23% of SMEs, representing 1.27 million small and medium sized businesses across the UK, are missing out on new business opportunities due to a lack of available funding a 4% increase on the previous year, according to the latest Aldermore Future Attitudes report.
The report, which surveyed over a thousand business decision-makers across the UK, found that those impacted are losing out on income worth an average of £78,942 a year. This is an increase of £1,291 compared to 12 months ago (£77,651).
Medium-sized businesses – those with between 50 and 249 employees – are the worst hit, with 42% saying that they have been significantly impacted by not having access to the funding they need, up 32% on last year. This amounts to an average impact on income of £110,960 per mid-sized organisation affected over the last 12 months.
Regionally, businesses based in the South West are losing out the most additional income due to missed business opportunities – £165,945 – on average annually. This is followed by those based in the West Midlands (£119,471 per year).
Average additional income losses by region following missed opportunities due to lack of available finance:
| Region | Average additional income missed per year |
| South West | £165,945 |
| West Midlands | £119,471 |
| East Midlands | £116,292 |
| South East | £113.174 |
| London | £80,934 |
The topic of available funding over the coming months is one of the main business concerns for UK SME leaders. 32% say accessing appropriate funding and cash flow issues are their biggest business issues, with late payments also being the main worry for 15% of SME bosses.
Carl D’Ammassa, group managing director for business finance at Aldermore, said: “It is deeply concerning that, despite the ongoing Treasury Select Committee inquiry into sources of SME finance, the amount of businesses missing out on these opportunities has increased over the last 12 months. It is vital that lenders work closely with small and medium-sized companies to help them find solutions to their funding issues, ensuring new business opportunities are capitalised on.
“According to the Aldermore Future Attitudes data, achieving growth is the main business priority for nearly two fifths (39%) of UK SMEs, re-enforcing the importance for business owners to be able to evaluate different funding options in order to ensure that businesses can achieve future success.”