Hot on the heels of a new mortgage service for high net worth clients, Investec Specialist Private Bank has now got the UK’s entrepreneurs in its sights, planning to lend the sector over $1 billion during the next year.

Investec said it is responding to a lack of credit for smaller UK companies and is looking to lend to UK entrepreneurs with a strong track record in their chosen sphere of business.

"Many successful entrepreneurs see the current economic environment as a strong business opportunity, but they are finding it difficult to source debt and equity to realise their plans," said Avron Epstein, joint head of Investec Specialist Private Bank.

"This is a huge opportunity for us, and one which we are capitalising on."

Earlier this month the bank unveiled a new mortgage service – called £Million Plus – for high net worth individuals whose profession means that they have an irregular income stream due to lump sum bonuses and the like. To qualify borrowers need to earn over £300,000 (around $470,000) a year, have a personal net worth of at least £3 million and be looking to borrow a minimum of £1 million.