News
SME outlook Taking the Pulse
Lee Tillcock welcomes you to the March issue...
So the figures are in and whilst the banks met their overall Project Merlin commitments last year, with gross new loans of just under £215 billion, lending to smaller firms was over £1 billion short of the agreed mark.
Merlin was never going to produce the magical outcome that the industry needs and we all know the old adage about statistics. A combination of over caution, tick-box lending, restrictive regulatory changes and higher wholesale funding costs have all played their part in banks’ unwillingness to lend.
Findings from an Enterprise at Warwick Business School report have found that 28% of micro-businesses expect to fold by 2014 and one in six by the end of the year. With the vast majority (98%) having no intention of applying for bank loan finance over the next 12 months, the perception is that help is not readily at hand.
These factors are unlikely to change and businesses will continue to shy away from asking the funding question until a firmer base is under the economy. As a new round of credit easing is announced, the direction in which it travels has never been more important.
As always, if you have any comments on the magazine or business finance in general, please feel free to contact me. I hope you enjoy this issue.
A significant proportion (25%) of small and medium-sized business owners are losing their entrepreneurial drive and thinking of returning to work with 50% saying it is too tough to be a business owner in the current climate, according to the latest bi-annual SME Pulse from Aviva. The research, conducted online by Redshift Research on behalf of Aviva, with 500 SME owners in December 2011, also found that a quarter (26%) of SME owners admit they no longer enjoy running their business, with a third (32%) stating that they have lost the enthusiasm they had when they started their venture.
Tracking economic sentiment among business owners, the survey reveals that SMEs experienced a tough end to 2011. Nearly half (43%) said 2011 was tougher than expected, an increase since June 2011 when over one third (37%) expressed this opinion. This sentiment was particularly prevalent among independent retailers and shop keepers with half of those questioned (50%) saying 2011 was tougher than expected; the highest of any other business type surveyed. Looking to 2012, a quarter of businesses (26%) expect the first half of the year to be difficult as people curb their spending, with 24% of those surveyed expecting a decline in sales.
Business Moneyfacts
®
Best Business Current Account Provider Santander
Best Notice Business Account Provider Investec Bank (UK)
Best No Notice Business Account Provider Santander
Best Business Fixed Account Provider Principality Building Society
Best Charity Account Provider Lloyds TSB
Best Online Banking Provider HSBC
Best Business Card Provider American Express
Best Offshore Business Deposit Account Provider Yorkshire Guernsey Ltd
Best Buy-to-Let Mortgage Provider BM Solutions
Telephone: 01603 476651 e-mail:
ltillcock@moneyfacts.co.uk
Best Service from a Buy-to-Let Mortgage Provider Godiva Mortgages
Best Service from a Commercial Mortgage Provider
Santander Business Banking
Best Bridging Finance Provider Dragonfly Property Finance
Best Service from a Bridging Finance Provider
Masthaven Bridging Finance Ltd
Best Factoring & Invoice Discounting Provider Venture Finance Plc
Best Leasing & Asset Finance Provider Lombard
Best Business Motor Finance Provider Arval
Best Service from an Asset Based Finance Provider BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions
Best Business Protection Provider Zurich
Best Business Recovery Specialist MCR
Innovation in the SME Finance Sector Barclays Bank (Take One Small Step)
Best Service from a Business Bank HSBC
Business Bank of the Year Santander
Asset Based Finance Broker of the Year Touch Financial Support
Commercial Mortgage Broker of the Year
B&P Finance Consultants Ltd
Outstanding Achievement Award Federation of Small Businesses
Less than one in ten (7%) expect good sales in the first six months this year.
Discussing the findings, David Bruce, Commercial Product Manager at Aviva, said: “The mood continues to be down- beat about the economy as 2012 begins. Entrepreneurship is fundamental to economic growth - the Government last year called for a private sector-led recovery to help stimulate growth and yet, our research shows that the
entrepreneurial spirit is being challenged, with a significant number of owners thinking about returning to the workforce.”
The Autumn Statement appears to have resonated very little with SMEs with nearly three in four (70%) of those questioned believing that measures outlined in the proposals will have little impact on their businesses. One in five (19%) say that the measures are actually likely to have a negative effect on their business. When questioned about the Government’s commitment to cutting red tape, two-thirds (66%) did not believe this was true, with only 19% feeling that red tape measures introduced so far have been effective. Over two-thirds (68%) of SMEs questioned believe that too much red tape hinders the day-to-day running of businesses, while more than half (58%) agrees that it can impact on profitability.
Award Winners 2011
Best Commercial Mortgage Provider Barclays Bank
Best Corporate Finance Boutique Precision Corporate Finance
Most Innovative Product Lloyds TSB (Market Linked Deposit)
8 4
Business Moneyfacts
®
March 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124