Arthur Cox has welcomed an “encouraging” report showing growth in the value of new loans approved for small and medium Northern Ireland enterprises.

Industry body UK Finance recently published its SME Finance Update for Q4 2017.

Commenting on the report, Stuart Mansfield, finance partner in Arthur Cox’s Belfast office, said: “The number of new loans approved for SMEs in Northern Ireland during the final three months of 2017 showed a marginal decline on the same period in 2016, falling 2.6 per cent to 2,232.

“However, the value of those loans was considerably higher than a year previously, amounting to £383m — 19.3 per cent higher than the value in the corresponding quarter in 2016.”

Mr Mansfield added: “The level compares favourably with other regions of the UK, with loan approvals for SMEs in Scotland and Wales reported as £464 million and £281 million respectively.

“Firms in the ‘Real Estate and Professional and Support Services’ sector, as defined in the report, accounted for the greatest proportion of loans approved locally, to the value of £112 million, followed by ‘Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry’ which received loan approvals totalling £70 million.

“These figures reflect what our finance team is observing in the marketplace, as we work with leading firms across the economy and a range of lenders, providing advice on financing arrangements and corporate deals.”