SMEs shun bank loans
Feb 13 2012
Small businesses are looking beyond banks for finance options
Almost two thirds of small business owners believe they will have to look for an alternative to bank funding when raising money in 2012.
Some 65 per cent of small enterprises do not trust the banks to lend, according to a study of 1,000 respondents by business deals site Huddlebuy.
The survey results follow the news that the 'big five' banks have missed their £76 billion Project Merlin lending targets, with just £74.9 billion lent during the 12-month period from 9 February 2011.
Younger entrepreneurs and business owners are even more disillusioned, with almost three quarters of 18-34 year old entrepreneurs looking to seek alternative funding options in 2012, and 70 per cent of 35-54 year olds thinking the same.
Craig Hamer, joint managing director of car dealer Dews Motor Group says, ‘The banks are now the last place many businesses think about for investment and funding. They’re not lending like they used to, and the situation’s only going to get worse in the coming months.’
Saurav Chopra, CEO of Huddlebuy adds, ‘Small businesses are the lifeblood of this economy, being disruptive, innovative, quick to market and bringing new ideas and better ways of doing things.
‘It’s exactly this kind of entrepreneurialism which is creating jobs and wealth, so to restrict small business growth because of a lack of credit is actually holding back the recovery.’
There are currently no comments on this article
Comments