Small firms demand more Government help

Around 93% of small firms in the construction industry feel that the Government could do more to help them gain finance and in addition 86% of them feel that the Government fails to understand their needs.

These are the findings of a major British Chamber of Commerce Survey which looked at 559 companies with fewer than 50 employees.

There are, however a number of encouraging signs including the fact that most firms report they are getting on better with their banks.

This is true of the construction firms surveyed with 42% saying their relationship with their bank improved and only 13% saying it worsened over the last five years.

There, are still problems being experienced by the small builder with 76% of those who used external finance saying they had to use it to maintain an adequate cash flow. This was the highest percentage of any trade sector surveyed.

Only slightly more than half the building firms contacted feel that they are at a competitive disadvantage concerning the range of finance available to them compared with other European Union member states.

Construction firms usually sought advice on sources of finance from their bank and a staggering 77%, the highest for any trade by a considerable margin, felt the bank's personnel knew and understood their business.