Bolton Business Finance is an independent commercial finance broker. We arrange commercial mortgages, bridging, development finance, business loans, asset finance, invoice finance and merchant cash advances for businesses and property investors. We work with clients across the UK, and across the North West we will come out and meet you.
We do not lend ourselves. We approach the lenders most likely to say yes to your particular case, from a panel of more than 135. Our office is Westgate House in Bolton, and the fourteen towns below are the ones we get to often enough to have a proper view of what lenders do there.
Written by Marcus Wright, owner and founder of Bolton Business Finance Ltd, in financial services since 2008 and a commercial finance broker since 2019. Last reviewed September 2026.
On this page
The Fourteen Towns We Cover In Person
Each of these has its own page, and they are not the same page with the town name swapped. Lending in Blackpool works differently from lending in Trafford, because the property is different and so are the lenders who will look at it. What follows is the short version of what each town actually throws up.
| Town | What comes up most there | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bolton | Our own town and our head office. The full range, from working capital to development finance, and the shortest lead time on a site visit anywhere we cover. | Head office |
| Bury | Owner managed manufacturing, trade counters and town centre retail. Merchant cash advances and short term working capital come up here more than in most of the towns we cover. | 8 miles, 20 min |
| Salford | Apartment and new build investment stock around the Quays and Chapel Street, sitting alongside a large and often overlooked small industrial base. | 10 miles |
| Manchester | City centre offices, conversions and investment property, plus the trading businesses behind them. The widest lender choice of anywhere on this list. | 12 miles, 25 min |
| Rochdale | Logistics and distribution off the M62, where asset finance against the fleet and invoice finance against the debtor book usually beat a single term loan. | 12 miles |
| Blackburn and Darwen | Two separate property markets ten minutes apart, priced differently. Mill and weaving shed stock, and Sharia compliant funding where it is needed. | 9 and 13 miles |
| Wigan | Food manufacturing and processing, with the specialist equipment and the long supermarket payment terms that come with it. | 13 miles |
| Oldham | Multi-let mill and industrial buildings, where the EPC rating and the tenant covenant decide the lender more than the rent roll does. | 15 miles, 30 min |
| Trafford and Altrincham | Two economies in one borough. Trafford Park industrial on one side, professional and retail Altrincham on the other, and they price nothing like each other. | 15 miles |
| Stockport | A rental market where the rent, not the deposit, is what actually sets how much you can borrow. That catches out more investors here than anywhere. | 18 miles |
| Burnley | Aerospace and precision engineering supply chain. Long customer payment terms, and capital equipment that frequently costs more than the building it sits in. | 20 miles |
| Preston | Student property and HMOs, which are assessed quite differently from standard buy to let, on top of a broad commercial base along the M6 and M55. | 22 miles |
| Blackpool | Hotels and guest houses, valued on the trade they can sustain rather than on the bricks, and a season that decides which product actually fits. | 35 miles, 50 min |
| Southport | Listed buildings and conservation area consent along Lord Street, plus golf, hotels and the rest of the visitor economy. | 38 miles |
How The Face To Face Part Actually Works
Most commercial finance is now arranged entirely by email and portal. That works fine on a straightforward business loan. It works badly on anything where the building, the equipment or the site is the point.
If you have a mill floor part let and part empty, a machine shop with half a million pounds of equipment on it, or a guest house whose accounts do not tell the whole story, a lender makes a different decision once someone has actually stood in the place and can answer questions about it. That is the reason we still drive.
What to expect
- It is free and there is no obligation. A first meeting costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
- We come to you. Your premises, the site, or your accountant’s office. The accountant’s office often saves a second meeting, because the figures are usually where the questions land.
- Or you come to us. Westgate House, Westgate Avenue, Bolton, BL1 4RF. Free parking.
- Or neither. If the case is straightforward and nobody needs to see anything, a call is quicker for both of us and we will say so.
- One person throughout. You deal with Marcus from the first conversation to completion, not a call centre and not a handover.
What We Arrange
The same products are available in every town on the list. These pages explain how each one works, what lenders look for and what it typically costs.
- Commercial mortgages, for premises you trade from or property you let. Typically up to 70% of value, or 75% on semi-commercial, over 3 to 25 years.
- Bridging finance, short term property lending from three to eighteen months, for auction purchases, unmortgageable property and anything that cannot wait for a term application.
- Development finance, released in stages against a schedule of works and repaid on sale or refinance.
- Business loans, unsecured from £10,000 to £500,000 with decisions in days, or secured against property for larger sums at lower cost.
- Asset finance, for machinery, vehicles and plant. Nil deposit options, balloon payments where they help cash flow, and no broker fee.
