What are the best alternatives to Cynergy Business Finance?

Why consider alternatives to Cynergy Business Finance?

Cynergy Business Finance is the asset-based lending arm of Cynergy Bank plc, incorporated in 2021, and it covers an unusually wide product set: receivables finance, asset finance, inventory finance, property finance, cash flow loans and block discounting, across more than 30 industry sectors, on funding lines from £200,000 to £40,000,000.

The difficulty is that you cannot compare it to anything before you apply. It publishes no indicative rates, no discount margins, no factor rates and no representative APR. It publishes no minimum turnover, no minimum trading history and no approval turnaround, describing its decision-making only as fast, positive and assured. The minimum funding line of £200,000 rules out smaller facilities outright. And its own website states that asset-based lending is exempt from regulation by the FCA and the PRA, so the facility does not carry regulated-product protections, even though parent company Cynergy Bank plc is separately authorised under firm reference number 575105.

This guide covers seven lenders on the Lendus panel that also fund receivables and business assets. Four of them publish their pricing. Three do not, but beat Cynergy on facility size, speed or specialism instead.

Top Cynergy Business Finance alternatives

1. Close Brothers, Best for published pricing and a published timescale

Close Brothers gives you the two numbers Cynergy withholds: a rate range of 5% to 18% per annum with a 9.9% representative APR, and a stated decision time of 3 to 5 working days. It covers asset finance, invoice finance and business loans, and it is a dual-regulated bank rather than an exempt lender.

Facility and pricing: £10,000 to £5,000,000; 5% to 18% per annum; 9.9% APR representative.

Eligibility: 24+ months trading; £250,000 minimum turnover; good credit for standard products, with full financial accounts typically required.

Pros: Published rate range and published decision time; £10,000 minimum against Cynergy’s £200,000; a dual-regulated bank with 145 years of lending history; specialist sector teams.

Cons: £5,000,000 ceiling is an eighth of Cynergy’s £40,000,000; the 24 month trading and two years of filed accounts requirement is a heavier evidence burden; Trustpilot score of 3.5 from around 500 reviews.

Best for: Established businesses that want to see the price and the timeline before they hand over a set of accounts.

Close Brothers Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, FCA reference number 124750.

2. Aldermore, Best for facilities below £200,000

Aldermore lends from £2,000, which is the single largest gap in this guide against Cynergy’s £200,000 minimum. It is a PRA-authorised bank publishing 4.5% to 20% per annum with a 9.3% representative APR, and it gives same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000.

Facility and pricing: £2,000 to £10,000,000; 4.5% to 20% per annum depending on product, asset type and credit profile; 9.3% APR representative.

Eligibility: 12+ months trading for most products; £100,000 turnover for most products, with lower thresholds on some asset finance.

Pros: £2,000 minimum; published rates and a published representative APR; same-day asset finance decisions up to £250,000; invoice finance, asset finance, business loans and commercial mortgages under one roof; a regulated bank.

Cons: £10,000,000 ceiling is a quarter of Cynergy’s £40,000,000; the 20% rate ceiling is high for a bank; 12 months of trading is a published requirement where Cynergy publishes none.

Best for: Businesses whose real funding need is well below £200,000 but who still want a bank rather than a fintech.

Aldermore Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, firm reference number 204503.

3. Bibby Financial Services, Best for cross-border receivables

Bibby Financial Services has been doing invoice finance since 1982 and operates across 14 countries, with export factoring and international trade finance as a stated strength. Cynergy’s receivables finance is domestic in emphasis, so this is the clearest capability difference rather than a pricing one.

Facility and pricing: £50,000 to £15,000,000; 1% to 3% of invoice value per month (factoring discount charge, plus a service fee).

Eligibility: 6+ months trading preferred, with startups holding strong order books considered; £100,000 annual turnover minimum for most invoice finance facilities.

Pros: Published discount charge range; £50,000 minimum against Cynergy’s £200,000; over 40 years of invoice finance experience; assesses your debtors’ creditworthiness rather than only your own, so adverse credit is not automatically fatal; £15,000,000 ceiling.

Cons: Pricing has two components, a service fee plus a discount charge, which makes direct comparison harder than a single rate; facility setup takes 1 to 2 weeks; factoring means your debtors are notified; not suitable for B2C businesses.

Best for: B2B businesses with overseas customers where the receivables ledger, not the balance sheet, is the asset being funded.

Lendus has not verified Bibby Financial Services’ regulatory status against a primary source, so no FCA claim is made for it here. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.

4. Ultimate Finance, Best for the lowest published discount charge

Ultimate Finance publishes a discount charge of 0.8% to 2.5% of invoice value per month, the lowest published invoice finance pricing among the lenders here, and sets facilities up in 5 to 10 working days with initial funding within 24 hours of activation.

Facility and pricing: £20,000 to £5,000,000; 0.8% to 2.5% of invoice value per month (discount charge, plus a service fee).

Eligibility: 3+ months trading with invoice history preferred; £250,000 annual turnover for invoice finance, lower for asset finance.

Pros: Lowest published discount charge in this guide; £20,000 minimum; 3 months trading is the shortest requirement here; sector specialists in construction, labour supply, recruitment, manufacturing and professional services; a dedicated relationship manager.

Cons: £250,000 turnover requirement for invoice finance; £5,000,000 ceiling against Cynergy’s £40,000,000; invoice and asset finance only, so no inventory, property or cash flow lending; not suitable for retail or B2C businesses.

