A week mainly spent talking to businesses, both local (Midlands) and National. Whilst the numbers may not be a representative sample, anecdotally, those businesses to which we spoke appear to have access to working capital, from a variety of sources.

There are, of course,  businesses who cannot access finance but they usually fail the acid test that any funder would apply, i.e. ‘would I personally lend this company my money’

New funders are continually appearing not only within invoice finance but also within alternative finance sources such as peer to peer lending. Some alternative funders are becoming more certain of themselves, using the media (TV, Funding Circle  & Radio, Market Invoice) to put their messages across. This suggests a certain critical mass has been reached and these funders are confident enough to invest in spreading their news.

In a week when a few well known banks have been fined over £2.5bn for rigging foreign exchange rates the timing for alternative financiers seems appropriate. Confidence in High St banks is not good and the notion of relationship banking, as preferred by many businesses, is ignored by many of the banks.

With the return of the German Market to Birmingham a few trips to the Second City become a necessity!