In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement with the announcement of the extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme, and additional support for the Enterprise Capital Fund and Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.

Late payment continues to feature on the agenda with news that the government is launching a consultation paper aimed at improving transparency amongst large businesses on their payment practices.

The recent SME Finance Monitor Report reveals interest insights in to the experience small business owners are having with their banks in terms of getting a finance approval. Rob looks at the numbers which shows why you shuld not assume your bank is going to say no if you approach them for business finance.

Agreeing the sharing of property security between different banks has always been a slow process but Rob discusses new arrangements put in place by the four High Street banks to speed up the process.

The Business Finance Tip this week comes from an interview Rob did with negotiation expert Derek Arden. In the interview Derek gives three tips on how to negotiate a better deal with your bank.

You can also listen to this week’s Bulletin as a podcast and you can download it to your PC or phone via our SoundCloud page. Click on the download button below or simply click to listen now.

In the 50th edition of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks back over the last 12 months and how the business finance landscape has changed.

Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending is one of the growth areas and Rob reviews a report on the sector undertaken by NESTA which highlights this rapid growth.

Rob also looks at the news of a forthcoming review into the banking sector to be carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority.

What keeps small business owners awake at night is a question posed by the ICAEW and it may not be what you think.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week, a clip from a live seminar in which Rob Warlow shares his thoughts on when it’s best to share your Business Plan with the bank.

If you prefer you can also listen to this week’s episode as a podcast and download to your phone. To either listen or download simply click below via our SoundCloud page.

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 reviews findings from the recent SME Finance Monitor Report which reveals that demand for finance amongst business owner is low. But what does that do for growth?

According to another survey Rob discusses how many businesses are planning to invest this year but that they have a low understanding of how alternative finance works and how it could benefit them.

If you are looking to raise equity then news of a support program run by Crowdcube to help you through the process.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week, a clip from a live seminar in which Rob explains how your financial information needs to be kept up to date.

You can access this Bulletin in two ways… watch the video on our You Tube Channel or listen and download the Bulletin to your phone via SoundCloud

The latest SME Finance Monitor Report shows how much the funding and finance landscape is changing with small businesses demonstrating cautiousness and a reluctance to engage in seeking out finance.

One of the key findings from the latest quarterly report, which surveys 5,000 UK small business owners, is that issues around access to finance is now slipping off the list of obstacles to running to a business.

The current economic climate continues to be cited as the main obstacle to running the business in the next 12 months with 17% of SMEs quoting this as the main barrier. In terms of access to finance only 8% claimed it to be an issue (compared to 12% in Q1 2013), which appears to be counter to how much press the relationship between banks and small businesses is given.

Interestingly 65% of those surveyed said they see no major obstacles which could hold them back from going for growth. This is an encouraging sign.

With access of finance being seen as less of an issue than we may think, how does this translate in to actually usage of finance?

The report found that 39% of SMEs were using external finance in the second quarter of 2014, which is in line with most quarters since 2012. This means that 60% of SMEs either fund their business via shareholders/directors or don’t borrow.

In fact 39% classified themselves as a ‘Permanent non-borrower’. These are businesses which have not borrowed over the last five years and have no intention of borrowing over the next three months. The number of small businesses who declare themselves as not interested in borrowing has increased steadily over time, having been 34% in 2011 and 2012.

Even the number of businesses which have not borrowed over the last twelve months is remarkably low. Referred to as ‘Happy non-seekers’ these amount to 78% of those surveyed. So nearly 80% of SMEs are quite comfortable in not borrowing at all. This number is also on an upward trend having increased from 66% in Q2 2012.

You do begin to wonder why so much attention is given to the issue of access to finance when so many businesses declare themselves as not interested! But this does have one implication and that is as to how future growth will be funded. Growth typically needs cash to support working capital and investment needs so it is important for businesses to realise that growth usually needs finance and not to shy away from seeking it out.

Of those who do borrow, the range of finance products they use is also beginning to change. The report found that 30% of SMEs used ‘core’ products (loans, overdrafts and/or credit cards), but this is a declining proportion over time (it was 36% in Q2 2012). Other forms of finance, such as leasing, invoice discounting, private loans and crowdfunding, are being used by 17% of businesses so there is a lot of scope for alternative lenders to grow.

It’s clear that many businesses are comfortable where they are but for them to grow a finance need will kick in and it’s vital they don’t fall into the trap of going for growth with no cash… that can only end in disaster. But there is also a need for all finance providers to ensure that funds are there when needed and sending a clear signal that they are ‘open for business’. We don’t want businesses assuming they will get a ‘no’ and not even approaching a bank in the first place.

We will continue our look in to the findings of the latest SME Finance Monitor Report in future blogs.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the latest bank lending figures from the Bank of England… a mixture of good news and not such good news!

One finance sector which is booming is the Asset Finance industry and Rob looks at the latest growth figures from the Asset Finance Based Association which are in sharp contrast to that of the High Street banks.

