One in three UK business owners want to grow their businesses but do not know how as they are not aware of the alternative finance options they have.
Polling commissioned by British Business Bank, the UK government-owned economic development bank, has in fact revealed that only 7% have considered crowdfunding among the small businesses eager to grow.
Piers Linney, Non-Executive Director at British Business Bank, believes that businesses need to look beyond the high street to finance their growth:
Getting investment for your business does not have to be as scary as going into the Dragons’ Den. There are plenty of ways to get finance and access support – the challenge is knowing where to look, making the time to find out about them and getting investor ready.
Polling has also confirmed that older business owners are significantly less likely to be aware of alternative finance options than Millennials.
For instance, among entrepreneurs who have considered crowdfunding, 1 in 5 (19%) is a Millennial, compared to fewer than 1 in 20 (3%) among over-35s.
Oliver* 