In the latest episode of the Friday Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the meeting of the old financial world and the new financial world with news that PWC have tied up with Funding Circle to meet their client’s borrowing needs.

To support the growing alternative finance market news from the UK government’s British Business Bank of a financial package arranged with Shire Leasing.

Business confidence is on the rise as reported in a survey carried out by Barclays and news from another High Street bank, RBS/Nat West which has revealed plans to launch a number of accelerator hubs for start up businesses. RBS has also announced a new pot of money to lend out to growing businesses.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob talks with author and corporate finance specialist Tim Luscombe who shares a salutatory lesson in why you need to keep accurate management accounts.

You can also listen to this Bulletin as a podcast and download it to your computer or phone by clicking below.

In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at how the Business Loan Services team recently turned a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ for a client looking to raise money to purchase another business.

In the crowdfunding sector, news from Ratesetter on the record month they had in September in terms of loans granted; a look at how Funding Circle is powering ahead; and a new milestone set by Seedrs in raising £4m for Chapel Down, a company already publicly listed.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week, a clip from a seminar Rob presented for the ACCA in which he explains how crowdfunding works.

Alternatively you can listen to this week’s bulletin as a podcast by clicking below or downloading it to your PC or phone or listening later.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow reviews findings by the Insolvency trade body R3 on how zombie businesses may be facing challenges ahead as the economy grows.

New lenders keep appear on the finance scene and Rob shares the news of a new commercial lender, Secure Trust Bank, which is providing asset-based financial support to growing SMEs.

Funding Empire is one the growing band of crowdlenders and Rob has a chat with Parag Patel, owner and founder on what Funding Empire can do to help business owners access finance.

A clean credit report is important when raising finance and in this edition Rob looks at a recent survey by Experian, the credit reference agency, which reveals that many business owners have little knowledge about the make-up of a good or bad credit profile.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob shares a clip from a recent Business Wales ‘Access to Finance Workshop’ in which he talks about the type of proposals banks like to see.

You can also listen to this week’s episode as a podcast by clicking below or downloading it to your phone via Soundcloud so you can listen at your leisure.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the challenges facing start ups when it comes to raising finance with a recent Angels Den survey identifying two key issues.

The UK alternative finance industry has held a celebratory awards evening and Rob looks at who the winning crowdfunding platforms are.

There is also a look at a new borrowing service launched by crowdlender Funding Knight and how it has revised upwards the maximum amount they will lend.

Rob also discussed the lessons from the news that Tescos had got its financial reporting wrong by overstating its profits and in the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob shares his thoughts on one page Business Plans.

You can also listen to this week’s Bulletin below or simply download it to your phone.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at activity in the alternative sources of finance market. There’s news of crowdlender ReBuildingSociety joining the Alternative Business Funding platform and how a survey has revealed that business owners are finding it hard to differentiate between banks.

Rob also reports on the growth in the total amount lent by alternative finance providers and crowdfunding platforms with the figures showing strong performance.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week a live from a live seminar Rob delivered recently for the ACCA in South Wales on alternative sources of finance. In this clip Rob talks about one key reason why bank would say no to a loan request.

You can also listen to this week’s episode by clicking below or downloading it to your phone.

In this clip taken from a live seminar Rob Warlow talks about the history of crowdfunding, and how the credit crunch led to the launch of crowdfunding sites.

From raising finance via equity to business loans crowdfunding is a growing alternative to the banks.

The rise in the level of support being given by the asset-based finance industry continues to put the banks to shame.

According to the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) in the three months to the quarter ended June 2014 asset-based funders (comprising of invoice finance and asset finance providers) lent out a record £18.9 billion to UK businesses.

The figures from the ABFA reveal that the combined amount of invoice finance and asset based lending provided to businesses grew by 7% in the last quarter, from £17.7 billion in March 2014, and 10% in the last year, from £17.3 billion in June 2013.

The ABFA puts the growth down to constraints on traditional lending as well as greater awareness and understanding amongst businesses as to how borrowing against the value of their invoices and other assets can free up cash to invest in growth.

The ABFA reported that 80% of asset based finance is invoice finance, in which businesses secure funding against their unpaid invoices, while the remaining 20% represents asset based lending, in which businesses can raise money secured against a range of other assets they own, including inventory, property and machinery.

Compared to the average fall in bank lending of 3% to 4% per year it’s clear that whilst many businesses may be forced to consider alternative sources of finance the fact that funding sources are now more diverse can only be a positive move.

Figures released by the Peer to Peer Finance Association reveal that lending via the peer-to-peer and crowdlending sector has soared in the first six months of this year. During this period the amount lent has doubled with platforms having lent out over £500m in the six months putting it on track to break the £1bn barrier for 2014.

The figure lent comprises of funds advanced to both consumers and businesses but it was growth in money lent to businesses that has led the way.

In the first quarter of 2014 £132m of new money was lent to business and this increased to £146m in the second quarter. The number of businesses borrowing via P2P has also increased from 5,169 in the first quarter to 5,919 as at the end of June.

There has also been an increase in the number of lenders supporting businesses with a movement from 31,616 to 35,477.

The growth demonstrates how businesses are quickly embracing this innovative way of raising finance.

The growth in crowdfunding comes on the back of clear signs that businesses are looking to expand and hence on the hunt for finance. A recent survey from Albion Ventures showed that a third of businesses plan to raise finance in the next 12 months. Of these 27% are targeting capital for business development and 23% looking to expand their premises. With crowdfunding sites such as Funding Circle already entering the commercial mortgage market the peer-to-peer market is well placed to satisfy demand from businesses.

If you want to know how you can use crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending to support your growth plans read more here or simply complete the contact box at the foot of this page.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the latest review on the UK banks Loan Appeal Process – how successful are business owners in turning a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’?

Crowdcube, an alternative source of finance, has launched a Mini-Bond scheme and Rob explores how that works and how you could use it in your business.

Banks and crowdfunding platforms are now starting to accept that working together may be the way forward with news that a UK High Street bank has partnered with a leading peer-to-peer lending platform.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob talks with Alister Betts of Lucid Ventures on how to get you and your business ready to seek outside investors via selling equity.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow takes a look at findings from the SME Finance Monitor which gives an interesting insight into how small businesses are financing themselves. News from the European Central Bank (ECB) on negative interest rates… so how does that work?

And a look at how alternative lender Shawbrook have moved into profit for the first time which is a sign of a maturing of the alternative finance market.

In the Tip of the Week, a clip taken from a Kevin Green Business and Property Training event, Rob shares one question banks ask of themselves when reviewing a business finance request.