A quarter of SMEs miss business opportunities due to lack of funding

23% of SMEs are missing out on new business opportunities due to a lack of available funding, according to Aldermore research.

Related topics:  Commercial,  Commercial finance
Rozi Jones
10th April 2018
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"The amount of businesses missing out on these opportunities has increased over the last twelve months."

This is a 4% increase on the previous year and means the 1.27million businesses impacted are losing out on income worth an average of £78,942 a year - an increase of £1,291 compared to 12 months ago.

Medium-sized businesses – those with between 50 and 249 employees – are the worst hit, with 42% saying that they have been significantly impacted by not having access to the funding they need, up a third (32%) on last year. This amounts to an average impact on income of £110,960 per mid-sized organisation affected over the last 12 months.

Regionally, businesses based in the South West are losing out the most additional income due to missed business opportunities - £165,945 - on average annually. This is followed by those based in the West Midlands which are losing £119,471 per year.

Looking at the main business concerns for UK SME leaders over the coming months, the topic of available funding is a common one. Just under a third (32%) say accessing appropriate funding and cash flow issues are their biggest business issues, with late payments also being the main worry for one in seven (15%) of SME bosses.

Carl D’Ammassa, group managing director for business finance at Aldermore, said: “It is deeply concerning that, despite the ongoing Treasury Select Committee inquiry into sources of SME finance, the amount of businesses missing out on these opportunities has increased over the last twelve months. It is vital that lenders work closely with small and medium-sized companies to help them find solutions to their funding issues, ensuring new business opportunities are capitalised on.

“According to the Aldermore Future Attitudes data, achieving growth is the main business priority for nearly two fifths (39%) of UK SMEs, re-enforcing the importance for business owners to be able to evaluate different funding options in order to ensure that businesses can achieve future success.”

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