Undervalued properties preventing bank lending
A small business support group has warned that inaccurate property valuations are preventing many small businesses from accessing affordable bank loans.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) believes that banks are often under-valuing properties when considering them as security for business loans. This means that many small businesses are either forced to stomach unfairly high interest rates on credit — or are denied loans altogether, it says.
Research carried out by the Forum last month revealed that smaller businesses can expect to pay more than double the interest rate on unsecured loans than on lending guaranteed by assets.
On average, members of the Forum's Economy Watch panel faced interest rates of 11.8% on unsecured borrowing, compared with 4.5% for secured lending.
Of those business owners providing security, almost three quarters 74% secured the loan against either a commercial or residential property, highlighting the importance of fair and accurate valuations.
"One of the root causes of the crisis of lending on commercial property is the lack of transparency in the UK's commercial property market," said Andrew Bacon, of business property specialists LeaseholdersUnited.
"This has left many valuers with inadequate market data that, given economic conditions, will make them more pessimistic resulting in lower valuations on commercial properties. This means many banks will subsequently have a limited appetite and ability to lend to businesses."
