London Business Finance

London Business Finance is the London arm of Bolton Business Finance Ltd, a whole-of-market commercial finance broker working with UK trading businesses and property investors. We are not a lender.

We sit on your side of the table, take your case to the funders most likely to say yes, and manage the application through to drawdown.

Our London office opens shortly in Southwark SE1.

Until it does, London enquiries are handled by our existing team, who already act for businesses across the South East.

Nothing about the process changes — call 0161 5469128 or use the enquiry form below and you will speak to a broker, not a call centre.

What we arrange for London businesses

We handle non-regulated commercial finance across the full range of facilities. In practice most London enquiries fall into one of these:

Working capital and cashflow

Business loans: secured and unsecured term lending for growth, recruitment, equipment or restructuring existing debt.

Invoice finance: factoring and invoice discounting to release cash tied up in your debtor book. Common where London clients are on 60- or 90-day payment terms.

Merchant cash advances: repayment taken as a percentage of card takings. Suited to hospitality and retail with strong card volumes and uneven weeks.

Trade & Stock finance: import and export facilities, letters of credit and supply chain funding.

Assets and equipment finance

Asset finance: hire purchase and leasing for vehicles, plant, machinery, catering equipment and commercial fit-outs.

Refinance and sale-and-leaseback: releasing capital from assets you already own outright.

Commercial property

Commercial mortgages: owner-occupier and investment purchases, and refinancing existing commercial loans.

Property development finance: ground-up development, conversions and heavy refurbishment.

Bridging finance: short-term funding on non-regulated transactions, including auction purchases and chain breaks.

Specialist Buy-to-let mortgages: non-regulated cases only, including limited company and portfolio landlords, HMO’s and Multi Unit Freehold Blocks.

Who we work with

Our typical client is a London business turning over between £250,000 and £10 million, owner-managed, trading, and at the point where the incumbent bank has either said no or taken too long. We also act for larger and smaller businesses where the case fits.

We work across sectors, with recurring activity in construction and trades, professional services, hospitality, wholesale and distribution, logistics, manufacturing and property investment.

How it works

  1. An initial conversation. Fifteen minutes on the phone. What you need, what it is for, and when. No forms first.
  2. We tell you where you stand. Including when the answer is that the deal will not fund as structured, or that a different facility fits better than the one you asked about.
  3. We approach the market. We place your case with the lenders whose criteria it actually meets, rather than papering the whole market and damaging your credit file with multiple searches.
  4. We present the options. Rate, term, fees, security and covenants, side by side and in plain terms.
  5. We run it to completion. Underwriting queries, valuations, legal’s and drawdown.

There is no charge for the initial conversation and no obligation to proceed.

Why use a broker rather than approaching lenders directly?

London Business Finance Logo

The commercial lending market is large, fragmented and largely invisible from the high street. Challenger banks, independent asset financiers, invoice finance houses, specialist property lenders and private funders each publish criteria that shift with their appetite and their funding lines.

A business owner approaching this cold, typically speaks to their own bank, possibly one other, and takes what is offered. The practical value of a broker is knowing which lender is lending this quarter, on what terms, and how to present a case so it survives credit committee. We hold relationships with over 130 lending partners.

Our regulatory position stated plainly

Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange non-regulated commercial finance only. In practice that means we can help with business lending, asset finance, invoice finance, commercial mortgages, non-regulated bridging and non-regulated buy-to-let.

It means we cannot advise on or arrange regulated residential mortgages, regulated bridging on a home you live in, consumer credit, or regulated buy-to-let where the property is occupied by you or a close family member.

If your enquiry turns out to be regulated, we will tell you at the first conversation. We would rather lose the enquiry than handle something we should not. We are a certified member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB).

Frequently asked questions

  • Do you have a London office?

    Our London office opens shortly. Until it does, London enquiries are handled by our existing team, who already act for businesses across the South East.

  • Are you authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority?

    No. Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange non-regulated commercial finance only, and we will tell you at the first conversation if your enquiry falls outside that.

  • What does it cost to use you?

    There is no charge for the initial conversation and no obligation to proceed. Where a fee applies to a specific case, we set it out in writing before you commit to anything.
    We only charge broker fees on lending secured against property, due to the longer timescales involved. We do not charge fees on unsecured lending. Fees on secured transactions are typically £495 on application and 1% of the loan amount upon succsfful completion.

  • How quickly can funding be arranged?

    It depends entirely on the facility. Unsecured business loans and merchant cash advances can complete in days. Asset finance typically takes one to two weeks. Commercial mortgages and development finance involve valuation and legal work and are usually measured in weeks to months.

  • Will approaching you affect my credit file?

    An initial conversation does not involve a credit search. We only submit your case to lenders once you have agreed which lenders to approach.

  • Do you only work with London businesses?

    No. We act for businesses across the UK. This page covers our London work specifically.

Speak to a broker about your London business

Tell us what you need and when you need it. We will tell you whether it is fundable, and what it will realistically cost.

Call 0161 546 9128 Or use the enquiry form below.

London Business Finance is a trading name of Bolton Business Finance Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 12495909. Registered office: Westgate House, 1 Westgate Avenue, Bolton, BL1 4RF. Bolton Business Finance Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and arranges non-regulated commercial finance only.