Cleaning Company Business Loans

From industrial equipment to covering payroll while invoices are outstanding, fund your cleaning company with confidence. Lendus compares 200+ lenders so you can focus on the contracts, not the finance.

Typical Range

£10k – £250k

Average Loan

£45k

for cleaning company

Decision Speed

24–48 hrs

for unsecured loans

Eligibility requirements

Minimum 6 months trading history
Registered UK business (sole trader, partnership, or limited company)
Signed commercial contracts or purchase orders for invoice finance eligibility
Personal guarantee typically required from the business owner or directors

Loan types available

Invoice Finance

Rate: Discount rate 1.5% – 4% + service fee 0.2% – 3% of turnover
Term: Rolling facility, reviewed annually
Security: Secured against outstanding invoices
Best for: Paying weekly staff wages while commercial clients settle invoices on 30 to 60 day terms

Asset Finance

Rate: 5.4% – 13.9% APR
Term: 1 – 7 years
Security: The asset being financed
Best for: Industrial cleaning machinery, floor scrubbers, and cleaning vans

Unsecured Business Loan

Rate: 7.4% – 26.9% APR
Term: 1 – 5 years
Security: No security required
Best for: Mobilising a new contract, uniforms and supplies, or covering a gap before a facility is in place

Representative example

Borrow £45,000 over 36 months at 9.9% APR (fixed). Monthly repayment: ~£1,450. Rates depend on your circumstances and the type of loan.

Common challenges

Staff are typically paid weekly or fortnightly while commercial clients settle invoices on 30 to 60 day terms, creating a recurring cash flow gap
Margins are often low on guarding and cleaning contracts, particularly where pricing is competitively tendered
Staff turnover is high across the sector, adding ongoing recruitment and training costs
Losing a single large contract can materially affect turnover where the client base is concentrated

Bad credit?

Several of our 200+ lenders work with cleaning company businesses that have imperfect credit. You may need a personal guarantee or higher rate, but options exist. Checking your options here does not affect your credit score, because we do not run a credit search to match you. A lender will run their own checks only if you decide to apply.

Frequently asked questions

How does invoice finance help a cleaning company with payroll?

Invoice finance releases a percentage of the value of an invoice, often within 24 hours of it being raised, rather than waiting the usual 30 to 60 days for a commercial client to pay. This means you can meet weekly or monthly payroll without the gap between paying staff and being paid by clients causing cash flow strain. It is one of the most widely used products in the cleaning sector for exactly this reason.

Can I get finance to mobilise a new cleaning contract?

Yes, an unsecured business loan is commonly used to cover start-up costs for a new contract, such as uniforms, initial supplies, and staff recruitment, before the first invoice is raised and paid. Lenders will typically want to see the signed contract or purchase order alongside your trading history when assessing the application. Lendus can help size the loan to the contract's start-up costs so you are not left short before the first invoice is paid.

What can asset finance cover for a cleaning business?

Asset finance is well suited to industrial cleaning equipment such as floor scrubbers, pressure washers, and vans used to move staff and equipment between sites. Because the equipment itself is used as security, this typically means better rates than unsecured borrowing and avoids tying up working capital that might otherwise be needed for payroll. Financing these assets separately from a working capital facility also keeps your invoice finance headroom free for payroll.

Will losing one large client affect my ability to borrow?

Lenders do look at how concentrated your revenue is among a small number of clients, since losing a major contract has a bigger impact on a business reliant on just a few accounts. A broader client base, or a track record of winning replacement contracts quickly, both support a stronger application. Lendus can advise on which lenders take a more flexible view of contract concentration.

Equipment finance for cleaning company businesses

Buying a specific machine or vehicle is usually cheaper than a general business loan, because the asset itself is the security. These are the items cleaning company businesses most often fund, with the price range we see quoted in the UK.

Equipment	Typical price range	Finance page
Van	£15k to £80k	Van finance
Carpet Extractor	£600 to £7k	Carpet Extractor finance
CCTV Drain Camera	£1k to £20k	CCTV Drain Camera finance
Drain Jetter	£500 to £45k	Drain Jetter finance
Floor Scrubber	£770 to £25k	Floor Scrubber finance
Gully Sucker	£25k to £150k	Gully Sucker finance
Laundrette Equipment	£30k to £150k	Laundrette Equipment finance
Pressure Washer Trailer	£8k to £35k	Pressure Washer Trailer finance
Ride On Sweeper	£8k to £45k	Ride On Sweeper finance
Compact Road Sweeper	£40k to £130k	Compact Road Sweeper finance
Industrial Steam Cleaner	£800 to £9k	Industrial Steam Cleaner finance
Window Cleaning System	£500 to £9k	Window Cleaning System finance

Browse all equipment finance pages

Guides and resources

How to Get a Business Loan Business Loan Eligibility Secured vs Unsecured Best Business Loans UK iwoca Review Funding Circle Review

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