smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Nearly two-thirds of small businesses have a bad credit score, says credit referencing agency Graydon UK.

Of three million SMEs reviewed, 62 per cent were deemed to be above normal credit risk in terms of defaulting on trade payments or getting into financial difficulties.

Martin Williams, managing director of Graydon UK, says the reason the figure is so high is due to a lack of readily available information on SMEs when credit agencies are scoring them.

‘Without historical information, it is very difficult to get credit. Small firms need to stop seeing credit scores as weapons used by large corporates against them, and see them instead as tools to help them gain credit and finance,’ he adds.