Working capital, expansion funding, or industry-specific finance, compare business loan rates from 200+ UK lenders and find the right deal for your business.
A business loan is a fixed sum borrowed by a company and repaid over an agreed term, usually in equal monthly instalments of capital and interest. Secured loans are backed by an asset such as property and are cheaper; unsecured loans are not, and are priced higher to reflect the risk. Note that unsecured does not mean risk-free for the directors: most UK unsecured business lending still requires a personal guarantee. Rates depend on trading history, turnover, credit profile and whether security is offered.
| Secured term loan | Unsecured term loan | Revolving credit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security | Charged against property or assets | No asset charged, but usually a personal guarantee | Usually a personal guarantee |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Higher | Higher, but only on what you draw |
| Typical use | Property purchase, large capital projects | Growth, hiring, one-off costs | Uneven cash flow, stock, gaps between invoices |
| Repayment | Fixed monthly instalments | Fixed monthly instalments | Draw, repay and redraw |
| Speed | Slowest, valuation and legals | Days | Fastest once a limit is set |
Business loan providers on the Lendus panel, with the terms each publishes. Where a lender does not publish a rate, that is stated rather than estimated.
| Lender | Facility size | Published rate | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldermore Bank | £2k–£10m | 4.5%–20% | Same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000; 3–5 days for larger deals |
| Allica Bank | £25k–£15m | 9.90%–13.75% | 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. |
| Bibby Financial Services | £50k–£15m | 1%–3% | Facility setup typically 1–2 weeks; initial funding within 24 hours of facility agreement |
| Bizcap | £10k–£500k | 1.5%–5% | Within 24 hours |
| Capify | £4k–£500k | 1.1–1.5 | Decision typically within 24 hours; funds within 1–3 business days |
| Capital on Tap | £1k–£250k | 1.25%–3% | Same day, decisions typically within minutes |
| Close Brothers | £10k–£5m | 5%–18% | Within 3–5 working days |
| Cynergy Business Finance | £200k–£40m | Not published | 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. |
| Fleximize | £5k–£500k | 0.9%–3.9% | Within 24 hours |
| Funding Circle | £10k–£500k | 6.9%–36% | Decision within 24 hours; funds typically within 3 business days |
| Investec | £5k–£100m | Not published | 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. |
| iwoca | £1k–£500k | 2%–6% | Within 24 hours; many decisions made within hours via Open Banking |
| Kriya | £50k–£1m | Not published | 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. |
| LendingCrowd | £25k–£500k | 6%–18% | Within 5–7 working days |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | £3k–£2m | 1.5%–5% | Within 24 hours |
| OakNorth Bank | Not published | Not published | OakNorth states it typically funds partners within weeks rather than months, and in some cases within days; no fixed guaranteed decision timescale is published |
| Paragon Bank | £5k–£1m | Not published | Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal based on complexity and asset type. |
| Shawbrook Bank | £50k–£25m | 0.55%–1.25% | Indicative terms within 24 hours; completion typically 2–4 weeks |
| Start Up Loans | £1k–£25k | 7.5%–7.5% | Application to decision: typically 4–8 weeks (includes business plan review and mentoring) |
| ThinCats | £1m–£30m | Not published | 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. |
| Tide | £1k–£500k | 7.9%–49.9% | Business account: same day. Loan/credit line decisions: typically within 24–48 hours |
| White Oak UK | £5k–£500k | Not published | White Oak UK states an average loan decision turnaround of around 4 hours, though this is not a guaranteed timescale for every deal. |
Figures as published by each lender and dated on its own page. Indicative, not offers.
Lenders generally size a facility against turnover rather than applying a fixed cap, commonly lending a multiple of monthly revenue. Across the panel, facility sizes start as low as £500 for revolving credit products and run into the millions for secured lending. The practical constraint is usually affordability, meaning whether the repayments can be met comfortably from trading income, rather than the lender's published maximum.
Trading history, turnover, the business and directors' credit files, and increasingly live bank transaction data through Open Banking. Filed accounts, recent bank statements, management accounts and VAT returns are the documents most often requested. Lenders using Open Banking can often decide within hours; those relying on filed accounts and manual underwriting take days.
Sometimes, at a higher price. Lenders that decision on live trading data rather than filed accounts can be more flexible where current performance is strong, even if the credit file is imperfect. Active County Court Judgments, current insolvency proceedings or recent missed payments narrow the field considerably. Specialist lenders do serve this market, and the trade-off is always rate.
It varies by lender more than by loan size. Providers using automated underwriting and Open Banking can decide within hours and fund within a day or two. Lenders combining automated scoring with manual review typically take one to three working days. Government-backed schemes such as Start Up Loans are considerably slower, often four to eight weeks, because a business plan is reviewed.
No security required
Lower rates, larger amounts
Repay via card sales
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