Almost a third of small business owners are prepared to take out a personal loan to finance their business, according to research.

The survey of 505 small and medium-sized enterprises, commissioned by the invoice financing arm of Close Brothers, the investment bank, found 30 per cent would take a personal loan and 6 per cent would use credit cards to fund operations. A fifth of those who responded said they would approach friends and family for the funds, double the percentage recorded by the survey last year.