Best for: B2B businesses in construction, recruitment or labour supply that want the cheapest published ledger pricing rather than a bespoke quote.

Lendus has not verified Ultimate Finance’s regulatory status against a primary source, so no FCA claim is made for it here. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.

5. ThinCats, Best for acquisition and buyout debt

Cynergy’s products fund working capital and assets. ThinCats funds transactions: M&A, management buyouts, employee ownership trust transitions, buy-and-build strategies and private equity backed growth, at £1,000,000 to £30,000,000. If the reason you approached an asset-based lender was a deal rather than a cash flow gap, this is a closer match.

Facility and pricing: £1,000,000 to £30,000,000. ThinCats does not publish headline interest rates, pricing each loan individually against the borrower’s cashflow, security and risk profile.

Eligibility: No fixed minimum trading period stated. ThinCats states its target borrowers typically hold between £500,000 and £40,000,000 in gross assets and employ 10 to 250 people.

Pros: £30,000,000 ceiling, close to Cynergy’s £40,000,000; built specifically for transactional debt rather than working capital; relationship-led with a regional business development manager and human underwriting; asset finance available alongside the term debt.

Cons: £1,000,000 minimum is five times Cynergy’s; no published rates, so it does not solve the transparency problem; no fixed published turnaround time; not for small businesses or start-ups.

Best for: Mid-sized SMEs funding an acquisition, a buyout or an employee ownership transition rather than a receivables gap.

ThinCats’ parent company, Thincats Group Limited, states in its audited FY2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2024 that the Group is not a bank nor subject to PRA or FCA supervision. ThinCats lends to limited companies, which is typically unregulated business lending in the UK. ThinCats was acquired by Shawbrook Group in 2025, and on that primary source the acquisition does not itself place ThinCats’ own lending activity under FCA or PRA supervision.

6. Investec, Best above the £40 million ceiling

Investec lends from £5,000 up to £100,000,000, comfortably past Cynergy’s £40,000,000 ceiling, across asset finance, working capital facilities, commercial mortgages and real estate finance, arranged through a dedicated relationship banker rather than an application portal.

Facility and pricing: £5,000 to £100,000,000. Investec does not publish standard interest rates for business lending. Asset finance, materials handling finance, working capital facilities and real estate finance are individually priced against the transaction, the asset or property, and the borrower’s covenant strength.

Eligibility: Not publicly stated. Investec assesses each business individually rather than publishing a minimum trading history or turnover.

Pros: £100,000,000 ceiling, two and a half times Cynergy’s; an authorised bank rather than an exempt lender; dedicated relationship banker; covers development finance and real estate alongside working capital.

Cons: No published rates, no published timescale and no published eligibility, so it matches rather than fixes Cynergy’s transparency gap; its real estate finance starts at £10,000,000; not aimed at small or fast-moving borrowers.

Best for: Mid-market and corporate businesses, private-equity-backed companies and property investors whose requirement has passed £40,000,000.

Investec Bank plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

7. Kriya, Best for drawing against invoices quickly

Where Cynergy publishes no turnaround at all, Kriya advances funds within 24 hours of an invoice being uploaded once the facility is approved. Facilities run from £50,000, a quarter of Cynergy’s minimum, and the model is pay-as-you-use rather than a committed line.

Facility and pricing: £50,000 to £1,000,000. Kriya does not publish fixed interest rates, factor rates or a representative APR, describing its invoice finance pricing as pay-as-you-use with initial terms provided after an application is reviewed.

Eligibility: Minimum 12 months trading with at least one set of financial accounts filed for invoice finance and working capital loans.

Pros: Funds within 24 hours of uploading an invoice; £50,000 minimum; pay-as-you-use rather than a committed facility; working capital loans available alongside.

Cons: £1,000,000 ceiling is the smallest here; no published pricing; working capital loan terms take around a week to come back; 12 months of trading and one set of filed accounts is a published barrier where Cynergy has none.

Best for: Smaller B2B businesses with irregular invoicing that need cash against a specific invoice this week rather than a standing £200,000 line.

Kriya Finance Limited is supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority for anti-money laundering purposes, FCA reference number 750199. That is anti-money laundering supervision rather than full FCA authorisation to carry out regulated lending or invoice finance activities.

Comparison table

How to choose the right alternative

Choose Close Brothers if the thing that stopped you was not being able to see a rate or a decision time before applying.

Choose Aldermore if your real requirement is well under £200,000 and Cynergy’s minimum was the obstacle.

Choose Bibby Financial Services if your receivables are international and export factoring is the capability you are actually buying.

Choose Ultimate Finance if you are funding a B2B ledger and want the lowest published discount charge rather than a bespoke quote.

Choose ThinCats if the money is for an acquisition, a buyout or an employee ownership transition rather than working capital.

Choose Investec if your facility requirement has passed £40,000,000 and you want a relationship banker rather than a product.

Choose Kriya if the need is one invoice at a time and 24 hour drawdown matters more than a committed line.

A word on the regulatory point, because it is easy to misread. Asset-based lending being exempt from FCA and PRA regulation is not unusual and is not a sign of a poor lender. It does mean the facility carries fewer statutory protections than a regulated credit agreement, and that the Financial Ombudsman route may not be open to you. Weigh that alongside price, and ask the lender directly which entity you would be contracting with.

Lendus is an introducer, not a lender or a credit broker. We do not approve, decline or price any facility. Confirm any lender’s regulatory status at register.fca.org.uk before you commit.