Will small business lending increase in 2017?
Hampshire Trust Bank’s recently released ‘SME Growth Watch 2016’. This report indicates an average 6% decrease in small business lending between Q4 2014 and Q4 2015.
This has led many small business owners to ask whether lending is set to increase in 2017.
The study focused on business lending in the 10 largest UK cities. Here’s how far lending decreased in the three biggest:
- London: 6%
- Edinburgh: 9%
- Manchester: 8%
A 6% decrease is equivalent to approximately £2bn in lost business funding. Over this period, small businesses in London received the highest proportion of money lent (£77bn).
Despite this fall in lending, 58% of small business owners are confident about securing funding in 2017. They are supported by the British Banker’s Association (BBA) who believe that lending increased throughout 2016, and that this will continue into the new year.
These are the groups most confident of securing growth finance in 2017:
- Small businesses in North East/North West: 70%
- Small businesses in London: 60%
- Medium-sized start-ups: 64%
- Smaller start-ups: 57%
Just 11% of entrepreneurs saw small business lending as a barrier to growth in 2017.
Mark Sismey-Durrant, CEO at Hampshire Trust Bank, commented: “Small businesses are right to be confident about the future as there are different finance providers out there, away from the high street banks, which are able to support smaller businesses with their expansion aspirations.”
With confidence riding high, you can start looking forward to a fruitful year of growth in 2017.
Call on 3 Wise Bears for more expert small business accounting advice.
