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…
Read moreThree 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,…
Read moreNew 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…
Read moreNew data from Iwoca has shown that three in every ten (29%) small business owners in the UK have received financial backing from a family member – with three-quarters (74%) saying it was essential for setting up their business. Over a third (36%) said they had received more than £25,000 from their relatives, with a…
Read moreAsset finance solutions provider, Time Finance has announced the launch of its new ID&V (Identity Verification) technology in partnership with Nivo Solutions. The technology provided by Nivo also includes E-signature functionality. Enabling Time Finance to increase its E-signature document limit from £100k to £250k. Speaking of the partnership and the technology Time Finance has adopted,…
Read moreResearch from independent SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has found that women business leaders are facing gender inequality in commercial lending, which is hampering the growth ambitions of many SMEs. Data from BFS’s latest SME Confidence Tracker, which surveyed 1,000 UK SMEs, uncovered that two thirds (66%) of women business leaders believe that banks…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell in March 2024 by 10% compared with the same month in 2023. In Q1 2024 as a whole, new business was at a similar level to Q1 2023. The business new car…
Read moreCommercial finance lending software specialist, Dancerace has announced it has launched a new risk system for invoice finances providers. The new system is called r3 RiskOps which enables risk and operational teams to better manage client risk and work more efficiently. The system comes to market having already been deployed by Skipton Business Finance in the…
Read moreThe EY Item Club has forecasted bank-to-business lending will to grow just 0.5% (net) this year, before rising to 2.8% (net) in 2025, as lower borrowing costs boost demand The analysis says lending to UK businesses will increase by 0.5% this year, having contracted by 2.1% in 2023. Looking ahead, growth in business lending is…
Read moreA survey by invoice finance company Novuna Business Cash Flow has found that 34% of SMEs could cease trading if unable to secure funding. The figure contrasts sharply with the surprising revelation that 50% of SMEs have not sought any form of financial assistance since November 2023, despite the precarious position many find themselves in…
Read moreAnalysis of the Bank of England’s data by Ebury’s SME Borrowing Tracker shows that SMEs repaid almost £10 billion across 2023, with the final three months of 2023 marking the largest quarterly change in SME loans outstanding for 2023 as repayments accelerated towards the end of the year. In 2023, SMEs repaid a net sum of…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in February 2024 by 10% compared with the same month in 2023. In the first two months of 2024, new business was 9% higher than in the same period in 2023. The…
Read moreNew research from independent SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has revealed that interest rates and political uncertainty are holding back many businesses from investing in the long-term business growth the economy needs. The data showed that over half (53%) of SMEs are putting off making major investments until interest rates fall, while four in…
Read more