Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire have welcomed the extension of the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme – but want the Government to go further in helping small and medium sized businesses access finance.
The scheme, devised to encourage banks to lend more money to businesses to get the economy growing, has been extended until 2015 and has been widened to cover other sources of finance such as asset-based lenders.
Louise Bennett, the chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The message is getting through from the Chamber at a regional and national level, that business growth is being stifled because companies cannot access finance.
“We are talking about businesses with solid growth plans that need to invest in equipment, training and staff but are unable to do so.
“Funding for Lending in its original form was a step in the right direction and this is a further move to get more money flowing through to SMEs.
“Not all lending institutions are the same, however, and we meet with banks regularly to put forward the view of businesses and they say there are a variety of schemes available and some specialise in different sectors.
“On the back of this announcement, I would now urge companies who may have been rejected for finance previously to try again and to shop around for the best deal for them. If they still hit a brick wall then they should to talk to their Chamber of Commerce.
“As well as that, we are keen to see the Business Bank finally get going in earnest because that will provide additional competition in the finance market and a new source for funding for our SMEs.”