SMEs Increasingly Spreading Their Wallet Across Multiple Lenders - ScotPac
(7 December 2023 - Australia) SMEs must maintain a strong relationship with their broker as they seek to explore the lending market more actively according to new research from ScotPac.
ScotPac’s latest Round 19 of the long running SME Growth Index, based on direct interviews with 722 small businesses across Australia conducted by East & Partners, revealed that four in five SMEs now partner with more than one lender to meet their working capital needs.
The analysis found that the increase in enterprises seeking to use a secondary lender meant a greater focus on specialised services, such as invoice finance, asset finance, and trade and supply chain finance, beyond traditional bank relationships.
ScotPac CEO Jon Sutton commented to The Adviser that the increased level of investment intent along with a renewed confidence in SME owners to explore the lending market meant businesses needed to maintain a strong relationship with their broker.
“Despite the macro-economic headwinds of rising wages, stubbornly high inflation, and uncertainty about interest rates, Australian SMEs are continuing to invest in their businesses at near record levels. While some of that growth can be attributed to higher input prices, the strength of SME investment intent goes beyond this factor alone" Mr Sutton stated.
“An emerging driver is choice. Non-bank lending has doubled in the past 19 months as SME owners and brokers have become increasingly aware of the opportunity to find fast, flexible, and tailored working capital solutions.”
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