A recent survey by Time Finance has revealed that more than 70% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from broker support in accessing finance for growth.

Conducted in partnership with Censuswide, the survey found that 28% of SMEs had utilised a broker to secure business finance.

The Finance Apathy Survey, which included 500 SME owners and decision-makers, revealed that 52% were aware of brokers but had never engaged their services, while 20% were unaware that brokers could assist in accessing finance.

Time Finance's survey also explored SME attitudes towards lending and awareness of different financial products.

The UK-based lender said that despite a healthy appetite for business finance, many SMEs lacked knowledge of key financial products.

Specifically, 21% were unaware of asset finance, 24% of invoice finance, and 36% of asset-based lending (ABL).

Time Finance CEO Ed Rimmer said: “Our survey has shown there is a real gap for businesses in their knowledge of the sheer variety of options they have when it comes to business finance. It is clear they would benefit from the guidance and support of our broker partners, all of which work with businesses to introduce them to solutions that suit their specific ambitions and circumstances.

“Only 28% of those we surveyed have used a broker to access business finance. There will be businesses in the remaining 70% that either don’t need finance or are potentially accessing finance directly from a lender, but there will inevitably be a majority of businesses that don't quite know where to start with accessing finance.

“We need to help bridge this gap. We want to work with our broker partners to help break down some of these barriers, to educate SMEs on the options available to them and help them access solutions that will ultimately fuel their growth.”

To bolster its support for SMEs, Time Finance recently appointed Terry Wolfendale as the new head of sales (South) for its invoice finance division.

The appointment formed part of the company's efforts to enhance its business finance support across London and the South East.

Wolfendale will lead the southern sales division, focusing on expanding Time Finance's presence and strengthening its brand within the invoice finance market.

As part of its growth strategy, Time Finance aims to expand its lending book to exceed £300m ($398.14m) by 2028.

"Time Finance survey reveals 70% of SMEs miss out on broker support for growth" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand.