SME Finance Monitor
Latest published SME Finance Monitor reports
- The latest full report is to Q4 2019 and was published on 19 March 2020. See below for Management Summary and individual chapters. Analysis to the end of June 2020, reflecting the impact to date of Covid-19, will be published in mid-August
- Between full reports, we publish key data each month based on the previous 3 months rolling data. The latest period is the 3 months to the end of June 2020.
- The 2019 annual report, providing data for 2019 on the regions and devolved nations was published in July 2020, and provides a baseline for assessing the changes caused by the pandemic in 2020
COVID-19 Tracker
On 22 April we published the first of our monthly measures of business sentiment following the outbreak of COVID-19. Insights include overall mood, confidence in the Government's response, confidence in business survival when trading is expected to return to normal and to what extent the worst is still to come or now behind us.
The Women in Business Report
BVA BDRC has published the fourth Women in Business report, based on data from the SME Finance Monitor. This report, covering the period up to and including Q2 2019, provides analysis of key aspects of SME Finance Monitor data by the gender of the owner, senior partner or majority shareholder. Click here for your copy of the report.
[read-more button="Background"]
The SME Finance Monitor has been providing robust and respected data on access to finance amongst SMEs for over eight years, since 2011. These independent reports are used by banks, government, the Bank of England MPC and industry bodies to inform the debate on this key issue.
Almost 150,000 interviews have now been conducted by BVA BDRC (4,500 interviews each quarter), building into a considerable data set on SME sentiment around past and future finance needs.
The Monitor is vital for understanding how SMEs are thinking on key financial issues and the business environment. For example, we explore how many SMEs have applied for external finance, what their experience was, and what (if anything) stopped those who did not apply from doing so.
We also explore the extent to which they are aware of the various forms of support and advice available to them when accessing finance. Looking forward, we track how many are planning to grow and the key barriers to running the business as they would wish.
Both the report and underlying data are made available free to all interested parties, and the quarterly results are widely quoted in the media.
Register below to receive the results each month.
Scaleups - helping fast growing SMEs
The SME Finance Monitor is increasingly being used to help Government and private and public sector bodies better understand not just the overall SME market but key groups of interest. We recently worked with the Scaleup Institute to highlight the key challenges faced by fast growing businesses. Their report, launched at the Stock Exchange, can be downloaded here from the Scaleup Institute. SME Finance Monitor data is freely available to all interested parties, so if you’d like to discuss how it might help inform your organisation, please get in touch.
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- NACBF magazine, Ask the Expert: Surveying SMEs and their approach to finance
- Bank of England report on the future of finance (p62)
- UKFinance, 'A question of SME finance demand'
- P2P Finance News, 'SME finance demand down on Brexit uncertainty'
- Business Insider, 'SMEs opt for self-funding'
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Latest press
The SME Finance Monitor reports:
2019
Annual Report 2019 (published July 2020)
SME Finance Monitor Q4 2019 - published 19 March 2020.
Ch 5: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 1)
Ch 6: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 2)
Ch 8: An overview of borrowing events
Ch 9: Outcome of Type 1 applications
Ch 10: Why were SMEs not looking to borrow in the last 12 months?
Ch 12: Awareness of Taskforce and other initiatives
Ch 13: Selected charts and graphs
SME Finance Monitor Q2 2019 - published 19 September 2019.
Individual chapters:
Ch 5: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 1)
Ch 6: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 2)
Ch 8: An overview of borrowing events
Ch 9: Borrowing events in more detail
Ch 10: Outcome of Type 1 applications
Ch 11: Why were SMEs not looking to borrow in the last 12 months?
Ch 13: Awareness of Taskforce and other initiatives
Ch 14: Selected charts and graphs
2018
Annual Report 2018 (published June 2019)
SME Finance Monitor Q4 2018 - published 14 March 2019.
Individual Chapters
Ch 5: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 1)
Ch 6: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 2)
Ch 8: An overview of borrowing events
Ch 9: Borrowing events in more detail
Ch 10: Outcome of Type 1 applications
Ch 11: Why were SMEs not looking to borrow in the last 12 months?
Ch 13: Awareness of Taskforce and other initiatives
Ch 14: Selected charts and graphs
SME Finance Monitor Q2 2018 - published 02 October 2018.
Individual chapters:
Ch 5: Financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 1)
Ch 6: Financial context - how are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 2)
Ch 8: An overview of borrowing events
Ch 9: Borrowing events in more detail
Ch 10: Outcome of Type 1 applications
Ch 11: Why were SMEs not looking to borrow in the previous 12 months?
2018
2017
Annual Report 2017 (published August 2018)
SME Finance Monitor Q4 2017 - published 15 March 2018.
Individual chapters:
Ch 5: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 1)
Ch 6: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves? (Part 2)
Ch 7: An initial summary of all overdraft and loan events
Ch 8: The build up to applications for overdrafts and loans
Ch 9: The outcome of the application/renewal
Ch 10: The impact of the application/renewal process
Ch 11: Rates and fees - Type 1 events
Ch 12: Why were SMEs not looking to borrow in the previous 12 months?
Ch 14: Awareness of Taskforce and other initiatives
Ch 15: Selected charts and graphs
SME Finance Monitor Q2 2017 - published 14 September 2017.
Individual chapters:
Ch 5: The financial context - How are SMEs funding themselves?
Ch 6: An initial summary of all overdraft and loan events
Ch 7: The build up to applications for overdrafts and loans
Ch 8: The outcome of the application/renewal
Ch 9: The impact of the application/renewal process
Ch 10: Rates and fees - Type 1 events
Ch 11: Why were SMEs not looking to borrow in the previous 12 months?
2017
2016
Annual Report 2016 (published 22 June 2017)
SME Finance Monitor Q4 2016 (published Thursday 9 March 2017)
Q4 2016 SME Finance Monitor Management summary
Ethnic Minority Business Report Q2 2016.
2016
2015
Women-Led Businesses - Analysis from the SME Finance Monitor YEQ4 2015. Download the report
Q4 2015 SME Finance Monitor Full Report
Q3 2015 SME Finance Monitor Management Summary
Q3 2015 SME Finance Monitor Charts
Listen to BVA BDRC Director Shiona Davies discuss the Q2 SME Finance Monitor on Share Radio
Q2 2015 SME Finance Monitor Management Summary
Q2 2015 SME Finance Monitor Full Report
Q1 2015 SME Finance Monitor Management Summary
Q1 2015 SME Finance Monitor Charts
Ethnic Minority Business Report - view the infographic.
2015
2014
2014 Annual Report- (published July 2015).
Q3 2014 SME Finance Monitor Management Summary
Q1 2014 SME Finance Monitor (charts only)
Women-led Businesses Report - view the infographic.
2014
2013
2013
2012
2012
2011
2011
