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Research from the University Nottingham (UoN) has identified the importance of agricultural business management in improving business performance. UoN-led work enhanced the on-line Farm Business Survey (SBS) Business Benchmarking service, supported by bespoke knowledge transfer and exchange activities. Analysis from the 2011/12 FBS shows that 15% of farmers "frequently benchmark at whole farm level" achieving an average Farm Business Income (FBI) of £128,900 in contrast to £63,000 for the 85% of farmers that do not benchmark. FBS Farm Business Benchmarking is the only free-to-use, non-data commitment, service that offers both national and international benchmarking options to the agricultural industry.
The UK Survey of SME Finances (UKSMEF) was conceived and developed by Dr W.S. Fraser to provide policy makers, and other users of the research, with a detailed analysis of SMEs, their owners and the availability and cost of finance. This innovative UKSMEF project has had sustained and on-going impact, playing an essential part in informing national policy to address the financing of the SME sector, and has resulted in providing SMEs with better access to finance opportunities, as well as leading to initiatives such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and the Ethnic Minority Business Taskforce. As a result new sources of finance for SMEs have been created and the UKSMEF has provided an on-going evidence base for policy-makers, aiding decision making and policy development.
Research on risk assessment of SMEs conducted at the University of Edinburgh Business School (2005-current) in conjunction with the international credit industry has improved understanding of SME behaviour with a view to assisting lending bodies in their decision-making. It has led to refinements in the process of developing commercial credit risk models by providing valuable additional details to enhance existing models. It has developed methodologies now used by some of the leading lenders [text removed for publication] to cut the cost of providing credit, thereby making more credit available to SMEs. The reach of the work has extended across 349 credit practitioners from 38 countries.
Research carried out at the University of Southampton into banking, economic growth and development has made Professor Richard Werner a trusted source of advice for economic policy-makers at the highest level, for example for the Financial Services Authority, the Independent Banking Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England. Through articles, books and many media contributions, he has promoted a greater public understanding of economics and the financial crisis. His credit creation analysis has also been adopted by two investment funds in their portfolio management, leading to financial gains for investors, outperforming the FTSE100.
Professor Wilson's research has increased understanding of how credit unions have developed in different countries, with the intention of informing policy around these institutions. Such work is especially important in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008, as many countries seek to strengthen their retail financial sectors. The research has had wide-ranging impact internationally on the ways in which policy makers, regulators and practitioners view the sector. Specifically, as part of the Irish Commission on Credit Unions, Wilson's work was taken up in reports which made a raft of recommendations that were later adopted to form the basis for new legislation (Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012). This new legislation in turn has affected the governance, regulation, stabilisation policy and structure of the credit union sector in Ireland.
According to the European Commission, over ninety nine per cent of Europe's businesses are SMEs. Their success is crucial for local enterprise, employment and taxation revenue. However, such organisations face major obstacles to accessing additional equity that typically are not faced by large corporations. This research has changed the way some Italian SMEs make decisions about the relative proportion of short-and long-term debt through adopting an optimisation model developed at Leicester's School of Management and which is now being rolled out in Italy and the UK. The Italian firms involved have reduced their cost of borrowing and enhanced their reputation with banks, hence making it easier for them to access more credit.
The Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR) pioneered a unique live platform that has informed and influenced the work of UK, European and International government agencies, industry, policy makers, practitioners and researchers. For the first time, CMBOR provided systematic research evidence on private-equity buyouts which is an area that is often misunderstood among policy makers and the wider public. The provision of extensive data on over 30,000 European private equity buy-out transactions and quarterly reports / analyses on buy-out activity has served to enhance government, industry and the wider public's understanding and inform the development of policies and practice on a strategic and operational level in the UK, Europe and US.
Professor Costas Grammenos' research at City University London changed the way traditional family shipping companies perceived the capital markets as a source of finance. Dissemination of his research to the international business community through international dialogue, debates and speeches has made a significant impact on the international shipping industry, in which several City alumni raised, or helped others to raise, funds from major global capital markets (e.g., New York, London). Up to 2000, only 25 shipping companies had raised finance from the US equity capital markets, with the number increasing to 56 for the period from 2000 to 2013.
Strathclyde research demonstrates that women entrepreneurs make an important contribution to economic development, but are disadvantaged by under-capitalization at start-up. Working with UK and devolved governments, leading banks and finance institutions, and regional enterprise support organizations, the researchers have stimulated and influenced the framing of policy debate; helped shape policy with regard to the participation of women entrepreneurs in economic growth; improved our understanding of factors underpinning access to finance opportunities for diverse enterprises; and influenced the work of business support organizations and commercial banks.
The funding of innovative SMEs is widely recognised to suffer from market failures and has been an area of policy concern since the 1930s. Sussex research has contributed significantly to understanding the underlying causes of these market failures, particularly for innovative firms in the UK and EU. It has placed stronger emphasis, than was the case in the past, on addressing demand -, rather than supply-side constraints (caused by the limited number of UK firms capable of generating commercial returns). This enables it to contribute towards the design and implementation of more effective equity support.