Access to finance: Region served well, but picture is ‘hazy’
BUSINESSES in the region have a myriad of funding options to consider, but there is general confusion about what schemes, grants and funds there are available.
While the lending landscape has changed profoundly since the financial crisis, there was general positivity over the state of the regional market among businesses taking part in our Access to Finance round table.
Click here to download for free our 16-page Access to Finance Supplement in association with Santander and The North West Fund.
Entrepreneur Richard O’Sullivan, who has built up several food businesses including Millies Cookies and now leads Boost Juice, a national chain of smoothie and juice bars, which is backed by the Business Growth Fund, said that unlike when he started his career in the 1980s, it is easy now to set up and fund a business.
Simon Swan, managing director of Hiring-Hub.com, a Manchester-based recruitment portal, agreed: “I think the North West is a pretty fertile area for investment, there are plenty of options.”
Alongside the banks, these include: The North West Fund; The Regional Growth Fund; The Business Growth Fund, Rosebud Finance (Lancashire); The Greater Manchester Loan Fund; StartUp Loans; Merseyside Special Investment Fund as well as business angels, private equity, invoice finance and most recently crowdfunding.
While finance is available for proven businesses large or small, there is a gap in the provision of advice and funding for start-ups, particularly those in technology.
Jenny Stewart, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce said: “There is a lot of mis-information. I think things are not explained properly to small businesses.
“A business might need £5,000 to get going and another may need £1m, and it’s all about being able to explain what they need and where they fit in.”
Simon Carrier, regional director at Santander Corporate Banking, agreed, stating: “There’s a plethora of things out there now, and it does confuse the hell out of everyone.”
Corporate lawyer Gareth McIntegart, a partner at DLA Piper in Liverpool, added: “There is a lot of good quality information out there which is mostly free, but sometimes there can almost be too much information and some help is needed to navigate through that.”
The picture in the Liverpool city region,Warrington and Cumbria is cloudy though as there is no funding for Access to Finance, an organisation providing independent advice in other parts of the region, including Manchester.
