By taking the time to understand these businesses and make the most of their fixed and working capital assets, Wyelands Bank can help them to trade and grow, says the Bank’s Asset Finance Managing Director Jim Higginbotham.

Why do you focus on manufacturing?

The UK manufacturing sector employs 2.6 million people, or one in 12 jobs, and is responsible for nearly half of the country’s exports.

Yet despite the importance of the sector, many medium-sized manufacturing firms are struggling to get the funding they need to grow.

New Wyelands Bank research reveals just how these firms are held back due to a lack of finance. By addressing this issue, we could help the UK’s manufacturers to trade, grow and create jobs.

What’s the issue?

Our research of UK mid-sized manufacturers, turning over £10m to £300m, shows that nine out of ten firms (89%) are held back because of a lack of finance.

These difficulties in raising finance have stopped UK mid-sized manufacturers from winning new contracts and that has stifled new job creation.

Each firm said that the difficulties in raising finance meant they had missed out on an average of £20 million in revenues and an average of 11 new contracts. These would have enabled each firm to create 10 new jobs.

Clearly, if we scale these average results up against the 23,000 mid-sized manufacturing businesses in the UK then it’s clear to see that having the right access to finance is a material issue.

Our research of UK mid-sized manufacturers, turning over £10m to £300m, shows that nine out of ten firms (89%) are held back because of a lack of finance.

What’s more, our research shows that difficulties in raising finance also prevent 70% of firms from investing in new equipment or technology.

Half (50%) have also been held back from entering new markets and 45% have been prevented from moving to a new site or premises.

When manufacturing is so critical to the UK economy, this isn’t good enough.

How does Wyelands Bank help unlock growth?

UK mid-sized manufacturers are not able to grow to their full potential without greater access to finance. But that finance has not been available as traditional banks are too often unable to help.

Helping individual businesses unlock growth along the manufacturing supply chain would help tackle the UK economy’s productivity challenges.

Mid-market firms can have a disproportionate effect on growth and job creation in the economy as a whole, but first, they need to be understood as individual businesses. It takes time and effort to understand a firm’s specific challenges and identify how to help them. This must then be underpinned by a range of flexible financial solutions to help shape the right answer.

This might mean manufacturers using asset-based lending where they raise money against the invoices they have issued, or against stock that they hold. Or these businesses might be able to raise finance against the plant and machinery they have or are looking to get.

To make it easier for firms to raise finance, financial providers should be straightforward to deal with and speak the same language as their customers.

Mid-sized firms, turning over £10-300 million, are often too small to receive bespoke support from large high-street banks and often too big for peer-to-peer lenders.

Wyelands Bank was set up to help firms address these issues. We focus on getting to know the customers we work with so we can tailor the solution to the specific need.

How can we better support mid-sized businesses?

Mid-sized firms, turning over £10-300 million, are often too small to receive bespoke support from large high-street banks and often too big for peer-to-peer lenders.

By better understanding these businesses, we can help identify how they can access finance to bring their plans to life now and in the future. In enabling greater access to finance Wyelands Bank will help the UK’s mid-sized manufacturers to trade, grow and create jobs.