In a study carried out last month, specialist finance provider Together found that over a quarter of those surveyed in the North West thought that businesses with smaller turnovers cannot get finance easily, whilst almost a half believe that credit rating will make the biggest difference in a loan being accepted.
The study highlighted the widespread lack of awareness of the alternatives to the traditional banks such as specialist lenders, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lenders that offer very different approaches to the more traditional forms of funding.
Steve Jackson, regional development director of Together commented: “We work with businesses of all sizes across the North West, spanning all sectors, and our decisions are based on the individual circumstances, rather than a rigid criteria and computerised credit score. At Together, we call it common sense lending and essentially it’s this that sets us apart from the mainstream.
“The alternative finance industry has seen huge growth in recent years, as it aims to meet the needs of businesses and individuals that may, for a wide variety of reasons, look to access finance outside of the traditional high street route but as the research has shown, many are simply unaware of the alternative options that are available to them.
“For our commercial clients, it’s usually speed that is the reason for them turning to a specialist. Whilst the mainstream perception is that loan applications take a long time, we can deliver funding in incredibly tight timescales which a traditional lender might find difficult. For example, in one recent case, we provided a short-term loan in just 24 hours.”
The research indicated that a third believe it is more difficult to get a loan than before the credit crisis, yet the growth in the alternative finance sector proves that there’s more choice than ever before when it comes to finding the right funding.