支持英国小企业：融资圈的2023年（英）

BACKINGBRITAIN’SSMALLBUSINESSES:FUNDINGCIRCLE’S2023IMPACT MAY2024 trabantos/Shutterstock.com TABLEOFCONTENTS Executivesummary4 1.Smallbusinessyearinreview6 1.1SMEscontinuedtonavigatesignificantchallenges6 1.2ThesechallengescontinuedtoimpactallSMEgroups8 1.3Greenshootsareemergingdespitethechallengingeconomicconditions9 2.FundingCircle’s2023economicimpact11 2.1FundingCirclecontinuedtosupportSMEswith accesstofinanceacrosstheUKin202311 2.2FundingCircle’sdataandtechnologyboostsaccess forthoseseekingfinance14 2.3FundingCircle’sUKeconomicimpact15 3.FundingSMEs’growthin202417 3.1BoostingaccessibilitytofundingforSMEs remainscrucial7 3.2FundingCircleismeetingthediverseneedsof SMEswithanevolvingfinancialecosystem18 Appendix:Methodology19 Coverimage:andresr/iStockphoto.com MAY20243 EXECUTIVESUMMARY 78% ofUKSMEsfeltmoreresilientfollowingtheyears’challenges. Smallandmediumenterprises(SMEs)continuedtofacechallengesin2023,characterisedbytightermonetarypolicyplacingpressureontheirfinances.DemandconcernswereattheforefrontforSMEsin2023,whereasinpreviousyears, supplychainissuesandrisingcostsweretheirprimaryconcerns. Despitethis,therewasevidenceofcontinuedstrength,asmorethanthreequarters(78%)ofSMEsfeltthattheeconomic challengestheyfacedduringtheyearincreasedtheresilienceoftheirbusiness. ThethreedistinctgroupsofSMEsthatemergedduringthepandemic,continuedtonavigatethechallengestheyfacedinasimilarway.Theycanbecategorisedintothefollowinggroups: •Survivors—thosemostnegativelyimpactedbytheeconomicenvironment; •Hedgers—thosefocusedonprecautionarymeasures,suchasbuildingupormaintainingcashreserves;and •Thrivers—thosewhocontinuedtoadapt,invest,andgrowtheirbusinesses. 9-percentage- pointrise inthenumberofSMEsreportingnoconcernsfortheirbusiness. AlthoughthepressuresfacingSMEshaveevolvedsincethepandemic,theprevailingeconomicconditionsin2023resultedinminimalchangeacrossgroupsizes.WhilethehedgerandthrivergroupsappearedtoincreaseinsizeinQ22023,thispositivemomentumwasnotsustainedtowardstheendof2023,likelyduetohigherborrowingcosts,andtheproportionsofbusinessesineachgroupremainedthesameasattheendofthepreviousyear. GreenshootsareemergingwithSMEsshowingincreasedresilienceandclearsignsofoptimismwhenlookingatmedium-termgrowthambitions.Despitethechallengingeconomicconditions,theshareofSMEsthatreportedgrowthwithin theirbusinessinthefirsthalfoftheyearincreasedtothehighestlevelseensince2019.Asaresult,SMEsshowedgreaterconfidenceinthesurvivaloftheirbusinesses.DatafromtheONSreveal,onaverage,a9-percentage-pointriseinthenumberofsmallbusinessesthathadnoconcernsfortheirbusinessattheendof2023comparedwithayearearlier. 4 LendingthroughFundingCirclereachedbusinessesinall650parliamentaryconstituencies. Despitethetoughercreditconditions,FundingCircleremainedcommittedtoprovidingfinancetoSMEsduringtheyear,withlendingreachingSMEsineverycorneroftheUK.LoansthroughtheplatformhelpedSMEslocatedineveryoneofthe650parliamentaryconstituencies,withanaverageof£1.5millionandmedianof£1.3millioninlendingperconstituency. FundingCircle’stechnologyanddataareattheheartoftheplatformandenableasimpleborrowingprocessforSMEs.FundingCircle’sexpandingrangeofproductsensuresthatSMEscangetthecredittheyneedquicklyandwithoutfuss.Theplatformprovidesinstantdecisionson80%ofallUKapplications,withapplicationstakingjust6minutesonaverage,lendingdecisionsmadeinaslittleasnineseconds,andfundsarrivingintheborrower’saccountwithin24hours. £6.9billion ContributiontoUKGDP,95,800jobs,and £1.6billionintaxrevenuessupportedbyFundingCircle’slendingin2023. Attheendof2023,weestimateFundingCircle’sloansundermanagementsupporteda£6.9billiontotalcontributiontoUKGDPandsustainedover95,800jobs.Inadditiontothesecorecontributions,wealsoestimatethatlendingthroughtheplatformwasassociatedwithactivitystimulating£1.6billionintaxrevenues. 5 1.SMALLBUSINESSYEARINREVIEW 1.1SMESCONTINUEDTONAVIGATESIGNIFICANTCHALLENGES TheeconomicclimateforSMEsremainedchallengingin2023.Acrossthecourseoftheyear,monetarypolicycontinuedtotighten,withtheBankRaterisingfrom3.5%to5.25%bytheendoftheyear.1Inthesecondhalfof2023,therewasamarkedlossofmomentumastheUKslippedintoa“technicalrecession”,GDPdecreased fortwoconsecutivequarters,withafallof0.3%inQ42023,anda0.1%fallinthepreviousquarter.2Overall,annualGDP growthin2023wasonly0.1%,thelowestgrowthonrecordsince2009,excludingtheimpactofthepandemicin2020. Nonetheless,theinflationshockisgraduallyfading.Headlineinflationhassteadilydroppedfromitslate-2022peakof11.1%,reaching4.0%inDecember2023.3Energypriceshavebeenthemaindriveroftheslowdown,butfoodpriceinflationhasalsostartedtocool. Notwithstandingtherelativetailwindoffallinginflation,35%ofSMEsviewedeconomicuncertaintyas abarriertotheirbusiness,accordingtothelatestavailabledata(Fig.1).Thiswasonlymarginallybelowthatatthepeakofthepandemicin2020.4Italsocontinuedtobeperceivedasalargerbarrierthanpoliticaluncertainty,whichwasseenasaconcernbyaroundone-fifth(21%)ofSMEs. Fig.1:PercentageofSMEsreportingissuesasamajorbarriertotheirbusiness Percentage(%) Economicuncertaint