ComRes interviewed 508 financial decision makers in UK SME businesses online between 28th July and 4th August 2014. Data was weighted to be representative of all UK SME businesses by company size and region.
Date Published: 25 Sep 2014
Description
Over 1.9 million SMEs have limited awareness of how to safeguard their access to credit
Only two in five UK SMEs have ever checked their commercial credit score
Nottingham, UK, 26 September 2014 – As focus on lending to small businesses gains momentum with government schemes like Funding for Lending, many decision makers within the UK's SME sector may be unknowingly harming their chances of securing finance and growth for the future. This is according to new research from Experian®, the global information services company.
The findings come as Experian launches its SME Reputation Index, a survey of over 500 financial decision makers in SMEs across the UK. The Index reveals attitudes towards safeguarding financial reputation.
One of the key findings from the Index is that only one in eight (13 per cent) of UK SME financial decision makers have complete awareness of the key factors that could influence their credit score both positively and negatively, highlighting that over 1.9 million SME businesses (87 per cent) have only limited awareness of how to safeguard their credit rating.
ComRes interviewed 508 financial decision makers in UK SME businesses online between 28th July and 4th August 2014. Data was weighted to be representative of all UK SME businesses by company size and region.