Peoplefund.it to Launch Next Generation Finance Consortium
Peoplefund.it and a set of forward-thinking finance providers have joined forces to create the Next Generation Finance Consortium to help UK cash-strapped businesses and aid Britain’s recovery. As banks fail to hit their lending targets, the group is seeking to change the financial landscape in the UK and respond to the growing demand for alternative sources of business finance. The new consortium will launch on 8 March 2012 at the Cass Business School, London.
The group will provide entrepreneurs and small businesses with much needed advice and support about new finance options available to them. It will also liaise with UK government bodies and other organisations, lobbying for support on key issues related to small business finance.
Access to finance continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing British start-ups today. Official figures released last week show that high street banks missed their ‘Project Merlin’ lending target to small firms by £1.1bn. This is pain amplified in London where 25 per cent of the UK’s new businesses start. The continued economic turmoil is stifling growth and threatening to create a lost generation of entrepreneurs.
Nick Underhill, Peoplefund.it, said: “It’s time for people to come together and recognise that not only is there a need for alternative sustainable funding solutions, but actually there are a raft of new models for getting funded. Peoplefund.it is seeing huge traction – one of our first projects attracted £40k in six days.”