The importance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to the UK economy can’t be overstated. Accounting as they do for 99.9 per cent of private sector companies, they have a combined annual turnover of £1.6 trillion and provide 60 per cent of private sector jobs in the UK.
To build and grow their businesses SMEs need access to affordable capital financing. Many apply to banks for a business loan. However those loans have been harder to come by since the financial crisis and larger companies, being lower risk, have generally been more successful than their smaller counterparts.