Written by the Lendus editorial team. Last updated .
The best LendingCrowd alternatives include Funding Circle for a same-day decision on a comparable annual rate, Allica Bank for bank-funded lending, ThinCats above the £500,000 ceiling, Nucleus Commercial Finance for facilities up to £2 million, iwoca when 2 years of trading is the blocker, Fleximize for repayment holidays and top-ups, and Start Up Loans for businesses trading under 5 years.
LendingCrowd is a peer-to-peer business lender founded in Edinburgh in 2014, and its proposition is a narrow and honest one: competitive annual rates for profitable, well-documented UK SMEs, delivered with a named loan manager rather than an algorithm. Rates run from 6% to 18% per annum with a representative 10.5% APR, and loans run from £25,000 to £500,000.
The reasons businesses look elsewhere are usually structural rather than a complaint about the lender. The criteria are firm: 24 months or more of trading, £100,000 of annual turnover, good credit history, full accounts reviewed, and a business that is profitable or clearly heading that way. And the process takes 5 to 7 working days, with the funding step depending on investor demand on the platform rather than a balance sheet decision. If you fail one of those tests, or you need the money before next week, no amount of rate advantage helps.
The seven lenders below each beat LendingCrowd on one specific dimension: speed, trading history, facility size, flexibility, or funding source.
Funding Circle is the closest like-for-like swap. It prices in fixed annual terms as LendingCrowd does, from 6.9% to 36% per annum, but decides within 24 hours and typically releases funds within 3 business days rather than 5 to 7 working days. It also halves the entry criteria: 1 year of trading and £50,000 of turnover, against LendingCrowd’s 24 months and £100,000.
Rates and amounts: 6.9% to 36% per annum, fixed for the term; £10,000 to £500,000.
Eligibility: 1 year of trading; £50,000 annual turnover.
Pros: Fixed annual pricing that compares directly with LendingCrowd; terms from 6 months to 6 years; a single upfront completion fee of 0.5% to 5% rather than a spread of charges; publicly listed lender trading since 2010.
Cons: The completion fee is deducted from the loan on drawdown; a personal guarantee is required from directors; recent CCJs are a problem.
Best for: Established businesses that like LendingCrowd’s annual-rate structure and its £500,000 ceiling but cannot wait a week for a decision.
The structural difference between LendingCrowd and Allica is where the money comes from. LendingCrowd lists your loan for investors to fund, which is why the timeline flexes with investor appetite. Allica has held a full banking licence since 2019 and lends off its own balance sheet, so a decision is a decision. It states business loan decisions no later than the next working day.
Rates and amounts: 9.90% to 13.75% per annum on unsecured business loans of £25,001 to £150,000, plus a 3% arrangement fee; commercial mortgages up to £10 million owner-occupied and £15 million investment, individually quoted.
Eligibility: 3 or more years of filed accounts for unsecured business loans, 2 or more years for commercial mortgages; at least 150% debt service cover; no fixed minimum turnover published.
Pros: Authorised bank funding removes platform funding risk; next working day loan decisions; no early repayment penalties on unsecured business loans; a Business Rewards Account is available alongside the lending.
Cons: The 3 year filed-accounts requirement is stricter than LendingCrowd’s 2 years; the 3% arrangement fee adds meaningfully to cost; commercial mortgage pricing is only confirmed by bespoke quote.
Best for: Profitable businesses with three years of accounts that want a bank rather than a platform, and that value a guaranteed next-day answer.
If your deal is an acquisition, a management buyout or a buy-and-build rather than working capital, LendingCrowd’s £500,000 maximum is the binding constraint. ThinCats lends from £1 million to £30 million over terms of up to 7 years, using relationship-led human underwriting through regional business development managers rather than an automated score.
Rates and amounts: Not published. ThinCats prices each loan individually against the borrower’s cashflow, security and risk profile, and quotes directly to the applicant; £1 million to £30 million.
Eligibility: No fixed minimum trading period published. ThinCats targets established mid-sized SMEs, typically £0.5 million to £40 million in gross assets and 10 to 250 employees.
Pros: Facility sizes no other lender on this list reaches; structures include cashflow loans and asset-backed facilities; over £2 billion deployed to UK SMEs since 2010; now backed by Shawbrook Group following its 2025 acquisition.
Cons: The £1 million floor rules out most SMEs; no published rates and no published turnaround time, so you cannot benchmark before applying; ThinCats’ parent states in its audited FY2024 accounts that the group is not a bank nor subject to PRA or FCA supervision, which is a different regulatory position from LendingCrowd’s.
Best for: Established mid-market SMEs funding an acquisition, buyout or employee ownership trust transition, where £500,000 does not touch the sides.
Nucleus sits in the gap between LendingCrowd’s £500,000 ceiling and ThinCats’ £1 million floor. It lends from £3,000 to £2 million and offers asset finance from the same lender, so a business buying equipment and funding working capital in the same quarter can do both in one relationship. Decisions are same-day.
Rates and amounts: 1.5% to 5% per month on the outstanding balance, which is a monthly rate and not an APR; £3,000 to £2 million.
Eligibility: 6 or more months of trading; £50,000 annual turnover.
Pros: Same-day decisions against LendingCrowd’s 5 to 7 working days; a lending range from £3,000 to £2 million covers almost any SME need; asset finance available alongside business loans; a British Business Bank accredited CBILS lender.
Cons: Primarily broker-facing, so the direct applicant experience is less polished; monthly pricing is harder to compare against an annual rate; a personal guarantee is almost always required; limited public detail on terms without speaking to a broker.
