MarketFinance lends £342.2m this year
MarketFinance has lent £342.2m this year after seeing greater demand for loans, particularly from large businesses, as the economic downturn froze the cashflow for many companies.
The lender, which has been participating in the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) and offering invoice finance, saw its lending rise by 3.4 per cent over the same period in 2019.
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As of the second quarter of 2020, 46 per cent of businesses reported that income was down by 50 per cent and the number of companies using invoice finance dropped by 35 per cent.
The companies using invoice financing were larger than usual, with an average turnover of £2.1m – up from £1.3m in 2019. Those businesses received 83 per cent more financing on average than they did last year.
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Businesses in London, Hertfordshire, the East of England and the South West experienced the greatest drops in invoice financing year-on-year, with a 45 per cent drop in the capital alone.
These areas are hubs for the support services and information and communication industries, which shows how hard these sectors have been hit by Covid-19.
Demand for business loans soared with a 13-fold increase in loans between the second and third quarters.
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The majority of loans (60 per cent) were made to businesses in support services, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing and construction.
After becoming an accredited CBILS lender in the third quarter, MarketFinance saw the quantity and concentration of loans advanced increased by a significant 13 times from the previous quarter.
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“Small businesses will play the pivotal role in the UK’s economic recovery as we emerge from the pandemic, and we are confident that the bounce back will, with the right support, be swift,” said Anil Stocker, chief executive of MarketFinance.
“These linchpins of our economic fabric will require innovative, sustainable and tailored financial solutions that are fit for purpose in a post-pandemic world. It is up to all of us – accountants, brokers, business advisors, banks and lenders – to continue to step up to the plate and help these businesses survive and thrive.”