# Creditcorp Group — full-text of the whole site (llms-full.txt)
#
# Creditcorp Group is the brand identity for two UK private limited companies
# under common directorship: Credicorp Limited (Companies House 16093826), the
# operating lender, and CM Beyer Limited (Companies House 17009212), the brand
# and marketing arm and applicant for the new “Creditcorp” wordmark. This file
# concatenates every page, guide and article of creditcorpgroup.co.uk into one
# plain-text document so an AI system can ingest the whole site in a single
# fetch. Canonical content directory: https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/llms.txt
#
# Brand site: https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/ (group brand & legal hub)
# Operating lender (borrow here): https://credicorp.co.uk/ (NO “t”)
# Brand front door: https://creditcorp.co.uk/ (WITH a “t”)
# Last generated: 24 June 2026
#
# ============================================================================
========================================================================
# PAGE: Home — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/
========================================================================
# Creditcorp Group
> Creditcorp Group is the brand identity for two UK private limited companies under common directorship: **Credicorp Limited** (Companies House 16093826), the operating lender, and **CM Beyer Limited** (Companies House 17009212), brand stewardship and applicant for the new Creditcorp wordmark. Active customer services live at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).
**Last updated:** 22 June 2026
**Canonical URL:**
**Mirror:**
---
## The group, in one paragraph
Creditcorp Group is the brand layer for two UK private limited companies that share a brand family. Credicorp Limited is the operating lender — it lends to UK limited companies and LLPs under [Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001](#lending-and-regulation). CM Beyer Limited holds the published application for the new Creditcorp wordmark and is responsible for brand stewardship. The two companies operate under a [coexistence agreement](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf) signed 30 April 2026.
Active customer services live at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/). This brand site does not take applications, price loans, or accept payments.
## Topic pages
- **[About the group](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/about/)** — group structure, director, registered offices, group context (including the Australian related entity Credicorp Pty Limited), and the role of the IPO representative Trama Legal s.r.o.
- **[Our companies](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/)** — index to the two profile pages, with the highlights for each.
- **[Credicorp Limited (16093826)](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/credicorp-limited/)** — operating lender profile. Facts table, what it does, trade mark, where to find out more.
- **[CM Beyer Limited (17009212)](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/cm-beyer-limited/)** — brand-stewardship profile. Facts table, what it does, trade mark (with the pending-registration timeline), coexistence agreement.
- **[Trade marks](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trade-marks/)** — Credicorp and Creditcorp side by side, with the comparison table, mark images, pending-registration block, coexistence agreement, and FAQ.
- **[Lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/)** — Article 60B in plain English, why a UK Ltd or LLP is outside the regime, the financial-promotions point, what it means for borrowers, FAQ, and verifiable sources.
- **[For business directors](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/for-business-directors/)** — hand-off page with deep links into credicorp.co.uk for active services.
## Trade marks
| Mark | Number | Status | Classes | Holder | Renewal |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Credicorp | [UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742) | **Registered** (23 May 2025) | 36 (financial), 45 (legal) | Credicorp Limited | 6 February 2035 |
| Creditcorp | [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570) | **Application Published** — pending registration | 35 (advertising/business admin), 36 (financial) | CM Beyer Limited | — |
Creditcorp was published in Trade Marks Journal 2026/020 on 15 May 2026. The two-month opposition window closes around **15 July 2026** (extendable to ~15 August 2026 by a TM7A). After the window closes without opposition, the IPO proceeds to registration.
The two companies operate under the [Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf), signed 30 April 2026, governed by English law. Trama Legal s.r.o. (86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE) is identified as the parties' UK IPO representative in clause 16.2.
## Corporate group
**Credicorp Limited** — operating lender. UK private limited company. Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826), incorporated 21 November 2024. Registered office: Suite 53c, Unimix House, Abbey Road, London NW10 7TR, United Kingdom. (Companies House currently still shows the prior office at Suite Au31848, 9 Skyport Drive, Harmondsworth, UB7 0LB — pending update.)
