The thoughts of Republic of Ireland's dental practice owners
Despite half of dental practice owners in the UK and the Republic of Ireland finding access to finance ‘a challenge’, the majority still intend to press ahead with seeking funding for investment in the next 12 months, research from Close Brothers reveals.
The findings are based on a Lightspeed survey conducted on behalf of Close Brothers in May 2018, which canvassed the opinion of 830 SMEs across the UK and Ireland.
Fewer than one in five dentists are finding it easier to access the funding they need from lenders, with a quarter never having had a problem (see table, below, for full results).
Focusing on dentists’ enthusiasm to invest, the results show a clear split between the two regions, with 60% of UK-based dentists answering ‘yes’ to the question ‘do you plan to seek funding for business investment in the next 12 months?’ against 48% from those in Ireland.
“There is a common perception that there is a strong appetite from funders to lend to the businesses in the professions sectors,” said Aileen Boyle, Managing Director, Close Brothers. “What our research shows is that there is a far more nuanced picture out there, with some firms still finding it a challenge accessing the funds they need to invest, despite businesses wanting to do just that.”
