iwoca has launched toro, a free PR tool that helps small businesses with no press office win media coverage and show up in AI search. The tool spots what is newsworthy and turns a business update into a story, with a press release, social posts and pitches. It does not mass-distribute pitches; users edit the materials, add their own detail and contact journalists personally. Visibility matters because 84% of the sources AI tools cite are earned, such as journalism, according to Muck Rack. Yet the nine regional publishers since consolidated into Reach, Newsquest and National World employed around 9,000 journalists in 2007, and up to around 3,000 by 2022. Of the UK's 5.7 million SMEs, 5.4 million have fewer than 10 employees. "If you're a small business starting from scratch, you're almost invisible," said Mark Di-Toro, builder of toro.

UK small business lender Iwoca is reportedly up for sale at over £1bn, though chief executive officer Christoph Rieche says any deal would not change its strategy. Sky News reported in June that Iwoca hired Qatalyst Partners to run the auction. Rieche said its shareholders, all venture capital firms, naturally seek liquidity, and that Iwoca's last funding round was in 2019. Iwoca has raised around £70m in equity. Loan origination rose from £952m to £1.5bn in 2025. Revenue climbed 56% to £366m, and profit nearly doubled from £59m to £113m. Founded in 2012, Iwoca has served more than 100,000 small businesses and aims to reach one million. Co-founder James Dear is stepping down this year.

Digital lender iwoca has added a €185m (£156m) credit line to fund its German business. ABN Amro is the senior lender, and investment manager Neuberger provides the mezzanine tranche. The facility lifts iwoca's total commitment in Germany to more than €560m. The company says it needs the funds to meet rising demand for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans. Fabian Platzen, general manager of iwoca Germany, said the firm more than doubled its German loan book over the past 12 months. It now has nearly 13,000 active loan customers there. By 2028, iwoca plans to grow its German loan book to €1bn and serve 30,000 to 35,000 active SME customers. Founded in 2012, iwoca operates in the UK and Germany and has disbursed around €7bn to SMEs.