**CM Beyer Limited** — brand stewardship and trade-mark applicant. UK private limited company. Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212), incorporated 3 February 2026. Registered office: Suite 53c, Unimix House, Abbey Road, London NW10 7TR, United Kingdom. Publisher of this brand site.
**Common directorship:** both UK companies share a single sole director (see Companies House officer records).
**Group-related entity (Australia):** Credicorp Pty Limited (ACN 679 428 605). This brand site is concerned with the UK companies; the Australian entity is mentioned for transparency on the [About](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/about/) page.
## Lending and regulation
Credicorp Limited lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs. Lending to a body corporate is **not** a "credit agreement" within Article 60B of the [FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B): under [Article 60L](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60L), "relevant recipient of credit" explicitly excludes bodies corporate, and "individual" carries its ordinary natural-person meaning. So Credicorp's business lending sits **outside** the FCA's consumer-credit regime — not exempt from it, outside it.
Three practical consequences for borrowers:
- **No FCA authorisation is required.** Credicorp Limited is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and does not need to be.
- **The Financial Ombudsman Service does not cover the loan.** FOS jurisdiction follows regulated activities. Complaints go through the operator's internal process at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/), and ultimately to the courts.
- **The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not cover the loan.** FSCS coverage is for failure of authorised firms.
The same logic applies to financial promotions. The s.21 FSMA controlled activity for credit (Schedule 1, paragraph 10BA of the FPO 2005) is "entering into a relevant credit agreement as lender" — and a relevant credit agreement requires the same individual/relevant-recipient borrower limb. So financial promotions of body-corporate lending sit outside s.21 too.
Full explainer with primary sources:
## Looking for a Credicorp service?
Each link below goes to the relevant area of [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/), which is the operating site.
### Products
- [Business Bridging Loan](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/) — short-term lending to UK Ltd, LLP, PLC.
- [Credicorp Flex](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/) — revolving facility.
- [What we offer](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/) — products overview.
### Eligibility and process
- [How we lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/) — underwriting approach.
- [How it works](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/) — step-by-step walkthrough.
- [Apply](https://credicorp.co.uk/apply/) — start an application.
### Help and support
- [FAQs](https://credicorp.co.uk/faqs/)
- [Support centre](https://credicorp.co.uk/support/) — searchable help articles.
- [Help with payments](https://credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments/)
- [Vulnerability and hardship support](https://credicorp.co.uk/vulnerability/)
- [Make a payment](https://credicorp.co.uk/make-a-payment/)
- [Contact Credicorp](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/)
For active customer questions, please go to credicorp.co.uk. This brand site has no phone, email, or contact form of its own.
## Coexistence agreement
[Download the agreement (PDF)](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf) — Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement, signed 30 April 2026 between Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited, governed by English law. Trama Legal s.r.o. is identified as the parties' UK IPO representative in clause 16.2.
## Brand-site legal
- [Privacy notice (this site)](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/privacy/) — controller: CM Beyer Limited.
- [Cookies](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/cookies/)
- [Terms of use (this site)](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/terms/) — brand-site terms, not loan terms.
- [Accessibility](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/accessibility/) — WCAG 2.1 AA target.
The operator's own privacy notice, terms and conditions, and other customer policies are published by Credicorp Limited at [credicorp.co.uk/legal/](https://credicorp.co.uk/legal/).
========================================================================
# PAGE: about — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/about/
========================================================================
---
title: "About"
description: "Creditcorp Group is two UK companies under common directorship — Credicorp Limited (16093826) and CM Beyer Limited (17009212) — operating under a coexistence agreement that governs the Credicorp and Creditcorp trade marks."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/about/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# About Creditcorp Group
We're two small British companies, run by the same person,
with two trade marks that sit side by side under a written
agreement. Here's how it all fits together.
## Why this brand site exists
We're two UK companies — **Credicorp Limited** and
**CM Beyer Limited** — and we share a family of names.
The **Credicorp** name is a registered trade mark held
by Credicorp Limited; the newer **Creditcorp**
name is a published application held by CM Beyer
Limited. The same person runs both companies, and we keep the
two names side by side under
[an agreement signed 30 April 2026](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf).
