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Borrowing as a new company.
A newly incorporated company has little track record, and most lenders lean on track record. This guide is honest about that — including that Credicorp needs at least six months of trading and a UK business bank account — and sets out what a younger company can do in the meantime.
Why a new company finds credit harder
Lenders assess what a company has done. A new company has not done much yet — and that is the whole difficulty.
A lender decides whether a company can afford to repay by looking at evidence: bank statements that show money moving in and out, a company credit file built over time, and a history of bills paid on schedule. A newly incorporated company has little of this. There may be only a few weeks of statements, a thin company file, and no trade-credit record to read. That is not a judgement on the business — it is simply that the usual evidence has not had time to accumulate.
How lenders weigh that evidence is set out in how a lender assesses whether a company can afford to repay, and what a company file is built from is covered in company credit files and the bureaux. The shorter the history, the more a lender has to rely on what little there is — which is why a young company often faces a narrower set of options and tighter terms than an established one.
Credicorp's position, honestly
Credicorp lends to companies with at least six months of trading and a UK business bank account. A brand-new company does not yet qualify.
Credicorp lends to UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs, and its eligibility includes trading for at least six months and holding a UK business bank account in the company's name. A company incorporated last week does not meet that yet, and there is no point pretending otherwise. The full eligibility is on the products page and on the operator's site at credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer.
The six-month requirement exists for a reason that works in a borrower's favour as much as the lender's. Credicorp decides on affordability, evidenced by the company's business bank statements, rather than on a personal guarantee or a charge over assets to fall back on. To read affordability fairly, it needs a few months of statements to read. Without them, a responsible decision is hard to make — and lending a company money it may not be able to repay helps no one. The thinking behind that perimeter is in why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only.
What a younger company can do meanwhile
The months before a company qualifies are not wasted — they are exactly when you build the record that opens the door.
| Step | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Open a proper business bank account | Separating company money from personal money is the start of a readable financial record — and is required for most company finance. |
| Build a clean statement history | A few months of orderly business banking is the evidence an affordability check reads. Keep it tidy from day one. |
| File on time at Companies House | Punctual confirmation statements and accounts are visible and read as a sign of a well-run company. |
| Pay suppliers to terms | Even modest trade credit, repaid cleanly, starts a company credit history. |
| Use founder funding or a director's loan | In the early weeks, a director's own injection may be the practical bridge — with the tax and accounting flags in the note below. |
Where the early shortfall is small and short, a director may choose to fund it personally — but a director's loan is not the same as the company borrowing externally, and it carries its own tax and accounting considerations to take to an accountant. The difference is explained in a director's loan vs the company borrowing in its own name. Other early-stage routes — a business credit card, a business overdraft, a grant, or asking customers to pay sooner — are weighed up across the guides, including business credit cards explained and business overdrafts and the alternatives.
Building towards qualifying
The good news is that the very things a young company should be doing anyway — banking through a proper business account, filing on time, paying suppliers cleanly — are the things that build creditworthiness. By the time the company has six months of orderly trading behind it, it has both met the threshold and built the record that lets a lender say yes with confidence. The wider habit of becoming more creditworthy over time is the subject of building business creditworthiness.
It is worth being clear about what borrowing is for, too. A new company should borrow for a specific, time-boxed need with a clear source of repayment — not to plug a structural gap or to fund losses. Right-sizing borrowing is covered in avoiding over-borrowing, and the situations where a loan is the wrong answer entirely are in when not to borrow.
Where to go next
- Building business creditworthiness — the record that opens the door
- Company credit files and the bureaux — what a young file is built from
- A director's loan vs company borrowing — an early-stage option, with the flags
- Avoiding over-borrowing — borrow for a specific need
- The three Credicorp products — and the six-month eligibility
- Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only