Cash flow and funding have emerged as the biggest concerns UK small to medium businesses (SMEs) are facing according to research by fintech lender, Nucleus Commercial Finance.
A survey that took in the views of more than 1500 small British businesses showed that one in five (21 per cent) of SMEs plan to apply for a business loan within the next six months. However, 18 per cent lack the data structure required to secure such funding. This would partly account for the fact that 15 per cent of the small businesses surveyed have recently been rejected for a loan.
Some of the other reasons businesses acknowledged as preventing them from raising money from lenders include:
- A lack of understanding of the available funding options (32 per cent)
- A lack of assets to secure funding against (28 per cent)
- Unfavourable credit (20 per cent)
- Lenders were unwilling to appreciate the complexity of the business’ offering (20 per cent)
- Limited time available to complete lengthy loan applications from traditional lenders (19 per cent)
In fact, the problem is so significant that 47 per cent of businesses say they need to invest in finance and accounting functions.
In addition to these in-house concerns, 37 per cent of businesses said they have seen less government support for their business in recent months. This has in turn caused further concerns and difficulties.
Flexible funding is a necessity
Chirag Shah, founder and CEO of Nucleus Commercial Finance comments: “The economic climate has been extremely turbulent during the last few years, leaving many UK businesses struggling. And this inability to access funding is increasing the strain for many.
“Last year, 345,000 businesses across the UK shut their doors for the last time. And the current financing infrastructure is at least partly to blame. If we can’t make flexible funding available to the small businesses that need it – when and how they need it – we’re going to see more and more businesses failing.
“That’s why Nucleus Commercial Finance is working to provide an alternative approach to business finance. Offering flexible loans with terms that suit small businesses means we’re doing our bit as a lender to enable security and growth for a stronger future economy.”
