KPMG and Funding XChange join forces to break deadlock on SME funding
Funding XChange (FXE), the first UK online marketplace that connects small businesses with lenders, has joined forces with global professional services firm KPMG to tackle the £4 billion funding gap – a bottleneck that is holding back the growth aspirations of UK small businesses.
At a time when small business lending remains in the doldrums despite the economic recovery, the agreement between KPMG Small Business Accounting (KPMG SBA) and FXE changes the small business funding landscape; getting lenders to compete for customers, saving the SME time, money, as well as increasing the chances of them securing the right type of funding on the right terms.
FXE will provide funding solutions for KPMG SBA’s small business customers across the UK. FXE’s simple comparison tool enables SMEs to take control of funding their business by comparing quotes from a panel of lenders offering the full range of funding options, including newer forms of finance such as fast business cash, invoice finance and merchant funding.
Despite the alternative lending market growing by around 160% in the year to 2014, many business owners are still not aware of the different funding options available to them, with over 60% only considering one provider – typically their chosen high street bank – when seeking lending. With new lending models often being highly specialized it can be extremely difficult for a business to identify the right funder and the best terms for their specific situation.
FXE simplifies the lending process for KPMG’s SBA customers, enabling small businesses to learn about the different funding options available to them outside of the usual network of retail banks and compare the terms of each. By completing just one application, businesses take only 10 minutes to compare funding options from a panel of 25 funding providers. After closing the deal, funds can be accessed in a matter of days, rather than weeks or months. Since launching in June 2015, small businesses have been offered £50M of funding from lenders on FXE.
Katrin Herrling, Founder and CEO of FXE, comments: “Despite the fact that small businesses accounted for 99 per cent of all private sector businesses in the UK last year, the sector has been one of the major victims of the austerity years. A huge proportion of finance requests continue to be rejected, making it increasingly difficult for SMEs to access the funding needed to build and grow their businesses. Ultimately this is stifling innovation and job creation and damaging the health of the UK economy. The Government’s criticism of banks for not lending enough makes quite clear the huge gap between the need for funding from small businesses and the lending criteria of the high street banks. The answer is not simply to bully the banks but for the market and the Government to accept that more choice and funding options are required to properly support the needs of our innovative and brave business community, which remains the backbone to the economy and economic growth.”
“The emergence of alternative funding in recent years has finally given business owners the chance to regain control of funding their business, but the rapid pace of innovation in this space can be baffling for borrowers. We are delighted to be working with KPMG to open up the alternative funding universe to its network of small business accounting customers, providing them with a jargon-free, user-friendly experience.”
Bivek Sharma, who has led the development of KPMG’s Small Business Accounting proposition, comments: “All too often, the only channel that SMEs explore is acquiring funding through their existing banking relationship – neglecting other lending options that could be far more suited to their structure and business. The lack of transparency makes it difficult for SMEs to compare funding options, primarily as a result of the opacity and complexity of lending products and charges. Our alliance with Funding XChange will make it much easier for SMEs to compare the alternative options available to them and access the funding they need to flourish and sometimes even survive.”
Source: Funding XChange – KPMG and Funding XChange join forces to break deadlock on SME funding
