Third of businesses need access to finance to survive

New research by Novuna Business Cash Flow has found that 33% (a third) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK urgently require financial support within the next year to continue their operations.  This survey highlights the heavy reliance on personal sources of finance, with 19% of SMEs resorting to using their own savings,…

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Business confidence grows as one in five secures growth funding

More small businesses applied for finance to support growth initiatives in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2024, with funding released at more than at any other time in the past three years according to the latest analysis by Purbeck Insurance Services. The data showed that 19% of small business owners securing personal guarantee-backed loans in Q2 were…

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Commercial Credit & Collections Conference Review

Credit Connect Media hosted the return of its Commercial Credit & Collections Conference last week at the Met Hotel in Leeds which saw trade credit, insolvency, and economic change and discussed by fourteen leading credit, collections and insolvency professionals. In the sixth edition of the Commercial Credit & Collections Conference series, hosted by Credit Connect…

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British Business Bank launches Growth Guarantee Scheme

The British Business Bank has relaunched its Growth Guarantee Scheme with the approval of 41 lenders to provide loans to thousands of small businesses over the next two years. Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, first confirmed the scheme’s continuation in his March budget.  The Growth Guarantee Scheme is designed to support access to finance for…

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Confidence rather than rates driving funding appetite

Improving confidence among business leaders is the primary factor in growing demand from SMEs for external funding according to researchby Atom bank. The quarterly poll of commercial brokers by Atom bank found that the appetite for external funding continues to grow, with almost two thirds (63%) of brokers stating that they were seeing a growing…

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Half of small businesses put their plans on hold without finance

More than half of small businesses would have to put their plans on hold if they could not secure finance according to Novuna Business Finance. The research shows that access to finance is becoming a critical issue for UK small businesses, with new research finding that more than half (53%) would have to put their…

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Lending to SMEs by high street banks grew in first quarter

Latest figures from UK Finance has shown further growth in business lending from high street banks took place at the start of 2024, following an increase at the end of 2023. Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024 saw a 15% increase compared with the previous quarter. At just over £4bn, this was 8% higher than the same…

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HMRC fraud and error taskforce to clawback Covid payments launches

The Government has launched a new HMRC fraud and error taskforce in a bid to recover overpayments made to UK taxpayers during the pandemic. The £100 million  Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of 1,200 HMRC staff will combat fraud and aims to recover up to £1.5 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments for the 2022/23 financial year.…

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High interest rates costing businesses an additional £4.7bn

Higher interest rates will cost British businesses an additional £4.7 billion a year for the rest of the decade – and much of this cost will be pushed onto consumers, according to a new study by management consultancy Baringa. Baringa believes companies are experiencing the largest such hike in debt-related costs ever faced by the…

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Eight in ten brokers say banks are restricting SMEs funding

A survey by online credit provider iwoca shows that SMEs believe big banks will further reduce funding for small businesses. The poll shows that nearly eight in ten brokers (77%) believe that high street banks are scaling back their willingness to fund small and medium-sized businesses, according to iwoca’s latest Q1 2024 SME Expert Index.…

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49% rise in business owners seeking Personal Guarantee Insurance

Latest analysis of applications for personal guarantee insurance in Q1 2024 by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has shown that there has been a 49% rise in business owners seeking Personal Guarantee Insurance (PGI) for a small business loan with most of these were for loans to simply keep their business running. Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance…

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Applications for business loans over £100k grow by half

Three in ten SME finance experts (28%) report that the most requested loan amount at the start of 2024 was over £100,000, 56% higher than the same period last year, according to iwoca’s Q1 2024 SME Expert Index. The new research showed that seven in ten (70%) brokers are optimistic about SMEs prospects in 2024,…

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Third of SMEs call for more business finance access

New research conducted this week by business lender Together has found that over a third (35%) of SME business leaders strongly believe that ensuring access to finance for the country’s wealth creators should be prioritised by the government within the first six months of the new parliament. A third (33%) of this group – which…

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