Nine out of ten small businesses in Hampshire are still finding it difficult to access funding despite government pressure on banks to lend.
Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, in its latest quarterly ‘business barometer’ survey, found 91% of respondents were continuing to have difficulty in raising finance.
Around half of these are businesses of five or fewer employees with a third managing a payroll of fewer than 20.
Forty per cent of respondents reported an ongoing ‘adverse’ cashflow position with only 19% saying the situation was improving.
The survey follows a raft of government measures under a credit easing programme designed to stimulate lending to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
Captain Jimmy Chestnutt, Chief Executive of Hampshire Chamber, said: “While the government should be given some credit for its efforts to encourage lending and create liquidity, Ministers must keep up the pressure on lenders so SMEs can have access to funds in order to grow, invest and take on more staff. Businesses have been battered by the banking crisis and the systemic risks of the eurozone and we need radical action to turn the corner.”
The survey found that business capacity in Hampshire remains sluggish with 70% of firms claiming to be working below their full potential.
Only 12% of companies have increased investment in training while the numbers recruiting staff were down at 35% compared to 46% in the previous survey.
Exporters also signalled a challenging time. Just 11% saw an increase in overseas sales and only nine per cent reported an increase in orders.
There was brighter news on UK trading front with 55% of respondents reporting an increase in sales. Forty per cent saw an increase in orders.
There is also some optimism about the next 12 months with 51% of companies saying they expect to increase profitability and 64% predicting higher turnover.
