• Immediate Working Capital
  • Growth, Aquisitions, MBOs
  • No Need for Re-negotiation
  • Instant Cash Flow
  • Saves Management Time
  • Improved Collections Performance
  • Recession-Proof Thinking
  • Practical How To Guides
  • Business Knowledge Bank
  • Fast Track Response
  • Competitive Rates
  • Personal Service
Cash Flow is Critical, says FLA
Date Added: Wed May 20 2009

A Finance and Leasing Association Survey highlights the key issues facing businesses today.

Further evidence that SMEs are increasingly concerned about cash flow, payments and debtors – seeing them as their second biggest problem after the economic climate – is found in the latest survey carried out for the FLA by the Open University Business School.
 
Almost half (45%) of respondents said they have not taken out a loan. Of those companies that do borrow, overdrafts are the most common form of borrowing, followed by other bank loans.

However, according to the survey, asset finance like hire purchase and leasing has become increasingly important as lending criteria tighten, rising from 25% of all loans in the third quarter of 2007 to 33% at present.

Small retailers and construction firms have experienced the sharpest fall in sales, and both sectors have cut jobs. The health, education, leisure and manufacturing sectors performed best. The smallest firms, whether measured by turnover or employment, have performed worse than their larger counterparts. Those with a turnover of £100,000 have, on balance, seen their sales fall, while those with a turnover of half a million or more have more often seen sales rise.