The results are from small business lender Ashley Finance’s recent SME survey and directly correlate to figures from the British Bankers’ Association, which showed a dip of £1.6bn in business borrowing from banks in February 2017 as smaller SMEs failed to find funding options from traditional lenders.

“The SME market is facing uncertain times, and our research shows us that matters are being made worse for a proportion of businesses that are struggling to access funding via traditional routes,” said Richard Waldman, group sales director of Ashley Finance (pictured above). 

“For many of our customers, an injection of cash can be their saving grace, helping to take the pressure off and allow them breathing space when times have gotten tight. 

“Faced by difficult questions and forms requiring years of backdated evidence of operation, they might find themselves in unnecessary dire straits when flexibility and a personal touch in the decision process is all it really takes to get a ‘yes’ to funding that is so desperately needed.”

As a result of these figures, Ashley Finance has strengthened its market proposition with a much simpler application process, which presents easy ways to get in touch with relationship managers.

•   Over half of SMEs not prepared for inflation changes
•   17% rise in new SMEs
•   71% not confident advising SMEs on challenger banking products

The news comes after the lender launched its new website as well as revealing it was planning to launch into Scotland offering an exclusive bridging offering for the region.

“It’s a fact of life for businesses that cash flow is a fundamental, and a simple, short-term funding solution shouldn’t be a stressful undertaking, hence the ‘problem solved’ strapline we’re now using,” Richard added.

“We like to think a more constructive approach that gives these businesses a little peace of mind has helped to drive some confidence in the market and we expect the rebranding and redesign of our website to reinforce our place as the go-to SME lender among business introducers.”