Region’s directors more likely to be asked for PGs

One in three business owners in the North West are being asked by banks for personal guarantees to accompany business loans – a higher rate than the national average and almost twice as high as in the East Midlands.

Accountancy firm Haines Watts has conducted a nationwide survey which found that 31.6% of owner-managers in the region were being asked by banks to provide personal guarantees, compared with 15.38% in the East Midlands and a national average of 25%.

“Small owner-managed businesses are the powerhouse of the UK economy, yet they feel they’re being forced to drive round with the handbrake on,” said David Fort, a partner at Haines Watts’ Manchester office.

“People in business need access to finance, the banks have got to release the purse strings.” he said.

He argued that the North West is “ideally placed” to lead a recovery, but argued that companies needs more support from the government to look at ways of supporting SMEs – “particularly with regard to releasing funding, taxation and how tax changes might give businesses an extra incentive to grow.”