Business loans
A lump sum now, repaid over an agreed term. The most familiar kind of business borrowing, and still the right answer more often than not.
Request a callback- Typical amount
- £10,000 to £2m
- Typical term
- 1 to 6 years
- Security
- Unsecured or asset-backed
- Speed
- Days, not weeks
Figures are indicative market ranges at the time of writing, not offers or quotes. What is available to your business depends on the lender, your circumstances and the security available.
About business loans
A business loan gives you a fixed sum on day one and a repayment schedule you can plan around. There is no drip-feed and no ambiguity about what it costs — which is precisely why it suits one-off, well-defined needs like a refurbishment, a marketing push, a recruitment drive or an acquisition.
The main fork in the road is security. Unsecured lending is quicker, needs no charge over property, and is decided mainly on how the business trades — but it is smaller, shorter and dearer, and almost always comes with a personal guarantee from the directors. Secured lending is the opposite trade: slower and more paperwork, but larger sums, longer terms and better rates.
Pricing depends on far more than your credit score. Length of trading, sector, the quality and consistency of the bank statements, existing borrowing, and how convincingly the loan pays for itself all feed into it. Two businesses with identical turnover can be quoted very differently, which is exactly why looking at more than one lender is worth the effort.
Good uses for a term loan
- A defined project with a clear cost — a refit, a new site, a piece of software, a rebrand.
- Buying a competitor, funding a management buy-out or acquiring a book of business.
- Consolidating several expensive short-term facilities into one cheaper monthly payment.
- Hiring ahead of demand, where the cost lands months before the revenue does.
- Strengthening working capital in a business whose growth has outrun its cash.
Before you sign anything
- Compare the total repayable, not the monthly figure — a longer term always looks cheaper monthly.
- Check whether the arrangement fee is deducted from the advance or added to the balance.
- Understand exactly what a personal guarantee covers, and take independent legal advice on it.
- Look at the early settlement terms, even if you have no intention of settling early.
- Be sure the repayment fits your worst trading month, not your average one.
Frequently asked
Secured or unsecured — which should I take?
If you need the money quickly, the sum is modest and you would rather not put an asset on the line, unsecured usually wins despite the higher rate. If the amount is large, the term is long or the saving on the rate is material, security is generally worth giving. We will show you both where both are available.
How long does it take?
Unsecured lending can complete within a few working days once we have accounts and bank statements. Secured lending depends on valuation and legal work, so think in terms of weeks. We will give you a realistic timetable up front rather than an optimistic one.
Can I get a loan with adverse credit?
Frequently, yes. It reduces the number of lenders willing to look and it costs more, but there are funders who price for adverse rather than declining automatically. What matters most is the explanation behind it and whether the pattern has ended.
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Tell us what the money is for
A short conversation is usually enough for us to tell you what is realistic — including when the answer is that you should not borrow.
