The BPS Blog

Banks Want Better Business Planning

25/05/2011

With the news that bank lending to small businesses in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2011 was lower than the target set by the British government, some comments have been made in the media suggesting that banks are looking for a better quality of business planning from prospective loan customers running small and start-up businesses.  There have been some suggestions that more comprehensive business planning by entrepreneurs, supported by quality advice from professionals, could be the key to a higher success rate in applications for bank finance.

Pitching for Finance at Your High-Street Bank

It can, of course, be a challenging prospect to put all your plans down on paper for inspection and approval by a financial institution, especially if you are looking to turn around a business situation that has no history of profit, but if you are serious about raising finance, informed and accurate business plans are essential.  Comments from bankers who are in the business of making the key decisions on accepting or rejecting loan applications suggest that there really are a number of tricks that entrepreneurs can learn and use to increase their chances of successfully pitching for finance.  These tricks may be as simple as presentation style, but they also reach into the realm of content, such as defining a clear differentiation from competitors in the market.  There are few short cuts when it comes to work on research, but a little help with the business planning can go a long way to making it less stressful and more likely to succeed.