A business loan broker compares lenders on your behalf, checks your eligibility before any application is submitted, and negotiates the offer. On unsecured business loans it costs you nothing, because we are paid a commission by the lender.
Bolton Business Finance is an independent UK business loan broker. We arrange unsecured and secured business loans from £1,000 to £10 million, on terms from 3 months to 10 years, with rates from 6.9% per annum. Offers can come back in as little as 24 hours.
Written by Marcus Wright, owner of Bolton Business Finance Ltd and a commercial finance broker since March 2019. Last reviewed September 2026.
The short version
- A business loan broker is an intermediary who matches your business to the lenders most likely to approve it, submits the application and negotiates the offer.
- Bolton Business Finance arranges unsecured and secured business loans from £1,000 to £10 million on terms of 3 months to 10 years.
- Rates start at around 6.9% per annum unsecured and around 4% per annum secured, depending on trading history, sector and credit profile.
- There is no broker fee on unsecured business loan applications. We are paid a commission by the lender.
- Six months of trading is the practical minimum. Twelve months of filed accounts opens up most of the market.
- Most unsecured lenders ask a director for a personal guarantee, which makes that director personally liable if the company cannot repay.
- A large part of the UK specialist lending market is intermediary only and will not accept applications direct from businesses.
On this page
| Item | Unsecured | Secured |
|---|---|---|
| Facility size | £10,000 to £10m | £20,000 to £10m |
| Term | 3 months to 7 years | 3 months to 10 years |
| Rates from | 6.9% per annum | Around 4% per annum |
| Security | None, usually a personal guarantee | Charge over property or assets |
| Minimum trading | 6 months, 12 months preferred | Flexible where equity is strong |
| Time to funds | 24 hours to a few days | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Broker fee | None | £495 upfront plus 1% on completion where property secured |
What a business loan broker does
A business loan broker is an intermediary who takes the details of your business and its directors, matches you to the lenders most likely to say yes, submits the application on your behalf and negotiates the offer with the underwriter.
The practical value is threefold. We know which funders will look at your sector, your trading history and your credit profile before an application is made, so you avoid the credit searches that come with speculative applications. We reach specialist lenders that do not accept business direct. And we handle the underwriter dialogue, which is where most declines are actually recoverable.
Declined by your bank? That is usually where we start. A decline from one lender is not a verdict on your business. Funders price risk differently, weight sectors differently, and set entirely different minimums on trading history. The lender that says no and the lender that says yes are often looking at the same set of accounts.
There are now hundreds of specialist business loan providers in the UK, each catering to different sectors, credit profiles and circumstances. Many of them do not accept applications direct from the public at all. They lend only through intermediaries, so you cannot reach them yourself.
Where a broker adds nothing, we will say so
If your own bank will do it cheaper, take the bank’s money. We would rather tell you that than put you through an application you did not need. The same applies where the honest answer is that you should not borrow at all.
Business loan advisors and consultants
Business loan broker, business loan advisor and business loan consultant usually describe the same job. All three refer to an intermediary who sources business finance from a panel of lenders rather than selling one lender’s own products. There is no formal distinction between the titles in the UK non-regulated commercial finance market.
Where the titles do tend to differ is in emphasis. A broker is usually describing the sourcing and placing of the facility. An advisor or consultant is usually describing a wider conversation about which product fits, whether the borrowing is affordable, and how the facility sits alongside the rest of the balance sheet.
We do both. Most enquiries start with a business that has a number in mind and a bank that has said no. The first conversation is usually about whether a term loan is even the right instrument, because a cash flow gap caused by slow paying customers is an invoice finance problem, not a loan problem, and a vehicle purchase is an asset finance problem.
One thing to be clear about. Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange non-regulated commercial finance for business purposes only. We do not give regulated financial advice, and nothing on this page is a personal recommendation.
Types of business loan we arrange
Quick access to loans for any legitimate business or commercial purpose, with short term and long term options available. Any amount from £1,000 to £10 million.
Unsecured business loans
An unsecured business loan takes no charge over property or assets. The lender is relying on your trading history and, in most cases, on a director’s personal guarantee.
