More than one in five (22%) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that needed external finance and/or capital over the past two years were unable to access it. In fact, more than a quarter (27%) have had to stop or pause an area of their business because of a lack of finance.
This is according to new research commissioned by Manx Financial Group, which also shows that the biggest barriers faced by SMEs in sourcing external finance/and or capital were that it was too expensive (23%), the process took too long (19%) and that there was a lack of flexibility with repayment terms (17%).
SMEs also cited other barriers such as the fact that the lender didn’t understand their business (16%) and that they received poor customer care (10%).
The research also revealed that SMEs have been forced to pause or stop activities such as expanding into new markets, hiring the right personnel and marketing, because of lack of financing. Manufacturing, Finance & Accounting, Retail and IT & Telecoms were the sectors that were affected the most because of a lack of external finance and/ or capital.
Across the next 12 months, nearly two in five (38%) SMEs believe sales will be the biggest areas of business that will see growth followed by recruitment (19%), new product development (18%) and new market expansion (17%).
The research also highlights that a third (34%) of SMEs are concerned that their business will not grow in the next 12 months. However, with appropriate external finance, SMEs on average believe their business could grow by around 17%.
Douglas Grant, CEO of Manx Financial Group PLC, explains: “The research sadly reveals what we have been observing for some time – that SMEs continue to struggle with accessing finance and that worryingly, this lack of availability will cost them and the UK economy in terms of growth at a time when it is needed the most. The amount of growth that is being sacrificed is however significant and will require new solutions which are designed to address this funding gap.”
