We open the latest edition of the Business Finance Bulletin with a look at two surveys from the Federation of Small Businesses and Barclays Bank. The question asked of small businesses is how Brexit will impact those trading overseas and whether confidence has taken a knock. What are our SMEs thinking?

We take our regular look at how the alternative finance sector is performing following the release of the last quarter 2016 statistics by the Peer to Peer Finance Association. Lending to both businesses and individuals continues to remain strong.

Scale-ups appears to the latest ‘new thing’ with the news that the government has appointed a Scale-Up Champion. What is the government looking to achieve?

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In the latest Business Finance Bulletin we start by looking at news from Funding Circle of £40m from the British Business Bank to invest in business loans alongside private investors. In addition to this there’s news of £82 million raised to support Funding Circle’s growth plans.

How hungry are small businesses to borrow money in 2017? That’s a question posed by Zurich in their latest SME Risk Index survey. Are businesses looking to borrow more or less than in 2016?

To close, we take a look at separate findings from the Federation of Small Businesses and Smith and Williamson on how confident small business owners are entering 2017. It’s clear that many are choosing to ignore any gloomy economic messages.

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Whilst bank lending to businesses is slowly on the up, in this Business Finance Bulletin we look at the latest statistics from the Finance and Leasing Association which reveal that the Asset Finance sector is on a roll.

Carrying too much stock can tie up cashflow which can be better employed within the business. We look at research from the Asset Based Finance Association which highlights exactly how much cash SMEs have invested in unsold stock.

Another drain on cashflow is of course late payment. A new report from the Federation of Small Businesses is calling for more action on tackling the late payment endemic.

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In this Business Finance Bulletin, we look at the mixed messages coming out about business confidence amongst small business owners with a survey from the FSB which features both bad news and good news.

Much has been made of the Bank Referral Scheme which will see banks referring businesses they can’t assist on to a panel of government-approved funding platforms. We look at how the scheme is taking shape.

When you take a commercial mortgage from your bank you may think that’s it. However, following a call for help from a business owner, we share one thing you should watch out for if you unwittingly change the basis on which your commercial mortgage was agreed.

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In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin we look at the continued fall-out from the Brexit vote; how the Bank of England have taken actions to boost bank lending and lender’s appetite to support UK small businesses.

We review the latest quarterly Small Business Index survey released by the Federation for Small Businesses which, although prepared before the EU Referendum, indicates that business confidence was already slipping.

Does late payment have an impact on productivity? The answer is revealed in a survey carried out by Xero, the online accounting software provider, which also reports on how many days per month business owners spend on chasing late payers. What a waste.

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 we review the most recent quarterly survey from the Federation of Small Businesses. The report reveals falling confidence levels amongst SMEs but there’s good news in terms of access to finance with more businesses getting the finance they need.

We have news of another alternative lender, merchant cash advance provider Liberis, which has benefited from the British Business Bank ENABLE programme via a £5m fund to on-lend to growing SMEs.

Businesses in the Greater Manchester area which are exporters or have ambitions to export can now take advantage of a new £9.5m fund. We take a look at how the Greater Manchester Export Fund works.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week a chat with Steve White of Thornbury Collections in which he shares the strangest late payment excuse he’s ever heard and general tips on managing late payment.

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In the latest Business Finance Bulletin episode Business Loan Services’ Rob Warlow looks the forthcoming changes in ISA rules and a survey from Yorkshire Bank and attitude to risk amongst savers which could see a boost to the crowdfunding market.

Staying with crowdfunding Rob shares news of the launch of a new crowdfunding platform. Bricks Financial is based in the South West and will primarily focus on servicing the local market.

According to the latest survey from the Federation of Small Businesses confidence amongst small business owners is strong and they are focused on where they are investing their money.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob looks at reviewing and controlling your overheads to ensure you are making the best returns from your business.

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In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at evidence of a continued increase in confidence amongst small business owners with positive news from a survey carried out by Hitachi Capital.

Rob also looks at signs that the success rate in getting a ‘yes’ from banks is on the up according to the FSB’s latest Voice of Small Business Index. According to this latest report businesses are also reporting how profits are on the up and there is more interest in hiring staff. All positive signs for the economy.

Turning to alternative lenders Rob shares news of a possible new entrant into the banking market with Civilised Bank looking to launch later in the year focusing on the SME market.

Funding growth via selling equity has often been a mental stumbling block for many business owners but Rob looks at a report from the British Business Bank which reveals that more businesses are considering it as a viable option to raising cash.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob chats with Dr Paul Thomas of DNA Definitive in which he shares a number of key issues that growing businesses should be aware of.

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In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow reviews a recent survey carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses which looked into SME confidence levels and barriers to business growth.

Many businesses don’t realise how important a clean credit record is when it comes to raising business finance. To counter this, credit reference agency Experian has launched a new support tool which Rob takes a look at.

Crowdfunding has clearly taken off with a recent successful raise for a project to drill on the moon! Rob takes a look at how the Lunar Mission One has successfully raised its first tranche of funding on Kickstarter.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week, as part of an interview Rob shares his thoughts on the role a business owner’s experience has when it comes to the bank assessing your request for a business loan.

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