Lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looks to be improving, with recent figures showing that those in Scotland are increasingly being awarded finance.
The Scottish government's SME Access to Finance report for 2012 showed that 87 per cent of firms were able to access 100 per cent of the money they were seeking. This is an improvement on the 79 per cent recorded in the 2009-10 survey.
Meanwhile, nine per cent were found to be seeking new lending over the past year, with 32 per cent looking to renew existing access.
John Swinney, finance secretary for Scotland, commented: “Small and medium seized business are the lifeblood of the Scottish economy. Collectively they employ over one million people and account for around 54 per cent of total employees in Scotland's private sector. Any evidence of increased lending to SMEs is good news for our economy and will be a key element in building a sustained recovery.”
He added that the government is continuing to do whatever it can to encourage viable businesses to pursue funding. Furthermore, while lending criteria has become stricter since the recession, the right business proposition will still allow for access to finance so Mr Swinney urged investors and entrepreneurs not to be put off applying. 
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