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Finance for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Report on the 2004 UK Survey of SME Finances
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3
FOREWORD (BY MIKE YOUNG – SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT
TASKFORCE AND, FORMERLY, BANK OF ENGLAND)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
INTRODUCTION 23
I. BACKGROUND
1. ISSUES AFFECTING SME FINANCES
1.1 Potential market failure in SME finance markets 27
1.2 Other issues affecting SME finance markets 29
2. CONTEXTUAL DATA ANALYSIS
2.1 Business characteristics 32
2.2 Principal owner characteristics 40
2.3 External financial advice, managerial talents and business problems 42
II. ANALYSIS OF THE DEMAND FOR AND SUPPLY OF SME
FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
3. USE OF EXTERNAL FINANCIAL PRODUCTS IN THE LAST 3 YEARS 52
3.1 Friends and family finance 57
4. NEW FINANCE SOUGHT IN THE LAST 3 YEARS 59
4.1 Start-up finance 61
5. REJECTION AND DISCOURAGEMENT 64
5.1 Impacts of financial skills, and other business characteristics, on rejections 69
6. PROVIDERS OF FINANCE 71
6.1 Breadth of relationship with the main provider 76
6.2 Length of relationship with main provider 79
6.3 Price, customer satisfaction and the propensity to switch main provider 80
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