The latest ‘Voice of Small Business Index’ from the FSB for Quarter 2 to June 2017, shows that only 14 per cent of small firms applied for external finance in the three months to June.

The FSB commented that the low figures are being driven by lower investment intentions and confidence levels on the back of Brexit and economic uncertainty.

The survey comes out on the back of the latest statistics from UK Finance (the finance industy’s trade body) which revealed that bank lending to businesses fell by £698m in July.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom.

Of the 14% of businesses which said they had applied for finance in the three months to June 2017, the share of those successfully getting a ‘yes’ stood at 74% in the quarter, up from the 71% in the same quarter a year ago.

This also compares very favourably to the 54% seen in Q2 2015. So, the more growth-focused businesses are getting what they want.

The survey also shows that the lending landscape continues to evolve with continued evidence of diversification away from traditional bank lending. Among small businesses that had applied for credit, the share applying for bank loans declined from 39% in Q2 2016 to 23% in Q2 2017.

Where are small businesses going for their finance needs?

The survey reveals that the proportion using asset-based finance, such as invoice financing, has doubled from 17% to 34%.

Our message is that if you are in growth mode, there are plenty of finance options out there.

Following on from the first part of “How Do Banks Assess Your Finance Request?”, we now move on to Part 2.

As outlined in Part 1, when applying for business finance, it’s useful to understand what lenders are looking for.

In this second session, we continue our review of the CAMPARI framework which banks follow when reviewing a finance request. We will be sharing the last three elements which focus on the amount you want to borrow, how you’re going to pay it back and how you can reduce the risk the bank is taking.

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.

If you missed the first part of this mini-series you can check out Part One here.

When applying for business finance, it would be useful to understand what lenders are looking for. In this first of videos, I will be sharing a framework which guides banks when assessing a finance request. Understanding the framework, referred to as CAMPARI, means you can be better prepared when presenting your request.

In Part One, I reveal the first four elements of CAMPARI.

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 Part 2 we continue our look at the CAMPARI framework – check out Part 2 here.

A year after a Competition and Markets Authority report on transparency in the finance services market, lenders to small businesses are now required to quote an APR on lower value loans. Will it help boost competition?

More evidence that businesses are beginning to feel the strain with the latest Red Flag Alert report from Begbies Traynor revealing a jump in businesses classified as being in ‘significant financial distress’.

One sector that is doing well is Peer to Peer lending. The figures on volume of lending done by members of the Peer to Peer Finance Association in Quarter 2 2017 show that businesses are continuing to take advantage of finance from this source.

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.

Early signs are coming through that some small business owners are beginning to experience a downturn. To start this Bulletin, we review the latest survey from Bibby Financial Services as part of its regular SME Confidence Tracker series which sets out a number of challenges business owners say they are facing.

When it comes to raising finance how are businesses seeing the market place? This is the question posed by Hiscox Insurance when it spoke to 500 small business owners. The answers reveal that they are uncertain about where to look for finance outside of the main High Street banks.

Have you heard the term, Keyman Insurance? We take a look at why it’s important to protect key people in your business, so protecting you from any unforeseen events.

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.

The British Business Bank, which was established to improve small business access to finance, has issued its latest Annual Report. In our latest Bulletin, we take a look at the progress the Bank has made over the last 12 months.

Alternative lenders are being increasingly quirky in how they tap into new markets to offer finance. We look at the news of a link-up between Funding Circle and takeaway app Just Eat which aims to boost takeaway owner’s access to finance.

The Federation of Small Businesses has always championed ways of tackling late payment and so it comes as no surprise that it has launched a service to help small businesses get paid on overdue invoices.

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 the government keen to boost exports, UK Export Finance has announced a new support initiative to help improve the flow of finance to exporters. To open the Bulletin, we look at how it will work and which other businesses will benefit.

Access to finance remains a hot topic. We share findings and suggestions from a new report, ‘Banking Small Businesses’, which it’s hoped will be picked up by government and banks to boost small business funding opportunities.

Whenever we feature the problems surrounding late payment, it’s rare that there is any good news. Whilst a recent survey undertaken by BACS, the payment service provider, has its fair share of gloomy statistics, there is at least one glimmer of hope in terms of reducing late payments.

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.

The government is keen to be seen to be playing its part in tackling late payment and we start this Bulletin with an announcement that a large number of government’s key suppliers have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code.

With banks increasingly reluctant to hand out overdrafts, how are businesses managing cashflow? It seems the gap is being filled by businesses increasingly turning to invoice discounting. We look at the latest figures which confirm the switch to this alternative source of finance.

Lenders seem to want to see mountain of paperwork when they are reviewing your finance request. One request is sight of your Tax Returns but want exactly do they want? To close this episode, we go through the three pieces of information lenders want to see.

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.

A popular source of finance to fund the purchase items such as plant and machinery is Asset Finance but businesses are often put off by its perceived complexity. In this Bulletin, we look at a new streamlined Hire Purchase application process launched by Hitachi Capital designed to make the task easier.

We live in uncertain times and this is demonstrated by the mixed messages coming out on business confidence. We review two recent surveys which demonstrate that that some businesses are buoyant about where they are now and the future, but others less so.

Savvy business owners know when to say ‘no’ to a new contract. That’s the finding from a recent survey which reveal three key reasons why a business would refuse to take on a piece of work. Are you confident enough to turn away work if it could potentially damage your finances?

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.

Atom Bank is a relatively new, digital-only, challenger bank. In this edition of the Business Finance Bulletin we look at a £30m investment made by the British Business Bank, which Atom will be using to support small businesses.

The Queen’s Speech contained news that the government intends to introduce the Goods Mortgage Bill which will provide additional comfort to asset-based finance providers lending to sole traders and partnerships. The new Bill will help these trading entities better access services such as invoice discounting.

To close, we have another example of how small businesses are bypassing the traditional High Street lenders to obtain finance. We look at an announcement from PayPal that its Working Capital loan product has hit a new milestone in terms of money lent and the number of PayPal business customers which have successfully accessed 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.