News: South Yorkshire backed to beat credit crunch

Businesses in South Yorkshire are in a better position than many across the country to beat the credit crunch according to an independent survey. The online survey, commissioned by South Yorkshire Investment Fund (SYIF), received responses from more than 70 intermediaries who work with businesses in the region to discover how they expect the market to be affected by the current economic situation. The majority of intermediaries said accessing finance remained a problem for every business group, but particularly for new start-up enterprises (89 per cent) and early stage technology based businesses (83 per cent). Similarly, 62 per cent of intermediaries thought that even established small businesses are experiencing difficulties in finding appropriate funding. However, intermediaries were positive about SYIF's investment products and how they were effectively filling the main funding gaps in the market. Tony Goulbourn, Chief Executive of SYIF, said: "The aim of the survey was to get an idea of how experts felt businesses in the region would deal with the credit crunch as well as to gauge our position in the market from the people who know best. "We know we're in the grip of the credit crunch and banks and investment companies are tightening their belts. But it's shown how valuable our presence is to the region's economy and, perhaps most poignantly, it will help to shape the direction of the Fund until it is fully invested and the Regional Successor Fund is in place."

SYIF website
Rotherham