New measures are needed to encourage high growth small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) to seek funding to expand, a report has found.

The study, Funding issues affecting high growth SMES in the UK, published by ICAS, identifies gaps in the UK funding framework for SMEs, but also highlights challenges in encouraging companies to sign up for debt and equity funding.

For example, 'debt-shy' SMEs are reluctant to borrow funds to grow due to a lack of trust of banks and a resistance to yield control of their business to outsiders