Manufacturers lose out due to lack of funding

Of those businesses that said they had missed out on opportunities: - 16% of manufacturing companies have missed out on one business opportunity. - More than half (58%) said this was true for between one and five business opportunities. - A further 26% had missed out on more than 5 business opportunities. John Jenkins, CEO of GE Commercial Finance, Business Finance, said: “With manufacturers across the country predicting a healthy year of growth, it is vital that they secure the right amount and type of funding early on if they are to achieve their goals and minimise missed opportunities.” The research highlighted that if manufacturers in England are to get the right funding, their financial advisors, such as accountants, are going to have to improve the support that they give firms in securing the right funding packages. “Professional advisors have a big role to play in supporting firms by ensuring that they can understand and access the right funding solutions appropriate to their business and, crucially, at the right time,” emphasised Jenkins. Over a third (37%) of all manufacturing companies said that their financial advisers could do more to help them improve their chances of getting the funding they need. Almost a fifth (18%) said they would like more advice on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of funding. A further 15% said they wanted help with putting the right funding structure in place for their business, and nearly one in 6 (15%) said they would like help with choosing the right provider. “With the high number of firms missing opportunities due to a lack of funding, combined with the recent interest rate rises, it is now more important than ever that firms and their advisers consider alternative forms of finance such as invoice discounting and asset based lending as a means of securing the right funding at the right cost,” Jenkins added