SME's report a decline in the availability of finance
An increasing number of UK firms are still struggling to obtain credit from banks, according to a new report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
In the group’s latest Monthly Business Survey, 33% of companies questioned said that accessing finance had become more difficult over the last few months. That compares with 20% of respondents in June.
The chamber claims its findings indicate that the Bank of England's £200 billion cash injection is failing to provide adequate support for SMEs during the recession.
'It is clear that the huge sums that have been injected into the financial system by quantitative easing are still not reaching small and medium-sized businesses in anything like the scale required for business to invest for future success,' commented the chamber’s Director General, David Frost.
Meanwhile, the proportion of firms reporting an improvement in the availability of credit has halved to just 3%, the survey found.
Of the 400 businesses questioned, 64% said that their biggest barrier to growth over the next 12 months was a lack of customer demand.
The BCC is now calling on Chancellor Alistair Darling to introduce measures to bolster business confidence when he delivers the Pre-Budget Report in December.
'The Pre-Budget Report on December 9th must include measures that encourage companies to invest and improve confidence,' said Mr Frost. 'Announcing that 2011's planned increase in National Insurance contributions will be scrapped would be a good start.'