Commenting on the Bank of England’s figures on lending to non-financial UK businesses, Dr Adam Marshall, Executive Director of Policy and External Affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“It is concerning to see lending to businesses contract so sharply, which is a marked acceleration of the overall trend we’ve seen over the past five years.

“While we welcome the moderate growth seen in small business lending this past month, we must ask whether we can achieve the levels of business investment that the UK economy needs without bank lending playing a stronger role. There are important questions about both the availability of bank finance, and companies’ appetite for that finance, that still need to be answered.”