Opening this week’s Business Finance Bulletin, news of the soft launch of the Business Banking Resolution Service. Designed to support businesses which are unable to complain about banking service to the Financial Ombudsmen Service, the BBRS are looking for businesses to support its pilot phase.

Gathering the paperwork required by banks to review a borrowing request can be time consuming. We take a look at how Experian, the credit reference agency, has made it faster and simpler for small businesses to apply for finance by using its new Commercial Acumen service.

To close, news from business finance provider MarketInvoice of the formation of a specialist team to provide finance facilities for Britain’s larger businesses. From invoice finance to business loans MarketInvoice aims to support larger, high-growth businesses in need of flexible finance.

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In the latest Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at a survey carried out by the British Business Bank into the SME finance landscape which draws a number of conclusions on how small businesses view the world of finance.

The use of asset based finance continues to grow and Rob shares news from the Asset Based Finance Association on the increased use of invoice discounting and leasing as an alternative source of finance.

In the crowdfunding world, news of a milestone reached by crowdlender Funding Knight and an announcement by Cambridge and Counties Bank of the opening of a new branch in the North of England.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob shares a conversation he had with a business owner about the use of management information and how to get the best out of it.

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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.

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.