Despite signs of an initial recovery in the UK economy, it is imperative that more liquidity and finance reaches small businesses if the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth, according to TradeRiver Finance.
TradeRiver Finance, an online funding solution for SMEs, says that while the government is working hard to increase liquidity for small businesses, more needs to be done to ensure the growth of Britain’s small and medium sized companies, which in turn will help boost employment levels.
The UK is currently behind the rest of Europe in the number of people employed by small companies. According to statistics released by the European Commission this week, micro-sized businesses employ just 18 per cent of the UK’s private sector staff compared to the EU average of 29.5 per cent.
TradeRiver Finance is currently providing input to the top levels of government on the future direction of financial innovation. Last week it took part in a new Cabinet Office led initiative to support Britain’s financial technology companies and earlier in the month met with Lord Young at 10 Downing Street to discuss how the government may improve supply chain financing for SMEs involved in public sector contracts.
TradeRiver believes that through innovation, more can be done to ensure that finance efficiently reaches the right parts of business and society. In doing so, the UK will not just see strong signs of recovery, but long-term sustainable growth.
Richard Fossett, chief executive, TradeRiver Finance, says: “If the financial difficulties this country has faced over the past five years have taught us anything, it is that we need to stay relevant. Our small businesses are expected to operate at the frontier of our economic recovery, but in doing so they need access to funding that can be injected right into the heart of the business, enabling them to trade.
“The government aims to be the catalyst for stimulating economic growth, but it cannot carry the burden alone. The UK needs to stand at the forefront of innovation and embrace modern ideas and approaches.
“Sustained economic growth will be driven largely by the success of the country’s small business sector. The Government has made great strides in ensuring that funds are available to SMEs, but more needs to be done to support innovation and the growth of FinTech companies that can help provide an alternative source of finance to businesses.”
TradeRiver Finance provides a pre-approved revolving facility that can be used to finance trade with suppliers in any currency anywhere in the world. Having just received a patent for its online funding process, TradeRiver Finance enables additional funds to be directed straight into the business supply chain and increase efficiency and growth in small businesses.
Fossett adds: “Our platform helps finance the supply chain and increases efficiency for small businesses. It provides a pre-approved revolving facility that can be used to finance trade with multiple suppliers and in multiple currencies. This allows small businesses to overcome the short-term illiquidity in their supply chain.”
TradeRiver Finance is an alternative source of funding for SMEs and has already provided over GBP20m of working capital into the market through more than 500 transactions in less than two years.
