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.

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, a look at a support package being granted by Santander to charities and community groups raising funds on Crowfunder. The match-funding deal will allow these organisations to further leverage the funds they raise.

Funding Circle have announced an upward movement in the maximum they can lend to certain categories of businesses. We look at how this is a positive move for good quality businesses in search of finance.

Turning to the traditional High Street lenders, we take our monthly look at how much banks are lending to small business owners with the release of the latest Bank of England figures. Is the figure up or down?

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.

Equity crowdfunding has broken a record with the news that Crowdcube has raised the largest sum on the platform to fund its own business growth plans. In this Bulletin we look at the deal and how Crowdcube is supporting other businesses looking to raise finance.

Sole traders and small businesses that deal predominately in cash can suffer from bad debts just the same as any other business. We look at how many businesses are faced with walking away from money owed to them and how mobile payment services such as that offered by Paym can help.

As Peer to Peer lending and crowdfunding grows in popularity, what impact is it having on the UK economy? That’s a question asked in a survey undertaken by the Centre for Economies and Business Research in conjunction with Funding Circle. We look at the key findings and what benefits businesses are gaining from raising finance via this route.

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 Business Finance Bulletin episode, we start off with news from Funding Circle of a £100m facility from the European Investment Bank for onward lending to UK small businesses. The facility will sit alongside an investment to be made by Funding Circle’s SME Income Fund.

Another growing source of alternative finance is that of asset finance. We look at the latest figures from the Asset Based Finance Association which reveal that facilities extended to small businesses over the last 12 months have dramatically increased.

Cash is the lifeblood of all businesses and a survey from audit and taxation consultants RSM has found that businesses can release cash trapped in their business by better management of day-to-day working capital. I share one key working capital component where cash can often get stuck. In the Bulletin I also reference another video in which I share how you can calculate your Stock Turnover Ratio – a useful tool to spot when your stock is getting ‘stuck’.

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 Business Finance Bulletin, a look at the launch of the British Business Bank’s ‘Help to Grow’ scheme with £30m of loans being channelled through Lloyds Bank aimed at helping high growth and innovative firms.

New research from UHY Hacker Young has revealed how small businesses are taking a disproportionately high share of fines imposed by HMRC compared to their larger counterparts. We take a look at why that is.

It’s important you know what’s contained in your Credit Report and yet according to a recent survey carried out by Which, a large number of people have never looked at their report. We explain why you should do so when it comes to borrowing money.

And to close we have news from the Royal Bank of Scotland on how it’s going to signpost businesses it can’t help to alternative lenders via its new Capital Connections platform. It’s all part of the government’s drive to encourage banks to offer alternative lenders if they say ‘no’.

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 Rob Warlow examines findings by R3 of the impact insolvency can have on small businesses which are left with outstanding payments and little hope of recovery.

2015 saw the crowdfunding sector reach new highs. Rob looks at highlights from Funding Circle and Crowdcube and also two industry pioneers who were recognised in the New Years Honours list.

Invoice fraud – have you been affected? If you’re luckily enough not to have fallen victim Rob shares news of a service now being offered by Experian to help combat this growing scam. Rob also chats with Damon Rands, a cyber security specialist, where he shares tips on how to protect your business.

The Business Finance Tip of the Week focuses on the importance of separating your personal and business finance dealings.

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In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow reviews peer to peer lender Folk 2 Folk and how they won the recent accolade of Best Lending Platform for Small Businesses.

High growth, or scale ups are they are sometimes referred as, are gaining attention in terms of the support and finance they need to meet their potential. We look at the announcement from Barclays Bank of its recent creation of a High Growth and Entrepreneur unit designed to support high growth businesses.

Turning back to the crowdfunding world, news of two more local councils joining Funding Circle as lenders to provide financial support to small businesses in their area. These two councils join the growing number of councils providing finance on the Funding Circle platform.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob continues his occasional mini-series looking at how you can calculate and use key ratios from your Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet to spot areas of improvement. In this episode Rob looks at calculating your Creditor Payment Days, or how long on average it takes you to pay your creditors – a potential red flag to your bank!

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Here’s an interesting studio discussion on finance options for growing businesses. Running your own business can be hugely rewarding, but also hugely challenging with a multitude of issues to keep on top of and in this discussion there’s a look at the different types of finance available and tips on how to access them.

The panel includes representatives from Santander, Funding Circle and Enterprise Ventures.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the findings of the Competition and Market Authority review into the UK banking sector and its recommendations for easier SME banking.

What’s the difference in attitude towards alternative finance between relatively young businesses compared to more mature ones? That’s a question posed by Business Banking Insight and their findings suggest that older businesses need to look at alternative sources of finance just as their younger upstarts are.

Rob reviews a survey from crowdfunder FundBird on businesses appetite to borrow and what they are financing if they are successful in obtaining funding.

Staying with crowdfunding Rob looks at the news from Funding Circle of its entry into the European market with the acquisition of the German crowdfunding platform ZenCap.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week, a clip from a live seminar in which Rob shares insights into what should be included in a Business Plan written for the bank.

If you prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download via our SoundCloud or itunes channel.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow reviews the latest report on the banking sector’s Loan Appeal process which reveals how many businesses are successfully overturning a ‘no’ from their bank.

In the crowdfunding world there’s news from Funding Circle on a change in the way interest rates are calculated which should benefit both borrowers and investors.

Continuing on the topic of alternative finance Rob shares an announcement by card payment provider iZettle that it intends to start offering loans to its clients based on the volume of card business being transacted each month.

Where do you go to for advice? Rob looks at the findings from a recent survey which reveals one of the key sources business advice which may not be the best!

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week a clip from an interview in which Rob talks about why the sector you operate in is important to the bank.

If you prefer to listen to the podcast version you can both listen and download by clicking below. If you are on itunes then you can access via our itunes channel.