SMEs confident about recovery but frustrated by lack of financial backing
Owners of small and medium-sized enterprises are feeling more optimistic than last month but are struggling to get financial backing, according to figures from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA UK) and the Corporate Finance Network (CFN), shared with City PM today.
The survey shows that 89 per cent of SME owners are trading at or above what they expected in July, up from 60 per cent in June. Most also expect to return to pre-pandemic levels of turnover and productivity within two years.
The ambition of business leaders is held back by difficulties to obtain financing to grow. Two-thirds report they are struggling to access overdrafts from their banks as one third has found it challenging to secure mortgages or financial leases.
The closure of government-backed support schemes and the slow rollout of the Recovery Loan Scheme launched in April are hindering their efforts to access commercial finance facilities, the study shows.
Data comes from ACCA UK and the CFN’s SME Tracker which takes into consideration what 8,863 SME clients tell their accountants.