Member Article

Two thirds of SMEs would boost payroll with extra access to lending

New research from leading Leeds recruitment specialist, Robert Half, shows that nearly two thirds (64%), of chief financial officers and finance directors in SMEs based in Northern England and Scotland would increase headcount if they had additional access to lending.

This, despite the government’s intervention to boost lending with initiatives such as the Funding for Lending Scheme.

Interestingly, the rate is lower than the national average (67%), and lags behind the three other regions Robert Half defined for its survey; the Midlands, London & South East and South West & Wales - where latent aspiration to recruit is highest at 71%.

While the latest ONS figures show that UK employment rose by 69,000 in the three months to June, unchanged from January to March at 7.8%, finance leaders say that more can be done. Nearly nine in 10 (84%) CFOs surveyed reported that having access to more lending will help ease unemployment.

In fact, an overwhelming majority (94%), of CFOs and FDs called on lending institutions to do more to increase finance to small and medium-sized businesses, and help support growth.

Indeed, since the start of the recession, one in three (33%) finance leaders at SMEs in the North and Scotland have been turned down for lending, despite the potential benefit this would have on employment.

Estelle James, director of Robert Half (Northern England) said: “Employment in the North has been gaining positive momentum overall with more than seven in 10 (72%) executives confident in the economic growth prospects facing the region in the coming year.

“Additional resource would help SMEs invest in the necessary headcount to manage rising workloads while pursuing growth strategies.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gatehouse .