Up to two million small and medium sized business are believed to carry higher than normal credit risk when it comes to making trade payments or entering financial difficulty, a survey has shown.

The research, from credit experts Graydon, reveals around 62% of SMEs in a sample of three million businesses have a higher than normal risk, a figure that reveals a worsening position on five months ago when the proportion stood at 60%.

Martin Williams, managing director of Graydon UK, said: "Whatever the truth of the claims by the banks that they are continuing to lend to small firms, the fact remains that for many companies, access to finance remains a real obstacle to ensuring sustained recovery."

Williams believes, as other have observed, that the credit market tightened partly as a result of the lack of up to date accounts on many companies.

Demands have led to the supply of monthly management accounts becoming the norm for many companies seeking credit or trade credit insurance.

New services have sprung up allowing small businesses to upload management accounts to a website, have them validated and then sent on to credit agencies for inclusion in credit reports.

Graydon itself has launched such a service along with its partner Future Route.

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