Almost 40% of brokers said that lower taxes were needed to boost SME growth this year, which is double the number of professionals calling for reformed business rates.
Increased business running costs for SMEs remain the biggest concern for more than half of brokers (53%), up 11 percentage points on the previous quarter.
Concerns over inflation remain high, with two-thirds of brokers (67%) expecting inflation to be above the Bank of England’s 2% target by the end of the year, and 32% predicting it will top 2.6%.
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However, despite continued concerns regarding barriers to growth, economic optimism bounced back in Q4 2024, with almost half of SME finance brokers (46%) feeling optimistic about SMEs’ future in 2025, compared to 36% in the previous quarter.
Worries persist about a recession, with more than half (51%) concerned about the possibility, a slight rise on Q3.
Colin Goldstein, chief commercial officer at iwoca, commented: “SMEs are facing rising costs and tougher borrowing conditions, yet they remain vital to the UK economy.
“With high-street banks pulling back, businesses are turning to alternative lenders like iwoca to access the funding they need.”
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