Business cash advance company Liberis has told BikeBiz it has seen a more than a 100% increase in demand for its funding from independent cycle retailers across the country in the past year.
The average amount requested is around £15,000 with the most common uses being to buy stock, to fill a cash-flow gap and store refurbishment.
According to its CEO, Paul Mildenstein, “Demand from cycle retailers is up generally, but we saw a particular spike in the first quarter of this year, mainly for stock purchases. This used to be covered by bank overdrafts, but these are still in short supply for independents even though business confidence is coming back.
“The funding choices for cycle retailers are better than ever before, with a wide range of options including crowd funding, business cash advance, peer-to-peer, business angels and pension led funding. The use of use of technology through online platforms is changing the way that small businesses can access capital, bringing efficiencies and convenience never seen before.” he adds.
That said, he also warns many small business owners remain unaware that there are non-bank funders out there willing and able to lend money. In a recent survey with One Poll of 1,000 small firms, 45 per cent didn’t understand what alternative funding was or had never heard of it. The situation is made worse by the lack of research small businesses do into funding options. A British Business Bank study showed that 40 per cent of business owners spent under one hour researching funding and 20 per cent spent one to two hours.
Mildenstein’s advice to cycle retailers looking for business funding is:
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