Saturday 7th December is Small Business Saturday, so we thought what better time to show our support for UK SMEs to ensure they get access to the finance they need.
What is Small Business Saturday?
A non-commercial campaign, it highlights small business success and promotes a 'shop local' approach to supporting small businesses within their communities.
It encourages customers across the UK go out and support all types of small businesses, online, in offices and in stores. Many small businesses take part in the day by hosting events and offering discounts.
How we support small businesses
UK SMEs continue to struggle to access credit, it’s often either difficult and long-winded to secure, or simply out of reach. In the latest FSB Voice of Small Business Index, it showed that the proportion of businesses that were declined credit in Q2 2019 rose sharply, increasing by 9.8% compared to the previous quarter to 29%.
So, it’s fair to say that businesses have continued to struggle with obtaining finance in recent years, and whilst many banks are making pledges to do more for smaller businesses, we may not see any rapid material change here.
However, the more people look away from the traditional routes, such as their banks, the more they realise the world of opportunity that exists in the form of alternative finance providers, such as White Oak UK, often providing a much simpler and inherently faster solution, and this is a major thing for businesses where time is money.
Business finance providers, like us, are now commonplace as an alternative to bank lending, mainly due to the fact they offer a more holistic approach and can consider an often-broader range of funding requirements.
In 2018 White Oak UK delivered £520m of funding to UK SMEs, helping over 13,000 UK SMEs obtain the funding they needed to develop their businesses.
What finance is available?
SMEs are changing and as such, the finance needed to support them is changing too.
It’s important to know what different finance products can bring to SMEs. They range from those that can provide an immediate cash injection to cover ongoing or upcoming projects to short-term ways of coping with late payments.
Improving access to cash flow is an increasing priority, but it is not insurmountable. Another simple solution offered by alternative finance allows firms to spread significant regular liabilities (such as VAT and Corporation Tax), helping to preserve cash flow and importantly, to ensure they always have money in their business.
What next
For more than 30 years, we've helped thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners across the UK by bringing money into their businesses – not bureaucracy.
Our mission is simple: We're here to help businesses like yours get the finance you need, with as little fuss as possible.
Discover how White Oak UK can help your business with our business loan options or asset finance solutions and call us today to discuss what you need on 0330 053 6163.
