A PIONEERING report on the perception of often-poor availability of bank finance for has been welcomed by leading York and Yorkshire accountants Garbutt & Elliott.

The report, titled To What Extent Have SMEs Had Issues Accessing Bank Finance?, compiled and published by BDRC Continental, suggests many SMEs are still struggling to borrow what they need from banks.

Jeremy Oliver corporate finance director at Garbutt & Elliott, which has offices in York and Leeds, welcomed the report as “instructive and stimulating”.

He said: “Chancellor George Osborne recently told Parliament that bank lending to small businesses is at the top of the list of issues he is monitoring. He is right to focus on SMEs; their growth will drive the UK’s economic recovery.

“Clearly, financing that growth requires a good relationship between banks and businesses – yet this report suggests there is room for improvement. As accountants we are in a unique position to assess this relationship and to help to improve it.

“The report indicates the advice offered by the banks was not that well rated by the SMEs involved. A comparison with previous research suggests that the number of SMEs who had successfully accessed funding has declined from pre-crisis levels.

“Few SMEs felt that their relationship with the bank had improved during the recession and, indeed, four out of ten questioned, claimed to be considering a change of bank.”