New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in August 2023 by 19% compared with the same month in 2022. In the first eight months of 2023, new business was 15% higher than in the same period in 2022. The…
Read moreNew research by Praetura, has revealed that three in five (59%) SMEs and their brokers surveyed say that it is more difficult now to access the funding they need to grow than in the last five years, as a funding crunch hits Britain’s small businesses. SMEs suggest that servicing demand is their biggest challenge, not…
Read moreAnalysis of the Bank of England’s data on SME lending shows that through the first half of 2023 SMEs saw net lending decrease by £5.3 billion. The research by Ebury has highlighted the urgency with which businesses are now making debt repayments in the aftermath of the various Covid-19 loan schemes and the rising cost…
Read moreThe Government has paid out £7.39bn to settle bad Covid-era loans, with £2.23bn more in arrears and £750m in default. With data showing that the Government paid out £1.2bn to settle pandemic emergency loans that had gone bad in Q2, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy figures suggest taxpayers could ending up paying £11.5bn…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in July 2023 by 14% compared with the same month in 2022. In the seven months to July 2023, new business was also 14% higher than in the same period in…
Read moreTwo-thirds (65%) more businesses are experiencing difficulty in accessing finance from high-street banks than they were in 2022* as mainstream lenders pull away from the SME market, according to new data from Sonovate. These challenges are now so acute that two in five (39%) UK businesses say that, due to funding being so hard to access,…
Read moreLatest figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in June 2023 by 18% compared with the same month in 2022. In the first half of 2023, new business was 15% higher than in the same period in 2022. The business…
Read moreResearch from Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has found that women SME owners are more likely than men to suffer cashflow challenges, undermining their growth and ambitions. Only half (49%) of women business owners report that their cashflow is stable and meets their needs, compared to a significantly higher two thirds (66%) of male respondents. In…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in May 2023 by 13% compared with the same month in 2022. In the five months to May 2023, new business was also 13% higher than in the same period in 2022.…
Read moreTwo in five (40%) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have had to stop or pause an area of their business because of a lack of finance over the last couple of years – a significant increase from 27% of SMEs recorded in last year according to new research commissioned by Manx Financial Group. The…
Read moreAccess to finance is becoming a critical issue for UK small businesses, with new research finding that more than half (53%) would have to put plans on hold if they were unable to secure finance. The research from Novuna Business Finance underlines how important access to finance is for the small business sector at a…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in April 2023 by 12% compared with the same month in 2022. In the first four months of 2023, new business was 13% higher than in the same period in 2022. The…
Read moreLatest data from UK Finance has indicated that in the first quarter lenders saw a rebound in applications for both loans and overdrafts, with banks reporting quarter-on-quarter growth of 20% and 11% respectively with the increases may indicating that SME demand for finance is turning a corner. The weak levels of demand for finance from…
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