News

March 01, 2013

Access to finance 'biggest obstacle to UK start-ups'

Lack of funding is the biggest problem for new businesses, according to a new survey of entrepreneurs and small firms by Dell and Entrepreneur Country.

The research has found that 33% of respondents say lack of access to funding is the biggest stumbling block when it comes to starting a business in the UK today. And 43% say they rely on friends and family as the key source of their business funding. Other sources of finance include self-funding (20%), bank business loans (12%) and venture capital firms (9%).

In addition, while 60% of respondents say IT investment is an enabler of growth, 20% cite lack of technical expertise as their biggest obstacle. The big IT issues for growing businesses are cloud computing (51%) and the rise in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) – a concern for 25% of respondents.

Lack of knowledge about finance options is flagged up by a quarter of those polled – 27% say that they wish they had known more about how to access funding when starting their business. An even bigger issue is business growth – 39% of respondents say a key priority for them is to know more about how to accelerate and grow a business.

Other survey findings are:

• 40% started a business because they wanted to be their own boss;
• LinkedIn trumps the list of social media tools businesses could not live without (55%), with Twitter coming second (42%);
• the laptop is the single most useful business tool (88%), followed by the smartphone (81%);
• 35% believe this year will mark the erosion of the traditional 9-5, office-based working day;
• 62% prefer to network face-to-face at events, with social media coming second (25%).

Julie Meyer, founder of Entrepreneur Country, said: "This survey shines a spotlight on the continued needs of entrepreneurs in the early stages of business development and champions the successes of businesses that have got it right. Britain will continue to be shaped by entrepreneurs, as they are the builders of innovation, drivers of job creation, and producers of capital."