§ Mr. Cantasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will make a statement on his meeting with financial institutions regarding their role in the financing of small firms.
§ Mr. David MitchellOn 14 January my right hon. Friend and I met a group of leading representatives of the financial institutions, including insurance companies, pension funds, clearing banks and merchant banks. My right hon. Friend said it was widely agreed that an "equity gap" existed for the smallest firms, in tranches from about £100,000 down to a
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ANNUALISED SIX-MONTHLY RATE OF INCREASE Output prices of products of manufacturing industry 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 January … … … … 19½ 24¾ 17 25¼ 7¼ 8¼ February … … … … 25½ 24¾ 16¾ 24½ 7¾ 9 March … … … … 30¼ 26 16¾ 23½ 8 9¾ April … … … … 32¼ 24½ 17¾ 25¼ 7¾ 11¾ May … … … … 33 27 18½ 23¼ 8¾ 14 June … … … … 33 24¾ 15½ 24 9 16½ July … … … … 29½ 20 15½ 18½ 7½ 19¼ August … … … … 23½ 19½ 16¾ 16¾ 7¾ 19 September … … … … 19½ 16½ 18¼ 15½ 7¾ 19¼ October … … … … 18¾ 16 18½ 11¾ 7¾ 18¾ November … … … … 19¼ 13 20 8½ 7 17¼* December … … … … 20¼ 16¼ 20¼ 7 7½ 14¾* * Provisional. few thousand pounds. A major part in filling this gap had to be played by individual investors; but because of the extent of institutional dominance in capital markets, the institutions also had a part to play. Despite the undoubted difficulties, they and the investors they represented had a common interest in the contribution a re-invigorated small firms sector could play in the revival of the economy. The Government looked to them to increase their investment, by a variety of means, in this field. A general discussion ensued about the availability of finance for small firms and of viable projects needing finance.