Small business growth returns to pre-recession levels says study – FT.com

Here’s an excellent article from the FT, citing latest research from the Enterprise Research Center (five UK business schools).

via Small business growth returns to pre-recession levels says study – FT.com.

The article claims that small businesses (small medium enterprises  – SMEs) have finally returned to pre-recession levels. The article highlights that:

There are 5.2m businesses in the UK, 99 per cent of which are classified as SMEs. They employ more than 15m people and have a total turnover of £1.6tn, 47 per cent of business turnover.

Whilst the FT article and the underlying ERC research provide some useful objective data, there’s a an absence of subjective insight. During the same period, large corporate entities have continued to grow their profitability and capitalization – they have not had banks refuse to grant finance, nor ask for personal guarantees.

Let me turn this to an open question:

Why has UK small business growth only just returned to pre-recession levels?

Thoughts?

Lenders Step Up Financing to Subprime Borrowers – WSJ

Small line of customers (presumably anxious in...

Small line of customers (presumably anxious investors and savers) outside a branch of Northern Rock – a Mortgage specialist and a top UK mortgage lender – in North Street, Brighton, East Sussex. The business (a former “savings and loan” type Building Society which was demutualised in 1997) has been affected in part by problems in the US “subprime” lending market. Picture taken late on Friday afternoon on 14th September 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here we go again as lending to subprime lenders is ratcheted up with increased risk-taking. Check out this latest article in the WSJ.

via Lenders Step Up Financing to Subprime Borrowers – WSJ.

The financial crisis of 2008 started because of irresponsible lending to subprime borrowers. So what’s the chance of a repeat of the Crash of 2008?

Thoughts?