Fewer than half as many female than male business owners are confident about the future success of their businesses post-Brexit.
New research conducted by RateSetter Business Finance reveals only ten per cent of women business leaders believe that leaving the EU will be positive for their business. This contrasts to the fact that twice the number (21 per cent) of male business owners have an optimistic outlook about Brexit.
Commenting on the findings, Paul Marston, managing director of RateSetter Commercial Finance, says, ‘Overall, it is clear that small business leaders are not at all optimistic about the impact of Brexit, but we were rather surprised to find such a difference between the views of male and female business people.’
The research also reveals that businesswomen are almost twice as likely to look for a strong relationship with their finance provider compared to their male equivalents (10.34 per cent females vs 6.56 per cent males).
Nearly one-third (32.7 per cent) of female business owners want to find a lender that understands their business and business model, compared to just 19 per cent of men.
Paul Marston adds, ‘The drastic reduction of over 1,000 branches across the UK inevitably means that it’s become more difficult for banks to form a strong relationship with business customers and to get to know their businesses. Some may think it ironic that an online lender like RateSetter builds stronger relationships with businesses, but that is exactly what we are doing.
‘We are in the process of building a national network of Regional Managers precisely so that we can meet our customers, pay visits to their premises and listen to their stories. We believe that by looking behind the numbers at the people running those businesses we make better credit decisions.’
Further reading on Brexit confidence
