One in four small business owners mental health has deteriorated

One in four small business owners (24%) has felt that their mental health has deteriorated under the strain of managing their business finances with Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance.

Purbeck says whilst one in four is far from positive, it is a significant improvement from 49% in the same survey last year and underlines the tenacity and resilience of small business owners, as they continue to face challenging economic headwinds.

Those who felt that their mental health had been impacted were more likely to be female than male, running their businesses in London and the South East, and aged 25-34.

The survey also found that the owners/managers whose mental health had been affected were more likely to need new finance in the next year to support cashflow and 31% had taken on personal debt to help fund their business.

Furthermore, 25% had backed out of a loan because it had a personal guarantee attached and 13% had been refused a business loan in the last two years.

Todd Davison, MD of Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance said “Although the cost-of-living crisis appears to be easing, the cost of doing business crisis has escalated in the past year, not least the cost of servicing existing loans. Those who want to refinance or access new funding are facing demands from lenders for personal guarantees for loans as small as £5,000 or £10,000. This can ramp up anxiety levels and as our survey has shown, some people rather walk away than make that commitment.”