ECI: UK growth businesses enjoy easier access to finance

According to ECI's 2013 Growth Survey, which polled more than 650 UK companies, 54% of respondents expect it to be easy or very easy to attract growth finance over the next 12 months, compared with just 36% who felt the same way last year.

More companies are interested in private equity, with 57% looking to buyout houses to fund growth, up from 40% last year. Meanwhile, equity injections are increasingly popular with 41% of companies likely to look to public markets for growth, up from just 9% in 2012.

However, the more traditional bank route to finance has remained consistent, as 58% say they are likely to use this form of lending to fund growth, up slightly from 57% last year.

The survey found that the majority of businesses polled are confident; 73% are looking to fund growth projects over the next 12 months. The main driver of growth appears to be new product markets, with 38% of those surveyed citing this as a key growth strategy. International expansion is a driver for 36% of companies, which see entry into new countries as key for growth. Just less than a third of respondents (31%) see investment in staff as a driver for growth.

Companies seem less worried about Europe's debt crisis, with 56% of those surveyed viewing the continent as the number one destination for internationalisation, up from 43% in 2012 and ahead of Asia Pacific and China, the US and India.

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• ECI Partners