92% of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) say that they are treated unfairly by their bank, according to a new poll commissioned by Leonne International, the global private equity company focused solely on providing patient capital and investment into SMEs.
The survey, which quizzed 200 senior decision-makers within UK SMEs and was conducted by independent polling company Censuswide, also found that only 15% say they would consider approaching their bank for financial support for investment this year.
Additionally, a quarter (25%) want funding to increase their digital skills budget this year and 31% of British workers want to increase cyber skills training this year which shows there is an acknowledgment of the digital and cyber skills gap in the UK.
The research also revealed that 19% are planning to use private equity support to grow their business this year. Additionally, 19 per cent are planning to source budget to hire senior staff. This suggests a shift in UK business owners’ attitude towards the private equity sector.
Sridhar Iyengar, MD of Zoho Europe commented: “For many fast-growing companies, the pressures of rapid expansion can leave organisations lacking in critical areas like tech infrastructure and digital skills.
That’s why it’s so vital to have flexible IT agreements in place, so that staff members can upscale access to key services such as finance management, analytics and customer relationship management software, in accordance with workload. This approach not only helps companies to reduce costs, it enables seamless expansion, giving staff members the tools they need to take the business forward.”
Michael Haston, CEO, Leonne International, added: “SMEs are the lifeblood of the UK economy and it’s disturbing to hear that so many decision-makers feel they are poorly treated by their respective banks.
“After several years of political and economic uncertainty, now is the time for financial institutions to get behind businesses, providing necessary support to fuel growth, hiring and innovation.”