How to get a business loan in the UK: the straight version
To get a business loan as a UK limited company: check your eligibility with a soft search (2 minutes, no credit mark), have your last filed accounts and 3-6 months of bank statements ready, expect up to roughly one month's revenue unsecured, and decisions typically within hours to days. Directors usually provide a personal guarantee on unsecured lending.
What lenders actually check
Modern business lenders work from evidence, not essays. In rough order of weight: bank statements (3-6 months - they show real revenue, real rhythm), filed accounts (Companies House filings, on time, tell their own story), trading age (6+ months opens the panel; 2+ years widens it), existing debt (affordability after current commitments), and the directors (background and, usually, willingness to give a personal guarantee). No business plan is required by most panel lenders - the numbers are the plan.
How much can you realistically get?
The working rule across the market: up to about one month's revenue unsecured for an established company, stretching with strong profitability, longer trading history, or security. A company turning over £600k might borrow £40-60k unsecured; secured lending against property or assets goes much further. Anyone promising dramatically more at the first conversation is selling, not lending.
The process, step by step
- 1. Soft-search check (2 minutes). Establishes eligibility without touching your credit file.
- 2. Documents (once). Filed accounts and bank statements - uploaded once, reused for every lender approached.
- 3. Quotes (typically hours). Matched lenders price the deal; compare monthly, total repayable and cost of credit - never the headline rate alone.
- 4. Full check and offer. Only when you choose to proceed does a hard search happen, with the lender you picked.
- 5. Funds (often 1-2 days). Sign, and the money lands.
What it costs - and how to compare
Rates vary widely with risk, so compare deals the only honest way: total cost of credit in pounds. A £30,000 loan over 12 months from representative panel rates runs about £3,070/month - roughly £6,840 total credit cost. The same loan over 36 months eases the monthly but multiplies the credit cost. A good quote shows you both; a poor one shows you a rate and hopes you stop reading.
Five things that kill applications
- Unfiled or late accounts at Companies House
- Bounced payments visible in recent bank statements
- Asking for far more than revenue supports
- Existing debt already absorbing the affordability
- Applying scattergun - multiple hard searches spook lenders (this is why soft-search-first matters)
Straight answers
Under 6 months is hard for unsecured lending. Asset finance (the kit secures it) or invoice finance (the ledger funds it) usually fit young companies better.
For unsecured ltd-company lending, almost universally yes. It is a serious commitment - understand it before signing, and ask us anything.
Most panel term loans are fixed - one number monthly for the life of the loan. Variable products exist; your quote will say plainly which it is.