The London Chamber of Commerce has added its voice to calls for the UK’s banks to do more to help British businesses, saying lenders “are simply not stepping up to the plate” in the battle against coronavirus.
Over the last week there have been major concerns that despite a hefty package of schemes implemented by the government to assist businesses through the disruption, many companies had been unable to access desperately needed cash from banks.
Ian Smith, chief executive of alternative financier 1pm, said that “more urgency” was needed for many of the smallest businesses:
“We are working hard to help our 20,000 customers get through this crisis but we want to do more.
“Like other non-bank lenders, we are well established and well-regulated. We urge the Chancellor to look again and recognise the important role non-bank lenders can play in helping SMEs.”
1pm plc (LON:OPM), established in 2006 is an independent provider of finance facilities to the SME sector. The 1pm plc group offer a full range of business finance solutions to the UK market from asset finance, hire purchase, commercial loans through to invoice finance and factoring. Gener8 Finance Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of 1pm.
