Over 70% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be missing out on broker support, as only 28% had used a broker to access business finance, research from Time Finance found.
The survey showed that 52% of SMEs knew about brokers but had never used them, and 20% did not know brokers could help them get finance.
21% did not know about asset finance, 24% were unaware of invoice finance, and 36% had not heard of asset based lending (ABL).
Ed Rimmer, CEO at Time Finance, said: “Our survey has shown there is a real gap for businesses in their knowledge of the sheer variety of options they have when it comes to business finance.
“It’s clear they would benefit from the guidance and support of our broker partners, all of which work with businesses to introduce them to solutions that suit their specific ambitions and circumstances.
“Only 28% of those we surveyed have used a broker to access business finance.”
Rimmer added: “There will be businesses in the remaining 70% that either don’t need finance or are potentially accessing finance directly from a lender, but there will inevitably be a majority of businesses not quite knowing where to start with accessing finance.
“We need to help bridge this gap. We want to work with our broker partners to help break down some of these barriers, to educate SMEs on the options available to them and help them access solutions that will ultimately fuel their growth.”
