WILL THE GROWING NUMBER OF NEW BUSINESS START UPS FALTER BECAUSE OF LACK OF KNOWLEDGE?
Equifax warns that lack of information may limit growth of new businesses
London 11th September 2007 – According to a new report*, a staggering 105,800 new businesses were started in the first quarter of 2007, up from 86,400 in the fourth quarter of last year. This is an excellent sign of optimism for the UK economy, but leading business information provider, Equifax, is warning that many of these new companies could fall at the first hurdle, especially as the reality is that between 300,000 and 500,000 of UK business start ups fold within three years.
“There are two big threats facing new start-ups” confirmed Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax. “The first is that they deal with businesses about which they have little knowledge and, as a result, suffer bad debt or fraud. The second is that larger companies are reluctant to do business with them because they can’t find out enough about them. Information is the answer to both these threats.”
The failure of customers or suppliers can have a catastrophic effect on an organisation – especially a new start-up. That’s why Equifax provides a range of online credit information tools, enabling businesses to do the initial checks on new customers and suppliers. Full reports are available on over 1.8 million UK Limited companies and more than 1.4 million Non-Limited businesses, including credit limits on Limited companies and Non-Limited businesses. And Equifax offers a choice of subscription, monthly pay-as-you-go or payment by credit card making it easy for new businesses to get access to the information they need, cost-effectively. Equifax also advises that new businesses should protect their future by monitoring customers and suppliers on an on-going basis to be alerted to any changes in financial status which may affect their ability to pay their bills or deliver necessary goods.
The other threat to new business start-ups is what Equifax calls ‘financial exclusion syndrome’. New businesses don’t have much history – so larger businesses are less inclined to give them orders or credit. But without those orders, the new businesses can’t grow. Helping to tackle this syndrome, which Equifax believes is severely impacting the growth of the UK economy as a whole, are the Equifax Blended Data Reports, a unique range of business reports which combine business data with personal credit information of a business' directors or owners.
This combination of consumer credit information and business data can help provide a greater insight into a business’ financial stability and growth potential, no matter how new or small, giving other companies more confidence in dealing with them. And by developing working relationships with larger companies, small and new businesses can often get better credit limits and start to expand their supplier and customer base.
According to Steve Sharratt, the chairman of the Confederation of British Industry's small business council, "We're developing an increasing culture of people wanting to take destiny into their own hands and build a business". Equifax believes easy and cost-effective access to good quality, in-depth information is the key to their success.
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*Barclays report issued August 2007
For further press information please contact: Claire Foster, Kate Clements or Wendy Harrison at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: claire@harrisonsadler.com
About Equifax
Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customised insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.
Customers have trusted Equifax for over 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity and maximise their financial well-being.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. employs approximately 5,000 people in 14 countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.
Equifax. Information That Empowers.