Rob also talks about a new crowdfunding site, CrowdProperty which is looking to match private investors with property developers and Buy-to-Let owners on the hunt for finance. One for you to look at if you are in the property game.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week a clip from a live seminar in which Rob shares one question that banks will ask of themselves when reviewing your business finance request.

Latest figures from the Bank of England of lending to businesses show a continuation in the decline of total money lent to UK businesses. But small businesses appear to slightly better off than their larger corporate counterparts.

The figures to June 2014 reveal that the total amount of loans (including overdrafts) currently outstanding to businesses decreased by £3.4 billion in June, compared to the average monthly decrease of £0.9 billion over the previous six months. This results in a twelve-month fall of -3.8% in the stock of loans currently outstanding in banks.

However, a glimmer of hope for small businesses. Within these figures, loans (including overdrafts) outstanding to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased by £0.2 billion, compared to the average monthly decrease of £0.5 billion over the previous six months. So unlike their larger corporate counterparts, UK small business owners are coming out on top.

That said the overall stock of loans advanced to small businesses has contracted by -2.8% over the twelve-months compared to June 2013 but this compares favourably to the overall fall of 3.8% for businesses of all sizes.

One important point to remember is that these figures relate to the amount outstanding at the end of the month i.e. existing loans, plus new money lent in the month, less money paid back during the month. When we delve further into the figures, particularly in relation to small businesses, the amount of new money being lent each month is showing a slight increase,

Monthly New Loans to Small Businesses

April £4.1b
May £4.3b
June £4.8b

Of course, these new loans are being netted off against monthly loan repayments and overdrafts paid down and here we see that small businesses are more or less paying back what they taking in new loans

Monthly Repayments by Small Businesses

April £4.5b
May £4.3b
June £4.7b

The net result looks like this:

Month   New Loans   Repayments   Net Amount

April               £4.1b               £4.5b                   -0.5b

May                 £4.3b              £4.3b                     0.0b

June                £4.8b              £4.7b                     0.1b

So are we seeing early signs of banks stepping back in to the SME market? If so, this growth is being offset by small businesses which would rather pay debt off than take on more; the appetite amongst small businesses to borrow may not as strong as many believe it to be.

Of course the other argument is that the ‘new loans’ figure should be a lot higher resulting in positive growth but it is the banks that don’t have the appetite to lend.

In reality it’s a bit of both!

In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin a look at what business owners who are selling an equity stake want from their new partners. The relationship between banks and business owners has been strained but a new survey from Albion Ventures reveals a surprisingly high number of businesses getting a ‘yes’ from their banks.

On the alternative finance scene Rob looks at the latest government proposals to force banks to refer borrowers who have been declined finance to sources of alternative finance.

Late payment continues to be an issue for businesses and Rob shares the findings of a recent survey which reveals that a large percentage of businesses are missing out on an important piece of the late payment jigsaw puzzle.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week a clip from a live seminar in which Rob discusses the history of crowdfunding.

Small businesses on the hunt for bank finance are seeing a higher success rate in getting a yes than in previous years, with 80% of applicants receiving a positive response.

The survey, carried out by Albion Ventures as part of its annual Growth Report, revealed the success rate had increased from 71% in 2013 to 80% in 2014, a sign that banks are becoming more responsive as the economy improves.
Access to finance has been a prominent concern for UK business owners since the onset of the recession but it seems that the situation is now proving to be less of an issue. The survey found that access to finance now ranks fifth as a key concern for business owners.

However it may be that businesses are being more realistic in their chances of success in getting finance as the report reveals that only 10% of those surveyed said they had applied for funding compared to 17% in 2013. Are they assuming they will get a ‘no’ and so not bothering applying?

But the future is not so bleak when businesses were asked about their plans for the next 12 months. Looking ahead a third said they are planning to raise finance over the coming 12 months with 27% being for business development purposes and 23% to expand their premises.

This move to a more positive reason to raise finance was backed up by a 25% drop in those looking to raise cash to support trading (24% in 2014, down from 32% in 2013); an indication that businesses are moving in the right direction.

The news that businesses are feeling more positive comes on the back of the government announcement that in autumn it will be introducing legislation to force banks to refer businesses which they can’t support to alternative lenders. With small businesses being given more guidance we could see a further increase in the already fairly healthy success rate.

In the latest episode of my Friday Business Finance Bulletin just out I look at the Chancellor’s latest attempt to boost bank lending to small businesses by looking at the possibility of providing a guarantee to the banks.

I also talk about the alternative lending scene following a recent interview I did on BBC Radio with Adam Tavener of Alternative Business Funding where we discuss crowdfunding and peer to peer lending.

In the Tip of the Week I discuss the bank’s Loan Appeal process. Did you know that if your bank has declined your loan request then you have a formal right of appeal? In this tip I share how to go about that.