SURVEYS HAVE the disconcerting habit of revealing the expected. Last year, the UK government carried out a public consultation on funding for small businesses: 'Bridging the finance gap: a consultation on improving access to growth capital for small businesses' (www.sbs.gov.uk/financegap). It drew more 150 written replies, of which the overwhelming majority indicated that many small businesses find it difficult to raise the money they need. The result, when you think about it, is something of a paradox. In the UK, levels of personal debt are at unprecedented levels and, yet, promising businesses, with the potential to make useful contributions to employment and national wealth, are stymied for want of effective sources of capital funding.
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