Covering the Risk, Fuelling the Rise With the UK's only insurance for personal guarantees, Purbeck is protecting SME founders from financial ruin - while helping more of them scale with confidence.

Todd Davison, Managing Director and co-founder of Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance, is reshaping how UK entrepreneurs approach risk - offering a safety net where none existed. Entrepreneur UK finds out more...

What problem are you solving, and why now in the UK?
Our flagship Personal Guarantee Insurance is the only product of its kind in the UK, giving directors the confidence to secure personal guarantee backed business loans without risking their homes and life savings. Unlike traditional insurance, which responds only at the point of claim, our model is built on prevention and support. Through unlimited access to our Support Desk, mentoring, and partnerships with restructuring specialists, solicitors, and demand response services, we help customers tackle financial challenges early. This proactive approach has meant that 75% of businesses we support in distress have traded out successfully rather than fail. Our impact extends beyond policyholders. The growing reliance on personal guarantees in SME lending has become a national issue, highlighted by the Federation of Small Businesses. We are at the forefront of providing a practical, customer-first solution that not only mitigates risk but also safeguards entrepreneurship.

What's been your biggest turning point so far?
In 2022, we had been trading for 5 years and despite the challenges of Brexit, the pandemic and a high inflation economy, at that point we had protected over 1,300 directors on over £200m of Personal Guarantee commitments. This included £15m for start-up businesses, on loans from as small as £10,000 to one loan which was over £11m. That was the point at which we knew for sure we had a sound business that would go from strength to strength. We have more than doubled those figures in the following three years.

How are you adapting to the current UK climate?
We're really conscious that small and medium sized businesses are facing high cost pressures – we're in the same boat. So we're working really hard with our capacity provider to help ensure our insurance cover is affordable rather than another financial drain.

What's one underrated move that made a big impact?
Purbeck held a lunchtime networking event earlier this year to raise awareness of our solution amongst the finance community. It was a big risk, we had never held an event before but we used Eventbrite to manage bookings, secured a big space in a pub in the centre of Birmingham and spread the news. Never underestimate the lure of time away from the desk. We filled the space we had booked and had amazing feedback from those who attended.

What's one lesson you'd share with new founders?
Know your USP. We've stuck to niche, underserved markets and develop innovative insurance solutions not available from any other insurance provider. But remember if your product is completely new, you will need to find ways to engage and educate your target market

What excites you most about building in the UK?
The UK is a hotbed of entrepreneurial talent, but scaling up is still harder than starting up. The good news is that we have seen an uptick in loans to businesses under two years old. The average loan size for these young businesses has also seen a dramatic rise - in Q2 2025, the average loan reached £165,538, a 52.71% increase year-on-year. This suggests improved confidence amongst UK entrepreneurs to start new businesses and take financial risks.