A government-backed business loan is ordinary commercial lending where the government guarantees part of the lender's loss if the borrower defaults. The critical point, and the one most often misunderstood, is that the guarantee protects the lender, not you: the borrower remains fully liable for the whole debt. The schemes exist to make lenders willing to approve businesses they would otherwise decline, not to reduce what the borrower owes.
Updated . Lendus is an introducer, not a lender.
The guarantee exists to protect the lender, not the business. If the loan cannot be repaid, the guarantee lets the lender recover part of its loss from the government, but the borrower is not released from the debt and remains fully liable for the whole amount, including in many cases under a personal guarantee to the lender as well. Treat scheme-backed lending with exactly the seriousness of any other commercial loan, not as a softer or more forgiving form of borrowing. Scheme terms change: the Growth Guarantee Scheme replaced the Recovery Loan Scheme and its limits have been revised since. Check the current position on the British Business Bank site before applying, and see our Growth Guarantee Scheme guide for the detail.
| Lender | Facility size | Published rate | Minimum trading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldermore Bank | £2k–£10m | 4.5%–20% | 12+ months for most products |
| Allica Bank | £25k–£15m | 9.90%–13.75% | 3+ years of filed accounts for unsecured business loans; 2+ years of financial accounts for commercial mortgages |
| Bibby Financial Services | £50k–£15m | 1%–3% | 6+ months preferred; startups with strong order books considered |
| Bizcap | £10k–£500k | 1.5%–5% | At least 4 months |
| Capify | £4k–£500k | 1.1–1.5 | 4+ months for merchant cash advance; 6+ months for business loan |
| Capital on Tap | £1k–£250k | 1.25%–3% | 12+ months |
| Close Brothers | £10k–£5m | 5%–18% | 24+ months |
| Cynergy Business Finance | £200k–£40m | Not published | 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. |
| Fleximize | £5k–£500k | 0.9%–3.9% | 6+ months |
| Funding Circle | £10k–£500k | 6.9%–36% | 1+ year |
| Investec | £5k–£100m | Not published | Not publicly stated. Investec assesses each business individually rather than publishing a minimum trading history requirement. |
| iwoca | £1k–£500k | 2%–6% | 3+ months |
| Kriya | £50k–£1m | Not published | 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. |
| LendingCrowd | £25k–£500k | 6%–18% | 24+ months |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | £3k–£2m | 1.5%–5% | 6+ months |
| OakNorth Bank | Not published | Not published | No fixed minimum published; trading history is one of several factors assessed case-by-case |
| Paragon Bank | £5k–£1m | Not published | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. |
| Shawbrook Bank | £50k–£25m | 0.55%–1.25% | 12+ months preferred; none required for property-backed bridging |
| Start Up Loans | £1k–£25k | 7.5%–7.5% | For start-ups: no trading history required. For existing businesses: must have been trading less than 60 months |
| ThinCats | £1m–£30m | Not published | 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. |
| Tide | £1k–£500k | 7.9%–49.9% | 12+ months for credit products; account available from day one |
| White Oak UK | £5k–£500k | Not published | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. |
As published by each lender and dated on its own page. Indicative, not offers.