Andrew Buswell, Sales Director – Transport Division, Close Brothers Asset Finance

For this LIVEtalk discussion, we spoke to Andrew Buswell, Sales Director at Close Brothers Finance. Over the last 30 years, Close Brothers Asset Finance has grown to become a leading asset finance company, providing finance for businesses wanting to buy new or used vehicles. Working closely with individual businesses, their team of experts fully understand the industry and offer tailor-made, practical solutions to enable success and growth. When we asked Andrew how he keeps on top of the sector, he told us "As the Sales Director for Close Brothers Asset Finance’s Transport division, I’m always keen to learn more about the issues SMEs in the transport industry are facing, which I do by analysing the results of our quarterly business barometer".

GBS: So Andrew, What is the ‘Business Barometer?’

Andrew: The business barometer is our quarterly survey of almost 1,000 SMEs across the UK, which is conducted by specialist independent researcher, Lightspeed, on Close Brothers’ behalf. We started the survey in 2008 to help us understand the issues SMEs face in more detail.

The questions we ask cover important topics like SMEs’ economic outlook, finance requirements, general concerns and priorities, mental health, environmental responsibility and much more. 

GBS: PWC projected that UK economic growth will dip to 1.1% in 2019. According to the Barometer, what do transport SMEs think about the current economic outlook?

Andrew: The business barometer shows that Transport SMEs’ views are broadly in line with rest of the UK - 36% are confident that the economy will grow compared to 37% of SMEs across the UK. Furthermore, 31% of transport SMEs feel that, while it will take longer, better times are ahead.

However, a significant group of transport SMEs – 30% - are concerned that the economy could decline and say that their businesses haven’t experienced any true economic growth. 

GBS: How easy are Transport SMEs finding it to access the funding they need to grow?

Andrew: Businesses in the industry show a strong willingness to invest in growth but 34% of the businesses we surveyed say that they are finding it a ‘major challenge’ to access the funding they need. Unfortunately, these businesses also say that it is more difficult to access funding now than it was a year ago.

Subsequently, when asked what their biggest concerns are, 22% of Transport firms said, ‘maintaining cash flow’. Unsurprisingly, finances are a major concern for transport SMEs – at Close Brothers Asset Finance we base our lending decisions on the overall health and plans for the business – not just a credit rating. As a result, we aim to be as accessible as possible for businesses.  

GBS: What do Transport businesses feel about their environmental responsibility?

Andrew: The good news is that eight out of 10 businesses in the transport industry are actively encouraging their employees to be more environmentally responsible. In fact, 69% say that they would consider offering employees an extra day off a year to volunteer for environmental causes.

However, transport firms (81%) still prioritise the financial cost of goods over their environmental impact when they are making procurement decisions.

Our CEO, Neil Davies, recently said that business owners face a difficult decision; on the one hand they really want to be ethical in the purchasing choices they make, but on the other they need to protect their profits.

GBS: For the transport industry – how bad is the problem of traffic congestion?

Andrew: It is fair to say that traffic congestion is reaching crisis point across the UK and is now at a level where it is having a negative impact on both productivity and profitability for many UK businesses – not just in the transport industry. In fact, the UK is the world’s 10th most congested country.

Our Barometer results indicate that 83% of transport businesses feel that traffic congestion is a significant problem in the UK, which is only becoming worse (69%).

This is impacting on 65% of transport companies’ ability to trade or operate at their full capacity – a statistic that is significantly higher than the UK average of 41%.

GBS: Thanks Andrew.

You can find out more about the work of Close Brothers and what they bring to the finance and the transport industries at #GBS19 on 21 & 22 May 2019 at Cheltenham Town Hall. they'll be in the main hall on stand Mg4

Their website is www.closeasset.co.uk/transport and if you'd like to pick up with them directly, then you can call on 0203 393 9963 or email at:

[email protected]