Businesses slam support schemes
Dec 08 2009
London SMEs are not getting their hands on support scheme money
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SMEs in London say small business support schemes have been ineffectual.
Only 22 per cent of businesses say they have accessed government support schemes, with more than half (51 per cent) believing they failed to have any impact at all, according to research from network group Business Junction.
Mark Herring, a director of Business Junction, says: ‘Ongoing support for businesses, especially in the capital, needs examining. [The] London and national governments should consult with smaller businesses to find out why the present system is not working and create a new, fairer and easier process.’
Just 3 per cent say they have accessed any support schemes run from the Mayor’s Office, while 14 per cent have accessed one of the LDA programmes.
However, of the 400 businesses surveyed, 83 per cent expect turnover to increase or stay constant in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 75 per cent in Spring 2009.
According to the research, half of overdraft applications are still rejected by the banks and businesses report that lending attitudes remained unaltered since August 2008.
Comment by James Phillips
Thursday 10th December 2009I actually agree with those findings. I've worked in the past for a business support organisation in London and now as a small business adviser I'm aware of the various schemes that purport to help small business. The biggest problem is that the businesses have to jump through so many hoops to get the support that many of them feel its not worth the effort. Secondly, there is very little by way of actual 'cash' available - most of the support is in the form of paid for advice. Often, business owners can't see the benefits in this. One of the best schemes ever was back a few years ago - the Entrepreneurs Fund which gave businesses a grant of up to £10k with a straightforward application procedure which went before a panel. 90% of good applications were passed. A new model or variant of this would be most welcome to small businesses today.
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