On the back of the Government’s recent announcement, that they will be injecting a further £39 billion into banks, to make more finance available to small companies, their very own ‘enterprise champion” , Sir Alan Sugar, has claimed that it was lending inappropriately to small businesses, that got the UK into the recession to begin with.
At conference for SME’s in Manchester yesterday, the star of the BBC’s hugely successful show “The Apprentice” and renowned entrepreneur, commented that the next generation of entrepreneurs had grown up in a context in which finance from banks – and credit in general – was widely available. Sir Alan said that he felt that it is this mentality, that has widely contributed to the current global economic situation.
Perhaps alienating the majority of his audience – and the vast proportion of the entrepreneurs he is meant to represent – Sir Sugar, stated that most of the small business owners, who complain about a lack of available finance are “moaners” and needed an “insolvency practioner” rather than additional funds given to them by banks.
His controversial remarks , have been met with widespread criticism from both MP’s and members of the SME sector alike and have cause many to suggest, that maybe his celebrity has distracted him from his political role.