Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be given easier access to finance to enable them to purchase commercial property so they can improve their business potential.
Many companies love looking at the properties available from commercial estate agents in Liverpool, dreaming about a potential premise that will allow them to expand their enterprise.
However, this prospect is out of reach for lots of SMEs due to inflexible lenders, according to specialist financial provider Together Money.
Its latest study, published in Property Reporter, revealed that nearly a quarter of SMEs has struggled to gain access to the funds they need to be able to move building or grow.
Andrew Charnley, head of corporate relationships at Together, said: “Property finance is crucial to help SMEs – which are the lifeblood of the UK economy – expand and boost productivity, as well as creating jobs and offering better career development to staff.”
He went on to say it is a “doubly worrying that the business practice of lenders is an issue with firms saying finance providers are inflexible and do not understand their business”.
Mr Charnley noted this response could be “crippling” the ambition of many SMEs around the UK.
According to the study, 28 per cent of firms claimed lenders were inflexible, and the same had their finance applications rejected.
Entrepreneurs hoping to make a substantial profit by investing in commercial property might consider opening a restaurant, as HARNESS Property Intelligence revealed this type of premise outperformed office and retail space between 2010 and 2017.
Indeed, the value per square foot for restaurants or cafes in Liverpool grew by nine per cent over this period, Liverpool Business News revealed.