Small businesses demand better access to finance ahead of Budget

In a survey of iwoca’s small business community, 66% believe that creating policies to make it easier for SMEs to apply for finance should be a priority in the upcoming Budget. This follows a continued squeeze in small business lending since the financial crisis, with Bank of England figures showing finance to SMEs by the main high street banks falling by 6% between 2014 and 2019, according to the official press release.

Such is the concern over this issue, that over one third in this study (35%) want access to finance to be the focus of the Government over the next five years.

Turning to the wider economy, 57% of iwoca customers say they’re confident that the business environment will improve over the next 12 months (23% are not). But concerns also remain within the small business community about the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

Only 23% of iwoca’s customers believe that uncertainty over Brexit is over (61% do not). And whilst the Government has signalled its willingness to walk away from trade talks with the EU, business owners want ministers to prioritise negotiating a trade deal with Brussels over other major economies. Almost two thirds (63%) say that a trade deal with the EU is very important to their business, whilst only 39% view a partnership with the US as vital to their operations.