What you need to qualify:
- 6 months trading is the practical floor, and only a handful of funders will look at it
- 12 months of filed accounts opens up most of the market
- 2 to 3 years of filed accounts gets the best rates and the largest facilities
- UK limited company or LLP, though some funders will consider sole traders and partnerships
Features:
- Borrow £10,000 to £10 million
- Terms from 3 months to 7 years
- Rates from 6.9% per annum
- Funds released in as little as 24 hours
- No charge over property or assets
- Any legitimate business purpose
Personal guarantees, read this bit
Most unsecured business loan lenders will ask a director or owner to give a personal guarantee. That makes you personally liable for the debt if the company cannot repay it. It is not a mortgage over your home and it does not give the lender an automatic charge over your property, but it is a real personal obligation that outlives the company.
If you are asked for one, establish the amount you are guaranteeing and whether it is capped before you sign.
Secured business loans
A secured business loan is backed by an asset, most often property. Because the lender’s risk is lower, secured lending can go larger, run longer and price cheaper than unsecured lending, with rates starting around 4% per annum.
The trade-off is not abstract. If you do not repay, the lender can take the asset. Where that asset is a director’s home, think it through carefully.
Secured business loans may suit businesses declined for unsecured lending, difficult or impaired credit profiles, phoenix companies, facilities larger than unsecured lending will stretch to, urgent funding where property equity is available, and turnarounds or restructures.
- Borrow between £20,000 and £10,000,000
- Terms from 3 months to 10 years
- Capital and interest, or interest only, repayment options
- Bridging loans for business purposes
- Up to 70% loan to value against director owned residential property
- Up to 50% loan to value against director or company owned commercial property
Short term business loans
Short term business loans run from 3 to 12 months and suit a dated, one-off need rather than an ongoing one. An urgent VAT or corporation tax bill, a supplier invoice that unlocks an order, or bridging a payment you know lands next quarter.
Interest is charged for the months you actually use the money, so a short term loan at a higher headline rate often costs less in total than a cheaper looking loan run over five years. Some funders allow repayment at any time with no penalty. Check that before you sign, because on a short dated need it matters more than the rate.
Quick business loans
If you need money fast, get in touch today. We can have lending offers back in as little as 24 hours and funds drawn the same week.
To move at that speed, have these to hand when you call: your last 3 months of business bank statements, your most recent filed accounts, and the amount you need with what it is for. That is usually enough for a lender to make a decision.
Refinancing an existing business loan
An existing business loan can often be refinanced, spreading the balance over a longer term to cut the monthly cost, or releasing additional funds on top of what you already owe.
Check two things before you move: whether your current lender charges an early repayment fee, and whether the longer term means you pay more in total interest even though the monthly payment drops. Both are common, and neither is a reason not to refinance, but you should see the numbers first. Our business loan consolidation calculator will show you both sides.
Second charge business loans
Where a first mortgage is already in place, a second charge releases the remaining equity without disturbing the existing loan or triggering an early repayment charge on it.
Equity in a home, a buy to let or a commercial property can all be used to secure business finance this way. The first charge lender’s consent is normally required, and the second charge lender ranks behind them if anything goes wrong, which is why the rate is higher than on a first charge.
Read more about second charge business loans.
Growth Guarantee Scheme
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is the government backed lending scheme that replaced the Recovery Loan Scheme in July 2024. It is not a Covid support scheme. It is a general guarantee intended to help viable UK businesses access finance for growth and investment.
Borrow £25,001 to £2 million on terms of up to 6 years. The government gives the lender a 70% guarantee against the outstanding balance.
Your business remains 100% liable for the debt. The guarantee protects the lender, not you, and personal guarantees can still be required. What it does is make a lender willing to approve an application that would otherwise fall just short on security or track record.
The scheme is only available through accredited lenders. Read more about the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Cash flow loans
Cash flow is the most common reason a profitable business needs to borrow. Sales grow, stock and wages go out before customers pay in, and the gap has to be funded from somewhere.
