smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

British small businesses are now able to consider the advantages of sending some of their manufacturing processes to overseas locations, safe in the knowledge that banks are now happy to accommodate all international business needs.

Matt Hardman, campaigns manager for the Forum of Private Business, explains that British firms of all sizes are increasingly sending their working processes to other countries where operation overheads are far lower than in the UK - with Asian destinations a particular favourite.

'Such practices are now well-established among many larger firms,' adds Mr Hardman, meaning that firms thinking about switching to an overseas manufacturer can do so with the backing of banks that already have substantial services in place to ease their paths financially.

'I would say that in this modern world, banking is global and it's in the banks' interest to make sure that clients from all over the world find them appealing. Therefore they do go out of their way to make it easy for you to use their service,' Mr Hardman says.

'We're in a global economy nowadays and it's in the interest of banks to be able to provide the services that customers around the world need.'