Of those businesses which borrow money, what do they typically spend it on? To open this Bulletin, we review findings from Liberis, the short term lender, when they posed this question to their clients. The feedback reveals a variety of uses for finance raised, however one reason given does flag up a potential area of concern in terms of business health.

We are undoubtedly in uncertain terms and the latest Federation of Small Businesses survey confirms this by revealing a dip in business confidence levels. The FSB’s recent quarterly Small Business Index highlights the feelings of uncertainty and also identifies other areas which are of concern to UK small businesses.

To close, thankfully some positive news! Crowdcube has announced that it has hit a milestone in terms of £1 million plus equity raises. The news shows that far from being suitable for small finance requirements, equity crowdfunding is meeting the needs of larger, more ambitious business owners.

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.

At the beginning of 2018, Open Banking was launched. Designed to improve access to finance by streamlining the application process, Liberis, an alternative finance provider, has announced its first use of Open Banking technology to renew one of its client’s borrowing facilities. The banking revolution is now underway.

Barclays Bank has announced two new initiatives to increase the level of support it provides to small businesses. Firstly, we look at the bank’s use of a £300m ENABLE Guarantee granted by the British Business Bank to boost Asset Finance usage. Barclays has also announced the doubling of its unsecured overdraft and business loan limits.

To close this Bulletin, we review the latest Asset Finance statistics from the Finance and Leasing Association. The statistics to May reveal that following a slow start to 2018, Asset Finance volumes jumped in May with strong performance in purchase of commercial vehicles and plant and machinery.

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.

What would you do if you were able to borrow money for your business? This is a question posed by Liberis, the short-term cashflow lender, when it spoke to 200 small businesses. As well as revealing how funds would be spent, the survey also discovered how many small businesses are still confused about where to look for finance.

Businesses based in the Midlands are in for a cash boost with the announcement from Barclays of the creation of its £370m Midlands Growth Fund. If you are based in the Midlands, we look at how you could benefit.

To close this Bulletin, we have news of Nat West’s revised Entrepreneur’s Accelerator Programme. Delivered in hubs situated in 12 major cities across the UK, the programme is designed to help start ups in need of support, advice and mentorship. Could the programme help you get your business off the ground?

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.

To start this latest Business Finance Bulletin, we’re delighted to introduce Sue Lewis as the latest addition to the Business Loan Services team. With 25+ years in the finance sector Sue is a great asset to BLS.

Managing finances and cashflow is highly ranked as one of the stressful aspects of running a business. What can you do the relieve yourself of the burden? We share one tip from a recent seminar BLS’s Rob Warlow hosted for Sterling Networks in Worcester.

Collaboration between businesses which have the same target market, being small businesses, continues to prove popular. We have news of a tie-up between SagePay and Liberis, the short-term loan provider, which help SagePay clients have quicker access to finance.

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.

With alternative finance becoming an increasing source of finance we kick off this Bulletin with news of the launch of The Association of Alternative Business Finance. Formed by seven players on the alternative business finance scene, the Association is focused on delivering higher standards in the industry.

Time is moving closer to government action on late payment. To lessen the prevalence of late payment I take a look at the forthcoming Duty to Report regulations which places an obligation on large businesses to disclose details of their payment practices.

Are there signs that business appetite to borrow money from banks is beginning to wane? We examine the latest bank lending figures released by the Bank of England.

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.

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 Rob Warlow looks at a new service launched by credit card services provider Worldpay in partnership with Liberis, supplier of working capital facilities to SMEs. The WorldPay Business Finance package is designed to release funds against future credit and debit card receipts.

There’s news from Ratesetter and how, with support from the British Business Bank, it is looking to increase the level of business loans it’s currently giving to small businesses.

Up to date financial information, a perhaps better said, the lack of it, can have an impact on business growth plans. We look at a report from KPMG which highlights the importance of keeping financial information up to date.

In its latest Business Barometer report Close Bros reveal some mixed messages on business confidence and growth plans.

And in the Business Tip of the Week, one question the bank will ask of themselves when assessing your loan application.

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

In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at a report from Liberis, a finance provider, on the issues growing businesses face particularly in terms of late payment and how you can avoid it.

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme is a little known scheme devised to help both start ups and investors make use of attractive tax breaks. Rob shares findings from a review as to how popular the scheme is and looks at the SEIS eligibility criteria.

Turning to crowdfunding, Rob has news from the Centre for Economics and Business Research which predicts that the amount of money accessed through crowdfunding will grow to a significant sum by 2020.

If you’re a VAT registered business you are probably familiar with the challenges of meeting the quarterly demand! Recent figures from finance provider LDF show a large amount of overdue VAT is outstanding to HMRC and in the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob chats with Liz Maher from Centurion VAT in which she shares tips on managing your VAT risk.

If you prefer to listen via a podcast version you can download via our Soundcloud or itunes channel or listen in below.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin episode Business Loan Services’ Rob Warlow looks at the latest Business in Britain survey from Lloyds Banks which reveals the strong level of business confidence and the one key issue which is holding businesses back.

On the alternative finance scene Rob talks about findings from small business finance company Liberis on how SMEs are sourcing finance and what success they are having.

Staying with alternative finance a look at the latest statistics from the Peer to Peer Finance Association which show further growth in the level of finance support by P2P platforms… but is there a slight blip in the amount lent to small businesses?

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob looks at the short term loan market and how it can help those businesses which have temporary cashflow gaps.

If you would prefer listening to this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin then check out our podcast version by click or downloading below via our Soundcloud channel or via our itunes channel.