Members of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) believe the level of UK Government borrowing is too high. In the BVCA’s latest quarterly survey, 78% of the 165 respondents felt that public borrowing was either “too high” (20%) or “somewhat too high” (58%). Just 22% thought the level was about right and nobody believed it was too low.
The survey also showed that a large portion of the industry (41%) are indifferent to the efforts by the Labour administration to encourage an entrepreneurial environment. Three per cent though the encouragement was very good, 22% good, 30% poor and 4% very poor.
It was a similar story when assessing the Government’s attempts to promote a dynamic business environment. Just 2% think it is very good, 15% good, 39% neither good nor poor, 37% poor and 8% thought very poor.
Looking at their own business more specifically, 67% of respondents felt the business environment over the past three months has been fairly favourable for their company, and 68% thought the business environment would remain the same over the coming quarter.
In terms of fund raising, 37% thought the fund raising environment has been neither favourable or unfavourable over the last three months, with 36% calling it fairly favourable and 18% fairly unfavourable.
Sixty-seven per cent of respondents believe the fund raising environment will remain the same over the next three months.