Partner Article

Growth Street Reaction To BDRC SME Finance Results

James Sherwin-Smith, CEO of Growth Street, comments today on BDRC Continental’s latest Q4 2015 SME Finance Monitor results: “The BDRC report uses some simple but misleading statistics when it comes to representing SME cash flow needs.

The report states that use of ‘core’ forms of finance, which includes overdraft products, stabilised in 2015. This is at odds with other forms of data available in the market. Data from the Bank of England has shown that business overdraft balances have fallen from over £21bn to less than £13bn in less than four years. Moreover, a similar 50pc fall in the number of approved facilities has occurred during the same period according to the British Bankers Association, which showed that fewer than 120,000 faculties have been approved in the last 12 months.

“Without an overdraft, businesses have to either hoard cash, or finance their cash flow in a less flexible, and often more expensive, way. Hoarding cash means companies aren’t reinvesting profits into their businesses, such as hiring another person or buying another machine. This is bad for growth.

“As today’s report does point out, half of SMEs have become ‘permanent non-borrowers’, which is symbolic of a systemic reduction in the availability of bank lending to SMEs.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Sherwin-Smith .