New directory aims to help businesses find loans

By Matthew Plant

One group hit hard by the credit crunch are small businesses, many of whom have complained about the difficulty of finding a loan these days - and the fact that it's holding them back as they try to expand.

Obviously, this can have a real impact on the people who work for those firms, as well as customers and suppliers. The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has co-developed a new directory designed to help small companies find the finance they need.

In the first year alone, the Small Business Finance Directory is aiming to help around 60,000 businesses find the right kind of finance. In particular, it's looking to help businesses 'find alternatives to conventional bank loans or overdrafts'.

There are different reasons companies need a loan of some kind: to help them develop their business, buy assets, finance their short-term cash flow, etc. The FLA tells us that the majority of small firms do know there are various types of finance that might be available to them, but in many cases they don't know where to go to access them.

This is where the Directory can help. It has a search facility that can direct companies to local brokers and other loan providers - and it lists independent advisers who can help 'match business needs with affordable finance'.

The Directory was developed by the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) as well as the FLA, supported by the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA).

Tags: loans, business, small business, sme, small businesses, business loans, loan, Finance and Leasing Association, FLA, Small Business Finance Directory

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