# Ltd, LLP or PLC: the body-corporate borrowers Credicorp lends to

Credicorp lends to incorporated UK businesses, and in practice that means three forms: the private limited company (Ltd), the limited liability partnership (LLP) and the public limited company (PLC). The three look different on the surface — different owners, different rules, different scale — but they share the one feature that matters for lending: each is a **body corporate**, a legal person that can borrow in its own name. This piece explains what each form is, how they differ, and why all three sit inside the Credicorp perimeter while a sole trader or an ordinary partnership does not. It is general information; the choice of form has tax and legal consequences, so take your own professional advice.

## The private limited company (Ltd)

The Ltd is the workhorse of UK business. It is owned by shareholders and run by directors — often the same people in a small company, distinct people in a larger one. Its shares are not offered to the public. On incorporation at Companies House it becomes a body corporate: a legal person separate from its owners, able to own property, enter contracts and borrow in its own name. The members’ liability is limited — generally to the amount unpaid on their shares — which is the “limited” in limited company. For most of the businesses Credicorp lends to, this is the form in front of us.

## The limited liability partnership (LLP)

The LLP is the bridge between a partnership and a company. It is run by *members* rather than shareholders and directors, and it is often used by professional firms — solicitors, accountants, consultancies — who want to work as partners but with limited liability. Crucially, an LLP is incorporated and is a body corporate in its own right. That is the dividing line: an ordinary, unincorporated partnership is *not* a separate legal person — its partners are the borrowers personally — whereas an LLP is, and so it can borrow in its own name. This is precisely why an LLP sits inside the Credicorp perimeter and an ordinary partnership sits outside it.

## The public limited company (PLC)

The PLC is the form built for scale. It can offer its shares to the public, which is what allows a company to list and raise capital from a wide pool of investors, and it is subject to tighter requirements — including a higher minimum share capital and stricter rules — than a private company. Not every PLC is listed on a stock exchange, but the form is the gateway to public share offers. Like the Ltd and the LLP, a PLC is a body corporate: a legal person that owns its assets and borrows in its own name.

## What they share — and why it matters for borrowing

Set the differences aside and the common thread is the one that counts. Each of these forms is registered at Companies House, each is a separate legal person, and each can take on debt in its own name. When such a company borrows, the company is the borrower — not the shareholder, member or director who signs on its behalf. That is the load-bearing point of the whole Credicorp model, set out in full in [why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending).

It is also what keeps the lending outside the consumer-credit regime. Because the borrower is a body corporate rather than a natural person, the lending falls [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/lending-and-regulation/) under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order, which is built to protect individuals. Lending only to Ltds, LLPs and PLCs keeps that perimeter clean. And because Credicorp [takes no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), there is no side contract pulling a director’s or member’s personal assets into the deal either.

## Who that leaves out

The perimeter is defined as much by what it excludes. A sole trader is not a separate legal person — the business *is* the individual — so there is no body corporate to be the borrower. An ordinary partnership is the same: the partners borrow personally. Individuals borrowing in a personal capacity are outside it too, because this is not consumer credit. If you trade as a sole trader and want this kind of company credit, the route is to incorporate first — a genuine decision with tax, administrative and liability consequences that is well worth advice, not a form-filling step. Choosing between Ltd, LLP and PLC in the first place is exactly the same kind of decision: take advice on which fits your business.

## The honest summary

Ltd, LLP and PLC are three different incorporated forms — a private company owned by shareholders, a partnership-style body run by members, and a public company built for scale — but they share the feature that matters for lending: each is a body corporate that can borrow in its own name. That is why all three sit inside the Credicorp perimeter, why the company is always the borrower rather than the person who signs, and why the lending sits outside the consumer-credit regime. A sole trader or ordinary partnership does not have that separate legal person, and so sits outside. For the choice of form for your own business, take professional advice.

## Related
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [The PSC register explained: who controls a company](/articles/the-psc-register-explained)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Products at Credicorp Limited — who can borrow](/products/)