Every business lender on the Lendus panel, with the rate, facility size, decision speed and minimum trading history each one publishes, plus 5 picks for specific jobs.
Last reviewed by the Lendus editorial team. Lendus is an introducer, not a lender.
Business lenders in the UK do not quote in the same unit, which is the first thing that makes them hard to compare. Some publish an annual rate, some publish a monthly rate on the outstanding balance, some publish a factor rate, and a large group publishes nothing at all and prices each deal individually. The table below keeps each lender in the unit it actually uses rather than converting them into a single number that would not mean anything. Read the trading history and facility size columns alongside the rate, because on most applications they are what decides the answer.
5 of the 22 panel lenders below, chosen for a specific job. Every figure in these cards is read from that lender's own record. The full panel follows.
iwoca decides within 24 hours and often within hours, using Open Banking data rather than filed accounts, and publishes the lowest trading history requirement of any commercial lender in this table at 3 months, with £25,000 of turnover. It lends £1,000 to £500,000 at 2% to 6% per month on the outstanding balance, and its Flexi-Loan allows repeat drawdowns from an approved facility without a new application. That 2% is a monthly figure, not an APR.
Funding Circle publishes a fixed annual rate from 6.9% to 36% per year on £10,000 to £500,000, fixed for the term, with terms from 6 months to 6 years. It decides within 24 hours and typically funds within 3 business days, and asks for 1 year of trading and £50,000 of turnover. If you want a predictable monthly instalment and a rate you can compare against a bank, this is the pick in this table that publishes one.
Allica Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, firm reference number 821851, and publishes 9.90% to 13.75% per year on unsecured business loans of £25,001 to £150,000, with a 3% arrangement fee on top. Decisions are typically given no later than the next working day. The bar is high: 3 years of filed accounts, and applicants must show at least 150% debt service cover rather than meet a published turnover minimum.
The government-backed Start Up Loans scheme lends £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% annual interest rate on the reducing balance, the same rate for every borrower regardless of profile, and requires no trading history for start-ups. It was raised from 6% for applications from 6 April 2026. It takes 4 to 8 weeks because a business plan is reviewed, and mentoring is included, so it trades speed for cost and support.
Capital on Tap is revolving credit rather than a term loan: £500 to £250,000 at 1.25% to 3% per month on the outstanding balance, so you pay for what you draw and nothing on an unused limit. Decisions are same day and typically within minutes, and it asks for 12 months of trading and £24,000 of turnover. It is the pick here for a business whose problem is timing rather than a one-off cost.
Or tell us what you need and we will match you
Check EligibilityEvery lender on the Lendus panel whose record carries business loans, from £500 revolving credit through to facilities in the tens of millions. Several of these lenders publish one rate range that covers more than one of their products, so open the profile before assuming the figure shown applies to a term loan.
Lenders that publish a rate are listed first, then those that quote every deal individually. Within each group the order is alphabetical, so a lender's position in this table is not a score.
| Lender | Facility size | Published rate | Decision speed | Minimum trading history | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldermore Bank | £2k to £10m | 4.5% to 20%per year | Same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000; 3–5 days for larger deals | 12+ months for most products | |
| Allica Bank | £25,001 to £15m | 9.90% to 13.75%per year | Business loan decisions are typically given no later than the next working day. Commercial mortgage offers have been issued within around seven days of application, according to a customer case study published on Allica's own website. | 3+ years of filed accounts for unsecured business loans; 2+ years of financial accounts for commercial mortgages | |
| Bibby Financial Services † | £50k to £15m | 1% to 3%of invoice value per month | Facility setup typically 1–2 weeks; initial funding within 24 hours of facility agreement | 6+ months preferred; startups with strong order books considered | |
| Bizcap | £10k to £500k | 1.5% to 5%per month | Within 24 hours | At least 4 months | |
| Capify † | £3,500 to £500k | 1.1 to 1.5factor rate, not an APR | Decision typically within 24 hours; funds within 1–3 business days | 4+ months for merchant cash advance; 6+ months for business loan | |
| Capital on Tap | £500 to £250k | 1.25% to 3%per month | Same day, decisions typically within minutes | 12+ months | |
| Close Brothers | £10k to £5m | 5% to 18%per year | Within 3–5 working days | 24+ months | |
| Fleximize † | £5k to £500k | 0.9% to 3.9%per month | Within 24 hours | 6+ months | |
| Funding Circle | £10k to £500k | 6.9% to 36%per year | Decision within 24 hours; funds typically within 3 business days | 1+ year | |
| iwoca | £1k to £500k | 2% to 6%per month | Within 24 hours; many decisions made within hours via Open Banking | 3+ months | |
| LendingCrowd | £25k to £500k | 6% to 18%per year | Within 5–7 working days | 24+ months | |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | £3k to £2m | 1.5% to 5%per month | Within 24 hours | 6+ months | |
