New research conducted by an independent commercial finance broker, Hilton-Baird Financial Solution, has revealed that exactly half of the UK’s businesses believe that the level of funding available is inadequate, with only 27% saying that the backing from lenders and the government is sufficient.
Business owners and finance directors were questioned on a range of issues surrounding their function by the SME Trends Index. The figure is as high as 26% amongst businesses with an annual turnover of less than £500,000 – providing more evidence that SMEs in particular are struggling to secure adequate funding.
The research also showed that there remains a high reliance on credit cards overall. The use of business credit cards was up 2% annually to 47%. Meanwhile, 12% of personal credit cards were used by 12% of respondents, a figure which increased to as high as 20% amongst SMEs.
Of those interviewed, 50% said their bank manager is the first port of call when searching for new funding. A further 26% rely on their in-house expertise and 23% research their options online.
Evette Orams, managing director of Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions, said: “It is worrying that SMEs aren’t accessing the funding support they need. As the lifeblood of the economy, they are key to its recovery.
“In addition to SMEs feeling that adequate support is not available, it would appear that they are resorting to using financing methods that are inflexible, potentially costly and only suited to the short term.”
Phil Orford MBE, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, said: “The research supports other recent data that suggests many small businesses feel they do not have the support they need to take advantage of the growth opportunities available.”
