Richard Roberts is Hon. Professor at Birmingham University Business School, UK. Prior to this, he researched small businesses issues at Barclays for 30 years. During this period, Professor Roberts was a member of the BIS/HMT Small Firms Advisory Panel and the BBA Business Finance Taskforce. As well as his current Professorship, Richard is consultant to a number of public and private bodies, including the Treasury Select Committee, and holds an MBE for services to UK Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.

'This book reflects the accumulated knowledge of someone who really knows about the nitty-gritty of small business finance from working for 30 years for Barclays Bank, whilst writing top quality academic papers and being a major influence on policy. Nobody knows more and I urge you read it.' - David Storey, Professor, School of Business Management and Economics, The University of Sussex, UK'A number of us have been waiting for this book for a long time. It provides a unique insight into SME finance. It is well written and makes an important contribution to the SME policy and research literature.' - Robin Jarvis, Special Adviser to Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Professor of Accounting, Brunel University, UK

• Preface Part I: Context 1. Defining Small and Entrepreneurial Business Finance 2. Why is Lending to - or Investing in - a Small Firm Difficult? 3. External Finance Products used by Small and Entrepreneurial Firms Part II: Product Review 4. Structured Debt: Term loans and commercial mortgages 5. Cash-Flow Products: Overdraft and business credit cards 6. Factoring and Invoice Discounting 7. Leasing 8. Equity Part III: A Longer Term View 9. The use of External Finance over time: Escalators and roller-coasters 10. Current and Future Trends in Finance for Small and Entrepreneurial Businesses Appendix I: Case Studies in External Finance Appendix II: International Data

Richard Roberts is Hon. Professor at Birmingham University Business School, UK. Prior to this, he researched small businesses issues at Barclays for 30 years. During this period, Professor Roberts was a member of the BIS/HMT Small Firms Advisory Panel and the BBA Business Finance Taskforce. As well as his current Professorship, Richard is consultant to a number of public and private bodies, including the Treasury Select Committee, and holds an MBE for services to UK Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.

'This book reflects the accumulated knowledge of someone who really knows about the nitty-gritty of small business finance from working for 30 years for Barclays Bank, whilst writing top quality academic papers and being a major influence on policy. Nobody knows more and I urge you read it.' - David Storey, Professor, School of Business Management and Economics, The University of Sussex, UK'A number of us have been waiting for this book for a long time. It provides a unique insight into SME finance. It is well written and makes an important contribution to the SME policy and research literature.' - Robin Jarvis, Special Adviser to Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Professor of Accounting, Brunel University, UK

• Preface Part I: Context 1. Defining Small and Entrepreneurial Business Finance 2. Why is Lending to - or Investing in - a Small Firm Difficult? 3. External Finance Products used by Small and Entrepreneurial Firms Part II: Product Review 4. Structured Debt: Term loans and commercial mortgages 5. Cash-Flow Products: Overdraft and business credit cards 6. Factoring and Invoice Discounting 7. Leasing 8. Equity Part III: A Longer Term View 9. The use of External Finance over time: Escalators and roller-coasters 10. Current and Future Trends in Finance for Small and Entrepreneurial Businesses Appendix I: Case Studies in External Finance Appendix II: International Data

Richard Roberts is Hon. Professor at Birmingham University Business School, UK. Prior to this, he researched small businesses issues at Barclays for 30 years. During this period, Professor Roberts was a member of the BIS/HMT Small Firms Advisory Panel and the BBA Business Finance Taskforce. As well as his current Professorship, Richard is consultant to a number of public and private bodies, including the Treasury Select Committee, and holds an MBE for services to UK Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.

'This book reflects the accumulated knowledge of someone who really knows about the nitty-gritty of small business finance from working for 30 years for Barclays Bank, whilst writing top quality academic papers and being a major influence on policy. Nobody knows more and I urge you read it.' - David Storey, Professor, School of Business Management and Economics, The University of Sussex, UK'A number of us have been waiting for this book for a long time. It provides a unique insight into SME finance. It is well written and makes an important contribution to the SME policy and research literature.' - Robin Jarvis, Special Adviser to Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Professor of Accounting, Brunel University, UK

• Preface Part I: Context 1. Defining Small and Entrepreneurial Business Finance 2. Why is Lending to - or Investing in - a Small Firm Difficult? 3. External Finance Products used by Small and Entrepreneurial Firms Part II: Product Review 4. Structured Debt: Term loans and commercial mortgages 5. Cash-Flow Products: Overdraft and business credit cards 6. Factoring and Invoice Discounting 7. Leasing 8. Equity Part III: A Longer Term View 9. The use of External Finance over time: Escalators and roller-coasters 10. Current and Future Trends in Finance for Small and Entrepreneurial Businesses Appendix I: Case Studies in External Finance Appendix II: International Data