Best for: Established SMEs that have outgrown LendingCrowd’s maximum but are nowhere near mid-market debt sizes, particularly those already working through a broker.
LendingCrowd’s 24 month trading requirement and £100,000 turnover threshold are the single most common reason a business is declined before underwriting begins. iwoca asks for 3 months and £25,000. It is a fundamentally different product, priced monthly and structured as a revolving Flexi-Loan you can draw down from repeatedly without reapplying, but it reaches businesses LendingCrowd cannot.
Rates and amounts: 2% to 6% per month on the outstanding balance, varying with creditworthiness and loan size; £1,000 to £500,000.
Eligibility: 3 or more months of trading; £25,000 annual turnover; some adverse credit considered.
Pros: Decisions within 24 hours and often within hours via Open Banking; multiple draw-downs from an approved facility without a fresh application; no early repayment charges, and interest is charged only on what is drawn and for the period outstanding.
Cons: iwoca’s own record notes a representative APR of 49.9%, so this is expensive money held for a long term; monthly interest accumulates quickly beyond a few months; full credit check leaves a hard footprint.
Best for: Businesses under 2 years old, or under £100,000 of turnover, that LendingCrowd will not consider, and that intend to clear the balance quickly.
LendingCrowd’s product is a fixed term loan drawn once. Fleximize is built around the assumption that plans change: it offers repayment holidays mid-loan with no penalty, and a top-up facility that lets you borrow more without submitting a new application. For a business with lumpy or seasonal cash flow, that is worth more than a point on the rate.
Rates and amounts: 0.9% to 3.9% per month, which is a monthly rate and not an APR; £5,000 to £500,000.
Eligibility: 6 or more months of trading; £60,000 annual turnover.
Pros: Repayment holidays and top-ups without reapplying; a dedicated account manager; decisions within 24 hours; a £5,000 minimum against LendingCrowd’s £25,000.
Cons: Monthly rate pricing is harder to compare than LendingCrowd’s annual rate; the same £500,000 ceiling; a personal guarantee is typically required from directors.
Best for: Established SMEs with fluctuating cash flow that expect to need more capital or a payment break before the term ends.
If you are pre-revenue or in your first two years, LendingCrowd is simply not an option, and Start Up Loans is the cheapest money available to you. It is a UK government-backed scheme delivered by the Start Up Loans Company, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank.
Rates and amounts: 7.5% fixed annual interest rate on the reducing balance, which is an annual interest rate and not an APR, and the same rate applies to every borrower; £500 to £25,000 per applicant, and up to £100,000 per business where several directors each apply. The rate rose from 6% for applications from 6 April 2026.
Eligibility: No trading history required for start-ups; existing businesses must have been trading fewer than 60 months; no minimum turnover; a UK National Insurance number is required.
Pros: The lowest rate on this list by a wide margin; free business planning support and mentoring included; no minimum trading history.
Cons: £25,000 per applicant does not stretch far; the application takes 4 to 8 weeks and needs a detailed business plan; the loan is a personal credit agreement in the founder’s name, so personal credit is affected; property development and buy-to-let ventures are excluded from the scheme.
Best for: Founders in the first five years of trading who need modest capital and can wait, and who would not clear LendingCrowd’s profitability test.
| Lender | Amount range | Rate | Min trading | Min turnover | Decision speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LendingCrowd | £25,000–£500,000 | 6%–18% per annum | 24 months | £100,000 | 5–7 working days |
| Funding Circle | £10,000–£500,000 | 6.9%–36% per annum | 1 year | £50,000 | Within 24 hours |
| Allica Bank | £25,001–£150,000 unsecured | 9.90%–13.75% per annum | 3 years of accounts | Not published | Next working day |
| ThinCats | £1m–£30m | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Nucleus | £3,000–£2m | 1.5%–5% per month | 6 months | £50,000 | Within 24 hours |
| iwoca | £1,000–£500,000 | 2%–6% per month | 3 months | £25,000 | Within 24 hours |
| Fleximize | £5,000–£500,000 | 0.9%–3.9% per month | 6 months | £60,000 | Within 24 hours |
| Start Up Loans | £500–£25,000 | 7.5% fixed annual rate | None | None | 4–8 weeks |
Choose Funding Circle if you meet LendingCrowd’s profile but want the decision inside 24 hours and the money inside 3 business days.
Choose Allica Bank if you have three years of filed accounts and would rather borrow from a bank’s balance sheet than wait on investor appetite.
Choose ThinCats if the deal is an acquisition or buyout well above £500,000 and you can accept unpublished pricing in exchange for reach.
Choose Nucleus Commercial Finance if you need between £500,000 and £2 million, or want asset finance and a business loan from the same lender.
Choose iwoca if 24 months of trading or £100,000 of turnover is what is standing in your way, and you plan to clear the balance quickly.
Choose Fleximize if you expect to need a payment holiday or a top-up before the term ends.
Choose Start Up Loans if you have been trading fewer than 60 months and £25,000 covers the need.
Rate structures on this list are not interchangeable. LendingCrowd, Funding Circle, Allica and Start Up Loans quote annual rates; iwoca, Fleximize and Nucleus quote monthly rates on the outstanding balance; ThinCats publishes nothing. Ask every lender for the total cost of credit in pounds for the exact amount and term you want, and verify the firm on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before you sign anything.
Looking for a business loan? Compare rates in minutes.
Check EligibilityCheck eligibility in 2 minutes. No credit check.
Check Eligibility →