| Shawbrook Bank | £50k to £25m | 0.55% to 1.25%per month | Indicative terms within 24 hours; completion typically 2–4 weeks | 12+ months preferred; none required for property-backed bridging | |
| Start Up Loans | £500 to £25k | 7.5%per year | Application to decision: typically 4–8 weeks (includes business plan review and mentoring) | For start-ups: no trading history required. For existing businesses: must have been trading less than 60 months | |
| Tide | £1k to £500k | 7.9% to 49.9%per year | Business account: same day. Loan/credit line decisions: typically within 24–48 hours | 12+ months for credit products; account available from day one | |
| Cynergy Business Finance | £200k to £40m | No public rate card | Cynergy Business Finance describes its decision-making as fast, positive and assured, but does not publish a specific turnaround time (such as a number of hours or days) on its website as of August 2026. | Not publicly stated by Cynergy Business Finance. Eligibility appears to be assessed on the strength of the underlying receivables, stock, property or other assets on a per-business basis rather than against a published minimum years-trading threshold. | |
| Investec | £5k to £100m | No public rate card | No standard timeline is published. Facilities are arranged through a dedicated relationship banker and underwritten individually, so timescales depend on the complexity and size of the deal rather than an automated same-day decision. | Not publicly stated. Investec assesses each business individually rather than publishing a minimum trading history requirement. | |
| Kriya | £50k to £1m | No public rate card | Invoice finance: once approved, funds are advanced within 24 hours of uploading an invoice. Working capital loans: Kriya's own site states a member of the team will respond with an initial terms and pricing offer within 1 week of enquiry. | Minimum 12 months trading with at least one set of financial accounts filed for invoice finance and working capital loans. Kriya's PayLater product has a lower minimum of 3 months trading. | |
| OakNorth Bank | From £1m | No public rate card | OakNorth states it typically funds partners within weeks rather than months, and in some cases within days; no fixed guaranteed decision timescale is published | No fixed minimum published; trading history is one of several factors assessed case-by-case | |
| Paragon Bank | £5k to £1m | No public rate card | Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal based on complexity and asset type. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. | |
| ThinCats | £1m to £30m | No public rate card | No fixed published turnaround time. ThinCats describes its process as relationship-led, aiming to provide a decision within the timeframe the borrower needs, via a dedicated regional business development manager and human underwriting rather than an automated instant decision. | Not stated as a fixed minimum number of years; ThinCats lends to established mid-sized SMEs rather than start-ups or very early-stage businesses. | |
| White Oak UK | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | White Oak UK states an average loan decision turnaround of around 4 hours, though this is not a guaranteed timescale for every deal. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. |
Figures are taken from each lender's own published material on the date shown and are indicative, not offers. Where a lender publishes no rate we say so rather than estimating one. A monthly rate and a factor rate are not APRs and do not convert cleanly into one.
A lender's published rate can cover more than one of its products. Each lender's profile carries the full note, including which product the figure applies to and any fees charged on top.
† Lendus has not confirmed the regulatory status of Bibby Financial Services, Capify, Fleximize against a primary source, so this page makes no regulatory claim about them. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before you commit to any lender.
Reviewed 25 August 2026. This page is built from the Lendus lender panel rather than from a shortlist. Every provider whose record carries business loans appears in the table below, in an order generated from the records themselves: lenders that publish a rate come first, then lenders that quote every deal individually, alphabetically within each group. Position in that table is not a score. The picks above it are editorial, and "best" here means best for a stated job, such as the fastest published decision, the lowest published rate, the smallest facility or the lowest trading requirement. The reason is written next to each pick, so you can disagree with it. We do not score lenders out of 5 and we do not rank them against one another, because the right lender depends on your size, your trading history and what you are funding. Rates, facility sizes, decision times and eligibility are taken from each lender's own published material on the date shown against it, and are indicative rather than offers. Where a lender publishes no rate, we print that rather than estimating one, and we print a rate in the unit the lender quotes it in, because a monthly rate and a factor rate are not APRs. We make no statement about a firm's regulatory status unless we have confirmed it against a primary source and recorded that source on the lender's own page; where we have not, we say so and point you to the FCA Register.
Lendus receives a commission or referral fee from brokers and lenders when a business we introduce goes on to receive funding. It does not affect the rates you are offered, and it cannot affect the order of the table above, which is generated from the lender records rather than set by hand.
Compare 200+ lenders in 2 minutes. No credit check.
Check Eligibility