FINAL THOUGHTS…

A lot of the data that we’ve covered in this report confirms what many of us were thinking—2023 is going to be difficult year for a lot of businesses. SMEs have already seen their cost base soar, which has resulted in many having to shelve plans for growth or investment, or worse.

However, there is also still a great deal of ambition for growth in the SME community. As we saw, 50% said they would be looking for finance to expand or develop new products or services. And it’s going to be these SMEs that will help Britain push through the other side.

The response of banks and brokers is going to be key as well. Nine in 10 businesses said they will be looking for finance in 2023—whether that will be to help deliver growth, refinance existing debt, or just to keep their heads above water.

Banks will need to continue investing in technology to ensure they can make fast and informed decisions. However, this will need to be backed up with human expertise and decisionmaking that assesses firms on their own merits. It can’t be acceptable to red flag a healthy business simply because of the sector they happen to be in.

The support of a broker, on the other hand, will be vital in enabling businesses to find the solution, and the right funder to deliver it. Without that expert input, SMEs may risk taking on debt that does more damage than good.

Central to all of this will be transparent and seamless collaboration between business owners, brokers and banks. All three will have to match the ingenuity and resilience that saw us through the past few turbulent years. Here at Allica Bank, we have no doubt that together we can do so once more.