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Late payment issues worsen for 27% of SMEs | Government steps in

  • Late payment problems have worsened for 27% of UK SMEs[i] according to research conducted by Purbeck Insurance Services, the UK’s only insurance provider to offer Personal Guarantee insurance.   29% are experiencing worsening cashflow problems and 30% of UK SMEs are finding access to finance has become harder in the past twelve months.  The findings have been revealed as the UK Government confirms it is proposing new measures to stamp down on late payments to small business.[ii]

Late payment issues for SMEs

74% of SMEs would sign a Personal Guarantee if their personal risk was cut

  • Purbeck Insurance Services, the UK’s only insurance provider to offer Personal Guarantee insurance, has revealed that nearly three quarters of SMEs (74%) would be more likely to take out a loan with a Personal Guarantee if they could insure against the risk of providing it.   The most common reasons businesses want to take out a loan are to improve cashflow (28% of respondents) and acquire new equipment (27%).

Personal Guarantees and personal risk

Mind the gap in protection for SME finance

  • The British Business Bank Small Business Finance Markets Report[i] recently highlighted that while Solicitors rank second to Accountants when SMEs seek advice on new finance, the likelihood of SMEs seeking external advice has grown year on year – the study found that 47% are very likely to pay for independent advice to help them obtain finance. The report also identified a small but significant jump in the percentage of SMEs aiming to grow substantially in 2019.  While many business want to focus efforts on debt recovery to aid cashflow, the proportion of SMEs seeking external finance has remained stable with an uplift amongst micro businesses. 

SME finance and business protection

SMEs prepare to ride the Brexit storm by shoring up finances | Purbeck

  • SMEs endeavouring to plan for Brexit will be looking carefully at cash-flow to gauge how much pressure they can take without additional borrowing.  The main concern is that day to day running costs will rise – this might be due to material costs going up, wage bills increasing as the migrant workforce reduces and higher warehousing costs for stockpiled goods. 

Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance Brexit and SME finances

More than 1 in 4 SMEs plan to raise finance to stay afloat

  • More than 1 in 4 UK SMEs are planning to raise finance just to keep their head above water a new survey[i] has revealed. The research carried out by Purbeck Insurance Services, the UK’s only insurance provider to offer Personal Guarantee insurance found 28% plan to use finance to improve cash flow and this is currently the main reason for securing a business loan or new form of finance.

SMEs raising finance to stay afloat

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