Small firms are finding it increasingly costly to raise new finance, according to the latest research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The findings were announced ahead of a Bank of England (BoE) decision to raise interest rates to 0.75% Four in ten (42%) small firms describe new credit as ‘unaffordable’ in Q3 2018,…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened a consultation on new rules for loan-based crowdfunding platforms. The changes the FCA is proposing are designed to address the ways in which the loan-based crowdfunding model has developed since the FCA last reviewed the sector in December 2016. The FCA has observed the variety of loan-based crowdfunding business…
SME Lender, Spotcap has appointed Andrew Caulfield as a Senior Underwriter. He joins the lender’s growing team, which now consist of 130 employees globally. Caulfield brings over six years of experience in risk management with RateSetter in the UK and AIB – Allied Irish Banks, to the role. At Spotcap, he will be responsible for assessing…
Alternative finance specialist, ThinCats has appointed a vastly experienced ex-banking professional to cover the Yorkshire region. Ben Kimball joins ThinCats after a 15-year career working with SMEs for the likes of Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. He has supported SMEs in both Yorkshire and Scotland during his career and is…
The FCA’s efforts to improve financial services for SMEs has been the subject of the organisations latest annual report, SMEs are contributing more than £200bn a year, but increasingly feel under-served by banks. SMEs main ask from banks is financial planning tools and business growth advice, especially money management and cash flow tools according to research…
A large majority of brokers think they will increase the amount of bridging finance they do over the next 12 months, according to a broker survey by specialist bridging lender Hope Capital, with 97% of broker saying that they are more than happy to work with unregulated lenders. Hope Capital’s survey revealed that for more…
New figures from a finance industry survey have shown that restricted cash flow and lack of bank support are the top challenges facing SMEs – but that the majority of advisers would recommend alternative finance to unlock the path to growth. The survey of the UK’s advisory professionals’ community by alternative finance specialists ThinCats showed…
The Number of new loans to SMEs has increased in Quarter 1 according to new figures from UK Finance Commenting on the data, Stephen Pegge, Managing Director, Commercial at UK Finance said “The number of new approved loans to SMEs grew slightly in the first quarter of the year, driven in part by increased demand…
BNP Paribas Asset Management announced that its SME (Small & Medium-sized Enterprise) Alternative Financing platform has completed its first transaction, a six-year senior unsecured amortising loan. The loan will enable a specialist recruitment services company based in the West of England to support its business growth. SME Alternative Financing offers BNPP AM’s client base differentiated and…
Alternative business lender ThinCats has announced that it has appointed Greg Beamish to join ThinCats credit team as Head of Credit. Beamish joins with twelve years of investment experience ranging across secured credit to distressed equity, with the latter 8 years focused firmly on the SME space. His experience comes through working at institutions including…