- Invoice finance, releasing cash tied up in unpaid invoices, usually up to 90% of the invoice value within a day or two of raising it.
- Merchant cash advances, repaid as a percentage of card takings, which suits retail, hospitality and any trade with an uneven year.
If You Are Outside These Towns
We arrange finance for businesses across the UK and always have. The fourteen towns above are simply the ones we can reach in an hour, so they are the ones where a site visit is part of the normal service rather than something that needs arranging around.
If you are in London, the Midlands, Yorkshire or anywhere else, nothing about the lender panel or the products changes. What changes is that we will usually do it on a call and a video rather than in person, and on a straightforward case that costs you nothing at all. On something where the building genuinely matters, tell us and we will work out whether the journey is worth making.
Our main commercial finance broker page covers how the whole thing works, whichever part of the country you are in.
What We Do Not Do
We do not arrange residential mortgages of any kind. A number of people reach this site looking for a mortgage broker for a home to live in. We cannot help with that, and it is better to say so plainly than to take the enquiry.
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange non-regulated commercial and business finance only. That means we cannot advise on or arrange: residential mortgages, first time buyer mortgages, remortgages of your own home, consumer buy to let, equity release, or any consumer credit.
If you need any of those, use the FCA’s Financial Services Register to find an authorised adviser in your area. If you are a business owner, a landlord holding property through a company, or a property investor funding on a commercial basis, then you are in the right place and we can help.
Areas We Serve FAQs
Which areas does Bolton Business Finance serve?
We arrange commercial and business finance for clients across the whole of the UK. We cover fourteen towns across Greater Manchester and Lancashire in person, from our office at Westgate House in Bolton: Bolton, Bury, Salford, Manchester, Rochdale, Blackburn and Darwen, Wigan, Oldham, Trafford and Altrincham, Stockport, Burnley, Preston, Blackpool and Southport. Each of those has its own page setting out what lenders do in that specific market.
Do you actually come out and meet people?
Yes, across all fourteen towns listed on this page. The furthest is Southport at about thirty eight miles and the closest is Bury at eight. We meet clients at their premises, at the site, at their accountant’s office, or at our own office in Bolton where there is free parking. There is no charge for a first meeting and no obligation to proceed. On a straightforward case a call is often quicker and we will tell you when that is true.
Can you help if I am not in the North West?
Yes. We arrange finance for businesses across the UK and the lender panel and the products are the same wherever you are. The practical difference is that outside the North West we will usually handle it on a call and a video rather than in person. On a case where the building or the equipment genuinely matters, tell us and we will work out whether the journey is worth making.
Are you FCA authorised?
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange non-regulated commercial and business finance only, which does not require FCA authorisation. It matters in one direction: we cannot help with residential mortgages, consumer buy to let or consumer credit. If your borrowing is for business purposes, through a company, a partnership or as a property investor, FCA authorisation is not required for the facilities we arrange. We are a member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers.
Do you charge a broker fee?
Not on most facilities. On business loans, asset finance, invoice finance and merchant cash advances we are paid a commission by the lender, which is disclosed to you. Property secured deals carry a £495 upfront fee and 1% on completion. You will know the full cost before anything is submitted.
How many lenders do you work with?
More than 135, ranging from high street banks through to challenger banks, specialist property lenders, asset finance houses, invoice financiers and non-bank funders. That matters because a decline from one lender tells you about that lender’s criteria rather than about your business. With a panel that size the question is usually which lender to approach, not whether anyone will look at it.
Get In Touch
Tell us what you need funding for
Send us the outline and we will tell you honestly whether it is fundable, roughly what it should cost, and how long it will take. No charge for the conversation and no obligation to proceed. Call 0161 546 9128 or use the form below.
About the author
Marcus Wright is the owner and founder of Bolton Business Finance Ltd. He has worked in financial services since 2008, beginning at Santander, and has been a commercial finance broker since March 2019. He founded the firm in 2020 and is a member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers.
He arranges commercial mortgages, bridging finance, development finance, business loans, asset finance, invoice finance and merchant cash advances for UK businesses, working with a panel of more than 135 lenders. He can be reached on 0161 546 9128.
Marcus is also the author of UK Commercial Finance (2026), a commercial finance book for UK business owners and property investors.
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company number 12495909. Registered office: Westgate House, Westgate Avenue, Bolton, BL1 4RF.
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange non-regulated commercial and business finance only, and do not advise on or arrange residential mortgages, consumer buy to let, equity release or consumer credit. All finance is subject to status, lender criteria and credit assessment. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it.