Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This survey is commissioned by the Business Finance Taskforce to provide an independent and authoritative report into the key issues of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) Finance. 4,500 telephone interviews are conducted per quarter, across the UK (5,000 prior to 2016), with a carefully structured sample of SMEs by size, sector and region. The survey explores the demand for external funding amongst SMEs and the response to requests for funding made to banks in the last 12 months. It also asks for future finance needs and assesses business confidence, growth, and barriers to growth for the future, as well as the impact of a lending experience on the overall banking relationship. As well as identifying the proportion of SMEs that have approached a lender for external finance, the survey identified those who would have liked to apply but have not, the barriers to such an application, and the impact of the decision not to seek funding on business performance. A wide range of business demographics are collected to allow for sub-group analysis by criteria such as age of business, external risk rating, type of facility requested, and the 'formality' of the business (planning, HR policies, importing, exporting etc). The intention is for this to become the definitive data set on this topic for banks, government, business organisations and other interested parties, including academics. It is hoped it will be used to provide answers, obviate the need for similar quantitative research, and provide the starting point for spin-off projects into specific aspects of SME Finance. Further information may be found on the BVA BDRC SME Finance Monitor website. Each data file includes all data collected for the last 10 waves, whilst the reports focus on data gathered from the last 4 quarters. The report is now released once per year, after Q4, but data is released twice a year (after Q2 and Q4). Latest...