Add Sugar and Stir

Lord Sugar has reaffirmed his commitment to helping small businesses in the UK, following recent controversy over his comments about the health of the sector. The Enterprise Tsar was accused of likening many small company bosses to "moaners" who "live in Disneyland", in light of their complaints over a lack of bank lending.

Speaking to the Forum of Private Business (FPB), the Amstrad founder said he had been misquoted following a speech in Manchester last month. However, he reiterated his view that many of the complaints about a lack of business credit are not justified, claiming that very few of the cases he had been made aware of were "genuine horror stories".

Lord Sugar stated: "The majority were cases where it wouldn't have been right for the bank to lend in the first instance, owing to things like having a poor business case, a lack of security or simply unrealistic expectations.The government has always made it clear that it only expects banks to lend to viable businesses. Inappropriate lending in a large part precipitated the global financial crisis."

He noted that while the banks want to do business, they expect sound business cases to be put before them. FPB chief executive Phil Orford said he applauded Lord Sugar for taking the time to address his critics, although questioned whether the peer fully appreciated the financial problems being experienced by many small businesses.

APA