The right product depends on what is actually causing the gap:
- Customers paying on 30 to 90 day terms. Invoice finance releases most of an invoice’s value on the day you raise it, and the facility grows as your sales do
- Card taking retail or hospitality. A merchant cash advance repays as a percentage of daily takings, so repayments fall in a quiet month
- A single dated bill, such as VAT or corporation tax. A short term loan over 3 to 12 months usually costs less in total than a longer facility
- Buying equipment or vehicles. Asset finance spreads the cost against the asset and leaves your working capital alone
- A recurring, unpredictable gap. A revolving credit facility lets you draw and repay as needed, and you only pay for what you use
Tell us what the shortfall is caused by and we will tell you which of these fits, including when the honest answer is that you do not need to borrow at all.
R and D and creative industry tax credit loans
If your company is due an R and D tax credit or a creative industry tax relief claim, you do not have to wait for HMRC to process it. A short term advance against the claim releases most of the expected credit now and is repaid when HMRC settles.
Useful where the claim is material to cash flow and HMRC’s processing queue is the only thing standing between you and the money. Read more about tax credit loans.
What a business loan costs
The cost of a business loan is driven by three things: the rate, the term, and any arrangement fee the lender charges. The rate on its own tells you very little.
| Loan and term | Rate | Monthly | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 over 12 months | 9.9% p.a. | £2,196 | £1,361 |
| £50,000 over 36 months | 12% p.a. | £1,661 | £9,786 |
| £50,000 over 60 months | 6.9% p.a. | £988 | £9,262 |
| £100,000 over 60 months | 8.9% p.a. | £2,071 | £24,259 |
Look at rows two and three. The 12% loan over three years costs £9,786 in interest. The 6.9% loan over five years costs £9,262, almost the same total, despite a rate nearly half as high, because the money is borrowed for twice as long. A low rate over a long term is not automatically the cheaper deal.
The reverse trade-off is cash flow. That same 6.9% loan costs £988 a month against £1,661. If monthly affordability is the constraint, the longer term wins even though the headline saving is small.
Two things to check on any offer before you sign it:
- The arrangement fee. Often 1% to 5% of the facility, sometimes deducted from the advance rather than added to the balance, so a £50,000 loan with a 3% fee puts £48,500 in your account.
- Early repayment terms. Some lenders let you settle at any time and only charge interest for the months you used. Others charge the full contracted interest whenever you redeem. On a short dated need, that difference matters more than the rate.
Rates above are illustrative and were reviewed in September 2026. Yours will depend on trading history, sector, financial performance and credit profile. Run your own numbers with our business loan calculator, then send us the figures and we will price it properly.
How the application works
Six steps from first conversation to funds in the account. For a straightforward unsecured loan the whole thing can run inside a week.
- Fact find. What you need, what it is for, and when you need it
- Source the lender. We match the case against the funders whose criteria it actually fits, before any credit search happens
- Submit the application. Packaged with the supporting documents the underwriter will ask for anyway
- Quote and offer. We come back to you with the terms and talk you through the fee and early repayment clauses
- Paperwork. Facility agreement, any guarantee documents, and lender verification checks
- Drawdown. Funds released to your business account
Have these ready and we can usually come back the same day
- Last 3 months of business bank statements
- Most recent filed accounts, plus management figures if the accounts are more than 9 months old
- The amount you need and what it is for
- Directors’ names, dates of birth and home addresses for the last 3 years
The single biggest cause of delay is a slow response to an underwriter’s question. If we come back to you asking for one document, that document is usually the only thing standing between you and an offer.
If your situation is more specific
Some circumstances need a different lender panel and a different approach. These pages go into more detail.
