Explores demand for external funding amongst SMEs and the response to requests for funding made to banks in the last 12 months. Also asks for future finance needs and assesses business confidence, growth, and barriers to growth for the future, as well as the impact of a lending experience on the overall banking relationship. As well as identifying the proportion of SMEs that have approached a lender for external finance, the survey identified those who would have liked to apply, but haven't, the barriers to such an application, and the impact of the decision not to seek funding on business performance. A wide range of business demographics are collected to allow for sub-group analysis by criertia such as age of business, external risk rating, type of facility requested, and the 'formality' of the business (planning, HR policies, importing, exporting etc). To obtain a free account please register with the UKDA.
