As figures show a nine per cent drop in SME loan approvals, Small Business Saturday and the Business Bank, with its £250 million for lending, try to turn those statistics around.
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div>As figures show a nine per cent drop in SME loan approvals, Small Business Saturday and the Business Bank, with its £250 million for lending, try to turn those statistics around.
The latest SME Finance Monitor study by BDRC Continental showed that only 61 per cent of loan applications by SMEs have been successful so far in 2013 in comparison to the average rate of 70 per cent since the study started.
While commenting on the extra funding for the British Business Bank, Jon Salisbury Head of Sales, Ortus Secured Finance said: “The leisure industry is built on SMEs, so we are delighted the Government is pledging a further £250 million of funding. Added to the £1 billion announced last year it will hopefully give SME owners the confidence to start new ventures, invest in equipment and hire staff.”
Rob Lankey of Aldermore Bank said: "This extension of the Business Bank's funding for SMEs is great news and underscores the Government's commitment to small businesses.
"These measures, plus the recent refocusing of the Funding for Lending Scheme towards SMEs, are positive steps that will boost lending to SMEs, who in many cases have struggled to get finance from traditional funding sources.
"This will put Britain firmly on the path to recovery, as small businesses are the lifeblood of the British economy."
Small Business Saturday saw Britain’s smaller enterprises offer flash sales as part of an initiative to promote local shopping. Originally, a US promotion the event comes just as a study by American Express shows that only £1 in every £20 is spend in an independent shop.
The British Business bank aims to pump money into small and medium –sized businesses as fast as possible to help them expand. This initiative was actioned in response to claims that banks were not catering to that market.
The bank’s headquarters was confirmed to be in based in Sheffield with the total funds resting at £1.25 billion.
While commenting on funding for Small businesses Adam Tyler said: “There is a growing mix of commercial finance out there to support businesses, but we need to work to increase awareness of the options that exist. It is high time the business community enjoyed the full weight of government support, with the priority rightly focused on supercharging SME growth.”
He added: “...entrepreneurs seeking business loans have increasingly relied on alternative sources of finance, with the growth of asset finance, peer-to-peer lending and other emerging forms of borrowing far outperforming mainstream lending."
The £250,000 boost to the Business Bank aims to kick the week’s focus on state assistance for smaller firms with a SME reception at Downing Street on Friday and Small businesses Saturday.
The British Business Bank was launched in October and has placed £35 million in commitments as part of its investment programme. The bank includes around £1 billion from the Chancellor and £600 million in smaller Government lending schemes.
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