| If this is you | Read this |
|---|---|
| Adverse credit, defaults or arrears | Business loans for bad credit |
| A county court judgment against the company | Business loans with a CCJ |
| Currently in a company voluntary arrangement | Business finance during a CVA |
| Carrying a card balance or several facilities at once | Business debt consolidation |
| Selling on Amazon FBA | Amazon seller loans |
| You need the money this week | Quick business loans |
| Looking at government backed options | Government small business loans |
| A flexible facility you draw and repay | Revolving credit facility |
| You want to improve your odds first | 10 ways to increase your chances |
| Working out monthly cost or consolidation | Business loan calculator and consolidation calculator |
If you bank with a challenger bank
App based banks take very different positions on lending. Some lend small amounts to their own business customers, decided in minutes, which is a genuinely useful product for a few thousand pounds and one a broker adds nothing to. Others have paused lending, or never offered it at all, so borrowing has to come from outside the bank from the start. These pages set out each bank’s published position and where an independent lender fits alongside it. Banking with any of them is neither a help nor a hindrance to an application elsewhere, and no lender on our panel asks you to change bank.
| If you bank with | What that bank lends | Read this |
|---|---|---|
| Monzo | Small loans and overdrafts to its own customers | Funding for Monzo Business customers |
| Starling | Not currently accepting loan or overdraft applications | Funding for Starling Business customers |
| Revolut | No credit, credit cards or overdrafts on Business accounts | Funding for Revolut Business customers |
| Zempler, formerly Cashplus | Overdraft up to £10,000 and a credit card. No business loan | Funding for Zempler Bank business customers |
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any bank named here. Each page describes that bank’s published products in outline only, so you can see where they fit, and the bank itself is the only source for its own current terms.
Business loan questions answered
The questions we get asked most often about business loans, and about using a broker to arrange one. If yours is not answered here, call us on 0161 546 9128 and ask.
What is a business loan broker?
A business loan broker is an intermediary who takes the details of your business and its directors, matches you to the lenders most likely to say yes, submits the application on your behalf and negotiates the offer with the underwriter. The practical value is that a broker knows which funders will look at your sector, trading history and credit profile before an application is made, reaches specialist lenders that do not accept business direct, and handles the underwriter dialogue where most declines are actually recoverable.
Why use a business loan broker?
Three reasons that hold up in practice. Access, because a large part of the UK specialist lending market is intermediary only and those funders will not take your call directly. Fewer wasted credit searches, because multiple declined applications leave a footprint that makes the next lender more cautious. And the offer rather than just the approval, because rate, term, fee and early repayment terms are all negotiable, and an underwriter treats a broker packaged case differently from a cold application.
Do business loan brokers charge fees?
We do not charge broker fees on unsecured business loan applications. We are paid a commission by the lender for the introduction, and that covers the cost of the service. On property secured lending a fee applies, currently £495 upfront plus 1% on completion. If a fee applies we tell you the amount in writing before any application is submitted, never afterwards, and never taken out of the advance without you knowing.
How does a business loan work?
A lender advances your business an agreed sum, which is repaid over an agreed term. Terms run from 3 months to 7 years on unsecured lending, and up to 10 years where the loan is secured on property. Each monthly repayment is part capital and part interest. At drawdown you should receive a repayment schedule setting out every payment due, the interest included in each, and the closing balance. Ask for it if it is not offered.
How do unsecured business loans work?
An unsecured business loan takes no charge over property or assets. The lender is underwriting your trading record and, in most cases, taking a personal guarantee from a director instead. On trading history the market tiers roughly like this: 6 months trading is the practical minimum and only a handful of funders will look at it, 12 months of filed accounts opens up most of the market, and 2 to 3 years of filed accounts gets the best rates and the largest facilities. Facilities run from £10,000 to £10 million, repaid monthly over 3 months to 7 years.
What is the interest rate on a business loan?
It depends principally on whether the loan is secured, and on how the lender reads your risk. Secured business loans start from around 4% per annum because the lender can recover against the asset. Unsecured business loans start from 6.9% per annum for strong, established, profitable businesses. Short term and higher risk lending can reach 2% to 3% per month, which is a very different proposition and should only be used where the need is short dated and the return is clear. What moves your rate is length of time trading, sector, recent financial performance, turnover and profitability, business credit rating, and the directors’ personal credit standing.
What does a £50,000 business loan cost per month?
On a capital and interest loan with no arrangement fee, £50,000 over 3 years at 12% per annum is about £1,661 a month and £9,786 total interest. The same £50,000 over 5 years at 6.9% per annum is about £988 a month and £9,262 total interest. The total interest is nearly identical even though one rate is almost double the other, because the cheaper loan runs for twice as long. The real difference between those two offers is monthly cash flow, not cost. Add any arrangement fee on top, typically 1% to 5% of the facility.
