Small and medium-sized businesses are set to receive a £70m lending boost as part of a Government scheme to increase the availability of finance, according to East Yorkshire chartered accountants, Forrester Boyd Robson.
Three new lenders – Market Invoice, URICA and Beechbrook Capital – will share more than £30 million of Government funding to offer SMEs alternatives to traditional bank lending.
They have also committed to attracting additional funding from private sector investors, taking the total to £70 million.
The funding comes from the Business Finance Partnership (BFP), through which the Government has committed to provide £100 million of funding for non-traditional lenders to diversify sources of finance available to SMEs. Currently, 85 per cent of all business loans are handled by the big four banks.
Mike Beckett, director at Forrester Boyd Robson, based at Woodmansey, said: “Lack of finance is still a major problem for many SMEs.
“It can prevent them from growing, as they are unable to take on new staff or invest in new equipment.
“It is to be hoped that this latest announcement will lead to more business owners being able to access the funding they need.”