Head of Abbey Loans, Paul Morrish, commented: “As millions of Brits find that borrowing from or lending money to a friend resulted in the loss of a friendship, we’ve seen that people can fall out over the smallest amounts of money. “

The survey revealed that as many as 4.4 million Brits (9%) lend more than £50 to friends each year, with a combined total of £510 million. The average loan amount between friends in the UK is reportedly £116.

These ‘friendly’ loans are most commonly used as a stopgap prior to payday (36%) and paying off personal debts (26%). 7% use friend-to-friend loans for holidays, car purchases and home improvements, while 6% fund business ideas with the money. 1% buys a present for a partner and a further 1% spends the money on medical expenses.

In response to these findings, Mr Morrish suggests: “Those that need money for items such as cars, holidays, home improvements, or even cosmetic surgery, would be better off asking a bank to provide the funds, rather than risking a relationship meltdown.”

The survey is based on answers from more than 1,000 adults in the period July 20-22.

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