Credicorp
What UK lenders look for: how we make a business lending decision
When you apply, the most common question is simple: what are you actually looking at? The honest answer is that we are assessing your company, not you personally. We lend to UK limited companies and LLPs for business purposes, the loan is to the company, and we do not take a personal guarantee from its director. So our decision is built around whether the business can afford to repay, not around your personal income, your household, or your benefits.
Below are the three things we weigh, what we deliberately ignore, and how you can put your best foot forward. For our wider lending philosophy, see how we lend.
We look at what the company earns and how steadily. A short-term Business Bridging Loan is repaid weekly or fortnightly over a few weeks, so what matters is whether your trading income comfortably covers those repayments alongside your normal outgoings. We are not looking for a huge business; we are looking for a business whose income makes the specific loan you want affordable. A short, recent trading history can be enough if the numbers add up.
Your company's main bank account tells an honest story: money in, money out, and whether the account is run in a healthy way. We look at roughly the last six months. Regular income, an account that is not constantly at its limit, and an absence of returned payments all help. You provide this either through read-only Open Banking, which is fastest, or by uploading PDF statements. Either way, we are reading the account, never moving money from it.
We run a credit check on the company using business credit reference agencies such as Experian Business, Creditsafe and Equifax Business. This shows the company's payment history with other creditors and any adverse markers against the business. We also carry out an identity and anti-money-laundering check on the director, but that is an ID check, not a personal credit search, and it does not affect the director's personal consumer credit file. To understand how a company's business credit rating is built, read business credit score: how it works.
We do not assess the director's personal income, personal credit score, salary, household budget, or benefits. The borrowing is the company's, so the affordability question is the company's too. We also do not require you to put up personal assets, because there is no personal guarantee. If something about a decision relied on your personal finances, that would be the wrong question for this product.
1. Turnover and trading
We look at what the company earns and how steadily. A short-term Business Bridging Loan is repaid weekly or fortnightly over a few weeks, so what matters is whether your trading income comfortably covers those repayments alongside your normal outgoings. We are not looking for a huge business; we are looking for a business whose income makes the specific loan you want affordable. A short, recent trading history can be enough if the numbers add up.
2. How your business bank account behaves
Your company's main bank account tells an honest story: money in, money out, and whether the account is run in a healthy way. We look at roughly the last six months. Regular income, an account that is not constantly at its limit, and an absence of returned payments all help. You provide this either through read-only Open Banking, which is fastest, or by uploading PDF statements. Either way, we are reading the account, never moving money from it.
3. The business credit file
We run a credit check on the company using business credit reference agencies such as Experian Business, Creditsafe and Equifax Business. This shows the company's payment history with other creditors and any adverse markers against the business. We also carry out an identity and anti-money-laundering check on the director, but that is an ID check, not a personal credit search, and it does not affect the director's personal consumer credit file. To understand how a company's business credit rating is built, read business credit score: how it works.
What we do not look at
We do not assess the director's personal income, personal credit score, salary, household budget, or benefits. The borrowing is the company's, so the affordability question is the company's too. We also do not require you to put up personal assets, because there is no personal guarantee. If something about a decision relied on your personal finances, that would be the wrong question for this product.
How the three fit together
No single factor is a pass or a fail on its own. A strong bank account can balance a thin credit file; steady turnover can offset a quiet recent month. We are trying to answer one fair question: can this company comfortably repay this amount on this schedule? That is also why we will sometimes offer less than you ask for, or decline, even when parts of the picture look good. Responsible lending sometimes means saying no, or saying "not this much, not yet".
Putting your best case forward
Whatever we decide, you will see your figures clearly. If we can lend, your offer comes with a Key Information Sheet (KIS) showing the amount, term, total cost of credit and full repayment schedule before you sign the Business Loan Agreement. Because we are lending to a company for business purposes, this sits outside FCA consumer-credit regulation under Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001 and is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS. A short-term loan is expensive; if a cheaper route works for your business, take it.
- Apply using the bank account your company genuinely trades through.
- Borrow an amount that sits comfortably within your normal cash flow, not at the edge of it.
- Keep your Companies House record current.
- Clear or explain any returned payments before you apply if you can.
Related questions
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