A new study of regional businesses  undertaken by Complete Commercial Finance between April and early June paints a picture of optimism in the region. With respondents representing 12 sectors, 91 per cent of participants said they feel very positive or positive about their business’ performance over the next 12 months.

Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 is the biggest challenge facing 51 per cent of businesses, with tax and late payments equally issues affecting the outlook for 29 per cent of participating firms. Despite this, only two per cent of respondents use invoice discounting which offers a flexible, practical solution to improve cashflow.

“We were delighted with the response to our first business survey, a project we intend to repeat annually to benchmark attitudes amongst company owners,” says Complete Commercial Finance’s directors Karl Lanham and Michael Moore. “The past year has been incredibly challenging for most firms and it is heartening to hear how positive businesses feel about the next 12 months.

“Despite this, the study reveals gaps in businesses’ financial knowledge. Many companies could benefit from using commercial finance to improve their cashflow, yet 29 per cent of respondents say they don’t know where to find the right finance, worry about a poor credit history (29 per cent) or think it is expensive (24 per cent). We are here to help businesses find the right finance products and overcome credit issues, and we are on a mission to educate more firms to see commercial finance as a valuable business tool to grow.”