Small business funding hits six month high

There has been a six-month peak in the percentage of small businesses that need to secure funding or finance to move forward with their growth plans for early 2025 to 57%, up from 53% in spring 2024 according to new research by Novuna Business Finance. Following small business concerns over the hike in employer’s National…

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Average personal guarantee backed loan rises 9%

New research by Purbeck Insurance has found that the average personal guarantee-backed loan rose 9% to £174,000 in Quarter 4 (Q4) in 2024. In the final quarter of 2024, there was a 25% increase in small businesses applying for personal guarantee backed business loans compared to the same quarter of 2023. Indeed, for the whole…

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Third of businesses anticipate financial support requirements in 2025

One in three of these businesses anticipate needing financial support as they head into the new year according to the latest research from accounting and advisory firm, BDO. BDO’s bi-monthly survey of 500 mid-sized business leaders, which looks at the challenges and opportunities facing UK companies with a turnover between £10m-£300m, reveals over a quarter (29%)…

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Call for Government to provide small firms with personal guarantee protection

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)  says that the Government should step in to provide small firms with personal guarantee protection following from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s investigation into personal guarantees, Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said “The FCA’s investigation was severely undermined even before it got underway…

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Asset finance grew by 4% in October 2024

10th December 2024 Asset Finance | #asset finance

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in October 2024 by 4% compared with the same month in 2023.  In the ten months to October 2024, new business was also 4% higher than in the same period in 2023.…

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Commercial Credit & Collections Conference 2.0 Review

Credit Connect Media hosted its second Commercial Credit & Collections Conference last week at the Midland Hotel in Manchester which saw ten trade credit and insolvency professionals from various industry sectors meet to discuss the latest industry challenges. In the seventh edition of the Commercial Credit & Collections Conference series, hosted by Credit Connect Media,…

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Bank lending to businesses set to grow by 2.6%

New research by EY ITEM Club has found that total bank lending grew by 2.6% this year (up from – 2.2% in 2023), 3.7% in 2025 and 4.3% in 2026. The research forecasts that business lending is set. to grow 3.1% this year (up from – 2.1% in 2023), 5.6% in 2025 and 6.2% in…

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SMEs switch to monthly payments as insurance bills rise

SMEs are switching to monthly payments for insurance bills as premium increases put pressure on their businesses according to new research Premium Credit. The research showed that 43% value the ability to pay for insurance monthly through premium finance or finance offered by insurers compared with 32% who prefer to pay in a lump sum.…

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Third of commercial finance brokers struggle to find lenders to fund acquisitions

A third of commercial finance brokers struggle to find lenders prepared to fund business acquisition deals according to latest survey data from Asset Advantage. Alongside difficulties with lender appetite, two-in-ten brokers said they find it hard to secure the right loan value for potential acquisitions. Respondents also shared challenges with securing all the necessary information,…

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Business owners put borrowing plans on hold ahead of Budget

Economic uncertainty and the prospect of tax changes being introduced in the upcoming Budget are behind a slowing appetite for external funding according to Atom bank’s ‘SME Pulse’ for Q3 2024. The quarterly poll of commercial brokers found that there has been a drop off in demand from SMEs for funding. While nearly half (47%)…

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Changing funder policies create difficulties for business brokers

Nearly a third of commercial finance brokers say they frequently encounter difficulties in securing funding for their clients due to changes in funder policies, latest survey data from Asset Advantage can reveal. Just over 27% of brokers say they encounter challenges frequently or very frequently, more than half (56.8%) face difficulties on occasion. The biggest…

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25% of small businesses back out of loans because of personal guarantees

A survey by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has found that 60% of small business owners have felt in the dark about the risks and 25% have backed out of a loan because it had a personal guarantee attached. Todd Davison, MD of Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance said “We welcome the strengthening provisions on personal guarantees by the Lending…

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High street bank lending to SMEs remains stable in Q2

Latest UK Finance data shows that overall gross lending was broadly stable at around £4 billion in Q2 2024. This is very similar to gross lending in Q1 2024, but again higher than a year previously when it was £3.6 billion. Growth in lending over the first half of this year varied across sectors and…

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