Hell to pay
鈥淣eed a loan? Easy 鈥� just agree to put down a hefty whack of collateral, pay the exorbitant interest rates and meet the gobsmacking bank charges. Then sign here 鈥� (preferably in blood) 鈥� and watch your business grind to a halt.鈥�
In 2011, 黑洞社区 reported on SMEs鈥� battles to gain credit 鈥� it might strike a chord with businesses facing slowing investment in this week鈥檚 piece on financing. 黑洞社区 compared getting a bank loan to making a pact with the devil.
Read: Access to finance: The banks that like to say 鈥榥o鈥�
鈥淵ou can still find funding out there, but the conditions are much more onerous than they ever have been. They have the potential to be extremely damaging,鈥� said Michael Quickfall of Quickfall Builders.
鈥淚 know of one SME that went to the bank looking for a 拢60,000 loan and the bank said 鈥榶es, but only if you and your business partner put up 拢30,000 collateral each鈥�,鈥� said Suzannah Nichol, then-chief executive of the National Specialist Contractors鈥� Council.
Chancellor George Osborne said his plan to help SMEs by credit easing would 鈥減rovide a real boost to British business鈥�. SMEs were a little sceptical, suggesting that a second 鈥渄evil鈥� 鈥� that of detail 鈥� needed to be clarified before any change would take place.
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