Giftwar
e Association CEO, Sarah Ward, has been given the exciting and rare opportunity to give the home and gift industry a voice in the House of Lords, discussing businesses access to finance.
For the past four years Sarah has presented the thoughts and concerns of GA members and the wider gift and home industry to the Bank of England through the Genesis Initiative, which was set up to consult with business throughout the UK in an effort to guide government towards policies favouring SMEs.
The House of Lords meeting, to be held on March 27, will involve discussion about the merits of lending and how new opportunities can help future SMEs increase business within the UK.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of business lenders in the UK since the financial crisis of 2008, however some 80% of UK businesses will still approach their local high street for lending as a first port of call. This means that many might not be receiving the right type of lending for their needs. The view is to create more awareness and confidence about the lending industry so businesses can assess and meet their needs more effectively.
The central question the meeting will be based around is: How can we make a change to ensure that the overall UK economy benefits from today’s positive business lending landscape? The meeting will be attended not only by association and industry managers, but also around two dozen business lenders.
The GA has devised a short survey to help present as accurate a representation as possible of our industry’s needs and concerns. If you are a retailer, designer, wholesaler or manufacturer in the gift and home industry, you can take the survey here:
