An interesting article in the Telegraph states that the main UK clearing banks have commissioned an outside body to research companies that have been refused lending! This in an attempt to prove their case apparently against the Business Secretary Vince Cable and others that they are not at fault for not lending!
There does seem to be an interesting battle going on at the moment. The banks being adamant that they are lending, and small business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) saying their members are going under for a lack of bank funding!
Our experience is certainly that the credit criteria of banks has changed, and they do indeed look at proposals much more closely, but then so they should! They are not in the business of losing money any more than anyone else, and need to be comfortable that the risk is right.
However, we do wonder if a lot of approaches to the banks fail through a lack of proper preparation. More now than ever a business must demonstrate that they have their house in order with good financial management, control and quality information, and then a well thought through Business Plan to support their funding.
Getting this right is critical, and at Insight Associates we have had considerable success over many years in gaining support from lenders for our clients.
