The costs associated with taking out a business bank loan have risen again, according to a new survey by Syscap. Loans of under £1 million saw an average interest rate of 3.85% in Q3 of this year, up from 3.76% in Q2. The government’s latest business finance initiative, the ‘Funding for Lending’ Scheme which launched on August 1st, has therefore had little effect in lowering the costs of bank loans. Larger businesses, on the other hand, have benefitted and seen interest rates go the other way. Loans of over £20 million saw interest rates drop to 2.34%, from 2.48% over the same period. CEO of Syscap, Philip White, felt that small businesses, the ones most in need of better access to external finance, weren’t being helped by any government initiative: "After more than four years of serious attempts to stimulate bank lending, no scheme has managed have a substantial impact on lending to small businesses.”Alternative funding options such as invoice finance are proving increasingly popular with many small businesses and SMEs in need of a flexible business finance facility.
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