Help for small businesses and better access to funding are high on the political agenda ahead of the Queen’s speech this week.
The Telegraph reports that Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, founder of the Cobra beer company, believes that Britain’s banks should be doing much more to help small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to Lord Bilimoria: “It’s ironic that banks were able to take huge risks in areas that collapsed but are not willing to take relatively tiny risks with growing small businesses. They should be lending to them far more than they are doing. I hear regularly from small businesses that they are struggling to raise finance. What’s ironic is that the Government controls some of our biggest banks but still can’t seem to force them to lend to SMEs.”
Meanwhile, CityAM reports that E2Exchange, a leading entrepreneurs group, has launched its Growth Britain Manifesto to assist small companies and entrepreneurs capitalise on the UK’s strengthening economy. According to the report, SMEs should receive more targeted support with an increase in the NIC employers’ credit from £2,000 to £3,000 per year. The group said it welcomes the pro-business measures introduced by the government but believes much more can be done to spur business expansion and increase the pace of economic growth.