In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin we start off with news of the latest addition to the BLS team, Simon Watts. We will be hearing from Simon in a future Bulletin with his thoughts on obtaining finance from banks.

Access to finance for start ups has always been a challenge and in this episode we look at a milestone reached by the Start Up Loan Company which was established in 2012 to help new businesses get finance.

Increasing competition in the SME finance sector has always been on the government’s radar and as part of its review into this issue the Competition and Markets Authority is advocating an SME finance Price Comparison website. Could it work?

Continuing our look at the findings of the latest SME Finance Monitor Report we look at the gap between business owner’s confidence levels at getting finance and what the actual success rate is after they have applied.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob shares a lesson learned from three recent client meetings which reveal that banks are indeed waking up.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin a look at the latest statistics from the Bank of England which reveals the current level of borrowing by UK SMEs.

Also a review of the key findings from the recent SME Finance Monitor Report which includes how many businesses are using external sources of finance, the type of SMEs accessing such finance and the number of businesses who are not borrowing at all.

Marketinvoice, the online invoice discounter, has taken a look at late payment experiences across 80 countries and the results indicate that we have a lot of work to do in the UK to speed up payment.

Are you planning to grow or change your business within the next three months? That’s the question posed to 1,021 businesses by Hitachi Capital as part of its regular British Business Barometer Report and the answer reveals that SMEs are now more cautious than before.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week a signpost to a recently posted video which shows you how to calculate and use the Creditor Payment Ratio.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin, news that the number of High Growth Firms is on the increase according to findings by the Enterprise Research Centre.

We take a look a new business loan fund launched by a regional lender, Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust, aiming to support growing businesses in their locality.

There’s news of support being given by British Business Bank to an alternative lender to help boost funds for on-lending to businesses in need of asset finance.

Staying with asset finance and leasing we take a look at statistics from the Finance and Leasing Association which reveal strong growth in the sector in 2015.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week a look at a series of forthcoming videos in which Rob Warlow will be sharing insights into ratios you can calculate to help boost the performance of your business.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin a look back at 2015 in the alternative finance and crowdfunding market. The latest annual report from NESTA, Pushing Boundaries, provides an insight into how crowdfunding continued to grow in 2015.

If you are looking for an asset finance facility to fund your growth plans there’s news of a funding boost for the alternative lender LDF provided by the British Business Bank.

Xero, the cloud accounting software service, asked business owners what they thought the key ingredient for a successful business is. The entrepreneurs also shared their top three business pain-points. Do you suffer from any (or all) of these three barriers to growth?

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week when to comes to raising business finance, what influence do past business successes or failures have?

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin a review of the findings from the recent Small Business Finance Market Report. Released by the British Business Bank the report reveals that bank lending to SMEs is on the up and shares the sources of finance being used by small businesses.

Do you know the true of your business loan? That’s a question being posed by Growth Street, the alternative overdraft provider, as it calls for more transparent pricing via the introduction of an APR for SMEs.

Receiving payments via mobile phone may still be relatively new but we look at news from Paym, the mobile phone payment provider, on how usage of their service is rapidly on the increase.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week how a calculation taken from your Balance Sheet can test the strength of your solvency.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin finally an edition packed with good news.

We take a look at the latest figures from the Bank of England which show an annual growth in bank lending to small businesses (but not such good news for the larger businesses though).

In the crowdfunding world an update from the Peer to Peer Finance Association confirms that crowdfunding had another strong year in 2105 in terms of money lent, and an increase in the number of private investors and borrowers.

Staying with crowdfunding, there’s positive news from Assetz Capital which has announced a significant pot of new money to lend out to SMEs and details of the launch of a new equity crowdfunding platform, GrowthDeck.

And to round-off the crowdfunding theme of this edition, a clip from a seminar in which Rob Warlow from Business Loan Services outlines the history of crowdfunding.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

This episode of the Business Finance Bulletin is a late payment and cashflow fest. Poor cashflow and management of late payment is one of the biggest barriers facing small business owners when it comes to planning for growth.

In this episode Rob Warlow looks at the latest research from Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance which uncovers the extent of the amount of cash trapped in overdue payments.

But what’s the solution to this problem?

The first way out Rob looks at is a new crowdfunding invoice discounter which can unlock cash so releasing much needed working capital to fund growth.

The second service is a new innovative support platform launched by a business owner who suffered from the effects of late payment. The service provides guidance and tools designed to ensure prompt payment by your suppliers. Could this work for you?

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob gives some tips on writing a one-page Business Plan.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow from Business Loan Services discusses more emerging evidence from Bibby Financial Services and the Federation of Small Businesses of a dip in confidence amongst SMEs. Are we in for a rough ride in 2016?

If you’re a heavy user of fuel and may be struggling to get a commercial credit card because of a poor credit record then Rob shares a new solution which can also reduce your administration burden.

More news about the on-going problem with late payment. Rob shares a recent survey which highlights how much money is trapped in late payment and so holding back growth in the economy.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week… when it comes to the production of Management Accounts, delegate but don’t abdicate.

If you prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.