SMEs rejected by banks offered financing

30-Jan-2014 - Last updated on 31-Jan-2014 at 11:13 GMT

Fleximize will offer loans to businesses that have already been refused money by banks

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food and drink sector could benefit from an innovative and flexible source of financing if they have previously been rejected by banks, according to a new company launched this week.

Fleximize aims to provide credit to SMEs based on their current revenue flow that will closely fit the growth path of their businesses.

Many financially strong and viable SMEs are being rejected for loans because they don’t fit the strict criteria applied by many banks, Fleximize’s founder and managing partner Max Chmyshuk claimed.

Using an analysis of companies’ financial performance and its customer feedback on online trading platforms, such as Amazon and eBay, Fleximize will offer loans to businesses that have been rejected by banks.

In exchange the firm receives a fixed percentage of gross revenues from commercial borrowers, typically 10–20%.

Rejected

Banks rejected up to £66.8M of loan and overdraft applications from businesses in the manufacturing sector in Q3 2013, according to Fleximize. Nationally the figure was £1.2bn, it also claimed.

As a result, 69% of SMEs, interviewed by market research company Consumer Intelligence, in the UK currently believed it was “very difficult” or “difficult” to secure funding.

Of these, 42% believed it would become harder to secure funding over the next 12 months.

Chmyshuk said it was essential that SMEs had access to credit to help them grow.

“With many banks still being reluctant to lend, an improving economy and a growing number of strong and viable SMEs, now is a great time to launch our proposition,” he said. “Indeed, our research shows that 59% of SMEs would immediately consider a proposition like ours, and wish to discuss it further.”