured if that bank fails.
Switching is rare. Time-poor business owners, complex onboarding and distrust of new platforms mean SMEs often “park” millions in accounts that are easy, but inefficient and underprotected.
100% backed by UK Government Treasury Bills. Segregated custody at trusted institutions.
Full liquidity. Sell all or part whenever needed. No rigid lock-in periods.
Targeting ~4.0% gross vs. typical low-yield bank deposits.
Ex Swiss Private Banker, multi-million mandates winner.
Top 10% CFA L1 & L2, topped UK in CISI qualifications.
2 x startup CTO, FinTech and AI/HealthTech.
Built PropTech marketplace.
Every workflow, every repository, every meeting is designed around AI.
The opportunity cost of idle cash is now a strategic P&L issue.
Banks viewed negatively post-GFC and recently post-SVB. 40x as many new banking licences issued since post- vs pre-2010. Challenger banks viewed warily by established SMEs.
APIs now allow for seamless onboarding. 80% of Monzo business account openings happened same day as application. Adoption of AI has saved Preservoir £50,000 in compliance costs. Agentic AI will reduce deposit inertia (McKinsey).
Only 50% of business current accounts are opened with legacy 'big 4' banks. SMEs are increasingly willing to use different providers for different purposes (UK Finance).
| Feature | Preservoir | Retail Apps (e.g. Revolut) |
Aggregators (e.g. Flagstone) |
Institutional (e.g. TreasurySpring) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gov Backed (T-Bills) | ● Yes | ○ No | ○ No | ● Yes |
| SME Access | ● Yes | ● Yes | ● Yes | × No (£2m+ min) |
| Full Liquidity | ● Yes | ● Yes | × Fixed Terms | × Rigid Funds |
| Direct Ownership | ● Yes | ○ No | ● Yes | ○ No (Fund) |
The following platforms do not offer business accounts: Hargreaves Lansdown, Trading 212, Plus500, Freetrade, Bestinvest, XTB, City Index UK, Vanguard (UK), Nutmeg, Monument
The following platforms do not offer business investment accounts: Monzo (provides simple savings account – 1.3% net as at Jan 26 for max £1m), Tide (provides simple savings account - 3.6% net as at end Jan 26 for £1m, fixed fee of £69.99/month), Moneybox (business savings account closed to new users).
The following platforms offer business accounts poorly: AJ Bell, Interactive Investor (to open an account users have to print and post a paper application).
10+ businesses committed across construction, tech, healthcare, engineering, finance and FMCG.
40 businesses met, qualified, and warm.
6 accountancy firms with 90+ SME clients in onboarding pipeline.
Minded to authorise letter secured - provisional authorisation date of 1st July.
Annual Platform Fee
Yield on Uninvested Cash
Targeting cash-rich sectors: Construction, Tech, Logistics.
Incentivised partnerships with accountants and advisors.
"Refer a Peer" discount program to drive viral growth among local business networks.
By building our brand we'll utilise mass marketing to allow automated onboarding to scale after our initial breakthrough. This is where unit economics compound.
EIS allocation available.
£350k committed to date.