UK female-owned businesses hold 12 times less debt than male-led firms, says Swoop Funding

New data from Swoop Funding has highlighted a significant gender gap in UK business finance. The report, which analysed debt data from more than 50,000 UK businesses, found that male-owned businesses hold £9.5bn in debt—more than 12 times the £769m held by female-owned firms.

The difference isn’t fully explained by the number of businesses either. The report shows average debt per female-owned business stands at £91,755, compared to £315,246 for male-led firms.

Andrea Reynolds, CEO of Swoop Funding, said the results point to a “fundamental difference in how male and female entrepreneurs access and utilise debt”.

“Another way to look at these figures is that female-founded businesses are more often bootstrapped than male-founded businesses. The perception may be that by borrowing, business owners are playing with other people’s money,” she said.

“Culturally, women may be put off from using debt to fund essential purchases in their business, so there is clearly still some work we could be doing to educate female entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey that responsible, planned debt is an established route to faster growth.”

While nearly one in five active UK companies (19.1%) are female-led—accounting for around 997,000 businesses—the data suggests that women-led companies are significantly less likely to utilise debt finance.

Victoria Shnaider, COO and Sales Director at KidsVip, shared how their approach to strict budgeting and planning helped them avoid debt.

“One of the most critical steps we took was establishing a comprehensive financial plan from day one,” she said. “Each and every expense had to be accounted for, with careful revenue forecasting being done prior to making any material financial commitments.”

Shnaider added that negotiating supplier terms and seasonal inventory management helped preserve cash flow: “Rather than relying on substantial borrowings, we invest our profit in ways that really matter. We focus on allocating money to areas such as product development, marketing, and customer experience that earn it back in spades. Every dollar counts toward long-term growth.”