Majority of SMEs can't fund their business ambitions

According to the latest research, it’s business owners in the capital who are struggling the most to match their ambitions, with over over three-fifths (61%) of London SMEs unable to access funds. Interestingly, London SME owners want to expand their business beyond the capital, but they are currently unable to do so.

Nucleus Commercial Finance found that despite SME owners reporting that revenue and profit increased by 10% and 8% over the previous year respectively, businesses are still struggling to achieve their strategic goals. These include:

• Increasing brand, marketing or online presence - 19%
• Expanding across the UK - 17%
• Increasing staff - 14%
• Launching a new product or service - 13%
• Moving into larger premises - 12%
• Expanding into new international markets - 9%

Chirag Shah, CEO of Nucleus Commercial Finance, commented: “Although it’s great to see an increase in both profit and revenue for small businesses, it’s clear that funding challenges still remain. If business owners cannot access the funds they need to achieve their strategic goals, we could see a significant impact on the UK’s economy if SMEs are held back.

“With SMEs accounting for 99% of all UK businesses, the alternative finance industry has a significant role to play in helping businesses succeed. Particularly as high street banks become more reluctant to lend, we need to better educate small businesses on the other solutions out there. The alternative finance industry offers a more flexible and personalised approach to lending, meaning they can help business owners who otherwise thought they had no available option.”