How long does it take to get a business loan?
For a straightforward unsecured loan, offers can come back within 24 hours and funds can be drawn within a few days. Secured lending takes longer, typically 2 to 6 weeks, because a valuation and legal work are involved. What speeds it up is having the paperwork ready at the outset: your last 3 months of business bank statements, your most recent filed accounts plus management figures if those accounts are more than 9 months old, the amount you need and what it is for, and directors’ names, dates of birth and home addresses for the last 3 years.
What can business loans be used for?
Any legitimate business purpose. Common ones are buying stock or funding a customer order, general cash flow and working capital, an urgent VAT or corporation tax bill, refitting premises, office equipment, machinery or vehicles, a marketing campaign, expansion or hiring ahead of revenue, a large unexpected bill, and refinancing more expensive existing debt. Lenders will ask what the money is for and they do check. A clear, specific purpose with the return it generates materially improves your chances over a vague request for working capital.
Can I get a business loan with bad credit or a CCJ?
Often yes, though the rate will reflect the risk and the facility may need security. What matters far more than the adverse itself is the story around it: how old it is, whether it is satisfied, whether it was a genuine dispute, and whether current trading shows the problem is behind you. A settled CCJ from three years ago on a business now trading profitably is a very different case from an unsatisfied one filed last month. Disclose everything upfront, because lenders find it anyway, and an adverse entry you volunteered is a conversation while one they discover is a decline.
Will I have to give a personal guarantee?
On unsecured business lending, usually yes. Most lenders will ask at least one director or owner to give a personal guarantee, which makes you personally liable for the debt if the company cannot repay it. It is not a mortgage over your home and it does not give the lender an automatic charge over your property, but it is a real obligation that outlives the company. Establish three things before you sign: whether it is capped to a fixed amount, whether it is joint and several so the lender can pursue any one guarantor for the whole sum, and whether it covers future borrowing you have not yet taken.
Do I need a business plan to get a business loan?
For most unsecured lending under £100,000, no. Lenders make the decision on bank statements, filed accounts and credit data, and a full plan will not be read. A plan starts to matter on larger facilities, on Growth Guarantee Scheme applications, where the money funds something that has not yet generated revenue, and wherever a human credit committee rather than an algorithm makes the call. When one is needed, keep it short and make the numbers do the work: what you are borrowing, what it buys, what it earns, and how you repay it if the plan underdelivers by 30%.
Apply for a business loan
Tell us what you need, what it is for and roughly where your business is trading, and we will search the market and come back with the options realistically available to you. There is no broker fee on unsecured business loan applications, and no obligation to proceed.
Prefer to speak to someone? Call 0161 546 9128, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Or complete a full application form if you would rather give us everything in one go.
Business loan brokers in Manchester and Bolton
We are based at Westgate House in Bolton and offer face to face appointments for businesses across Greater Manchester. We arrange finance for companies in Manchester, Bolton, Salford and right across the UK, by phone, email, video call, or in person where it helps. See our Manchester commercial finance page or the areas we serve.
About the author
Marcus Wright is the owner and founder of Bolton Business Finance Ltd. He has worked in financial services since 2008, beginning his career at Santander, and has been a commercial finance broker since March 2019.
He founded Bolton Business Finance in 2020 to give businesses access to the whole lending market rather than one bank’s own product range. The firm is a member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers and works with a panel of 135+ lenders.
Marcus arranges commercial mortgages, bridging, development finance, business loans, asset finance, invoice finance and merchant cash advances. Call 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 an independent commercial finance brokerage, not a lender. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and can only complete non-regulated introductions. All lending is for business purposes only. Rates, terms and facility limits are set by the lender and subject to underwriting and status. Where a personal guarantee is given, your personal assets may be at risk if the loan is not repaid. Registered address: Westgate House, 1 Westgate Avenue, Bolton, Greater Manchester, BL1 4RF. Company number 12495909.