Business loans UK: compare lenders, rates and repayments

A business loan is a sum of money a lender advances to a business, which the business repays with interest over an agreed term, usually in fixed monthly instalments. It can be secured on an asset or unsecured. In the UK it is offered by high-street banks, online alternative lenders and, for new businesses, a government-backed scheme.

It depends on the lender, the amount, the term and your business. On the lenders we compare, published representative APRs at the high-street banks run from 8.5% to 14.9%, Funding Circle advertises rates from 6.9% (a floor for the strongest applicants), Start Up Loans is a fixed 7.5%, and iwoca prices each facility per quote. Bank and Start Up Loans figures last checked 13 Oct 2026; Funding Circle 26 Sep 2026. Your own rate is set on application and can be higher.

"Businesses loans" is a common way of typing business loans, and it means the same thing. Our business loans comparison lists 9 UK lenders side by side, with amount, term, rate, fees and eligibility, each read from the lender's own website and dated. There is also a free business loan calculator to turn a rate into a monthly payment.

A secured loan is backed by an asset such as property, which the lender can take if you do not repay; it can be larger and cheaper. An unsecured loan needs no asset, so it is quicker, but it is priced higher and a director's personal guarantee is often required. Barclays, for example, says amounts above £100,000 need a secured business loan.

Yes, but the options narrow. Start Up Loans, the government-backed scheme, lends up to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% to businesses trading under 3 years or not yet started. iwoca caps businesses trading under a year at £10,000, while Funding Circle generally expects 2 or more years trading.

Typically how long you have traded, turnover and profit, the credit history of the business and its directors, whether you can offer security or a personal guarantee, your legal structure and whether the repayments are affordable. Each lender's stated criteria are in the table on this page.

Not always. iwoca states a director's personal guarantee is required, and Santander says one may be required for limited companies and LLPs. A guarantee means you personally, not only the company, can be pursued if the business cannot repay, so read it before signing.

We do not rank lenders or name a best one, because the rate you are offered is set by your business. On published figures, Funding Circle advertises the lowest starting rate (from 6.9%, a floor, not a typical rate) and Start Up Loans is a fixed 7.5% for everyone it lends to. Compare the APR and the total repayable, not the headline.

Neither. It compares what lenders publish and does not take applications or arrange finance. If you choose Find a lender, we pass your details, with your consent, to a UK business finance broker who contacts you, and we may be paid a fee by that broker. Lenders cannot pay to be listed, moved or reworded in the tables, and lender links go to the lender's own page.

Domain Farm Ltd, which publishes the site, may be paid a fee by a broker when someone asks to be introduced through the Find a lender form. That is the only income described on the site. It does not affect the comparison tables, the rates or the calculators. See how we make money for the detail.

From each lender's own website. Every row links to the page it was read from and shows the date it was read; the latest check was 13 Oct 2026. Figures are re-read at least monthly, and one that no longer matches is flagged to the editor rather than changed silently. We do not use other comparison sites as a source.