This site lays all that out in one place. It's not a place to
sign in or take out a loan — the live services run on
[credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/),
run by Credicorp Limited.
## The two UK companies
Both are UK private limited companies registered in England and Wales.
### [](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/credicorp-limited/)
Incorporated . The
operating lender. Lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs
under [Article 60B of the FSMA RAO 2001](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/).
Trade mark: **Credicorp**
([]()),
registered .
### [](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/cm-beyer-limited/)
Incorporated . Holds the
published application for the new Creditcorp wordmark.
Publisher of this brand site.
Trade mark: **Creditcorp**
([]()),
— pending registration.
## Directorship
Both UK companies are under **common directorship** —
they share a single sole director. The director's name,
appointment dates and other officer details are on the public
Companies House records linked above; we refer to the companies
rather than to individuals on this brand site, and no team is
named here.
## Registered offices
Both UK companies share a registered office at:
## Group context and domains
Two UK companies, each with a related regional presence, and the domains that belong to each.
| Entity | Role | Domains |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Credicorp Limited (UK) | Operating lender | [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) |
| () | Related regional entity ( ) | [credicorp.com.au](https://credicorp.com.au/) |
| CM Beyer Limited (UK) | Brand steward; publisher of this site | [cmbeyer.co.uk](https://cmbeyer.co.uk/), [cmbeyer.com](https://cmbeyer.com/) |
| CM Beyer — regional | Regional presence | [cmbeyer.com.au](https://cmbeyer.com.au/) |
| Creditcorp Group (brand) | This brand site | [creditcorpgroup.co.uk](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/), [creditcorp.uk](https://creditcorp.uk/) |
This brand site concerns the UK companies; the Australian
entities and domains are listed for transparency and to keep
the group's footprint clear.
## Trade marks and the coexistence agreement
The two UK wordmarks — **Credicorp** and
**Creditcorp** — are visually distinct
figurative devices owned by two different but related UK
companies. The coexistence agreement signed 30 April 2026
governs how the marks sit side by side.
is identified as the
parties' UK IPO representative in clause 16.2 of the agreement.
[More detail and a downloadable copy of the agreement →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trade-marks/)
## Related reading on credicorp.co.uk
Operator pages with more on the company behind the brand.
========================================================================
# PAGE: companies — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/
========================================================================
---
title: "Companies"
description: "We are two small British companies run by the same people: Credicorp Limited, the lender, and CM Beyer Limited, the brand-and-marketing side. Both are registered in England and Wales."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Companies in the group
We're two small British companies, run by the same director,
both registered in England and Wales. Here's each one.
## Two companies, one director
The Creditcorp Group is just two small British companies,
run by the same sole director and sharing one registered
office. **Credicorp Limited** does the lending;
**CM Beyer Limited** looks after the brand and
the trade marks. Both are private limited companies
registered in England and Wales, and everything below is on
the public register if you want to check it.
### [](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/credicorp-limited/)
Companies House
[](),
incorporated . This is the lender. It holds
the registered **Credicorp** name
([]()).
[Full profile →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/credicorp-limited/)
### [](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/cm-beyer-limited/)
Companies House
[](),
incorporated . This is our brand-and-marketing side. It's the applicant
for the new **Creditcorp** name
([](),
).
[Full profile →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/cm-beyer-limited/)
## At a glance
| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Company number | []() | []() |
| Incorporated | | |
| Role | Operating lender | Brand steward · trade-mark applicant |
| Director | A single sole director (shared) | A single sole director (shared) |
| Trade mark | Credicorp — registered | Creditcorp — |
| Registered office | , | , |
Don't take our word for it — every figure here is on the public register. Follow the company-number links above and check.
========================================================================
# PAGE: products — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/
========================================================================
---
title: "Products"
description: "Credicorp Limited lends short-term business credit to UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. Three products: the Business Bridging Loan (£50–£500 over 14–84 days), Credicorp Flex (revolving facility) and Credicorp Slice (supplier bills of £50–£2,000 split into 3–4 instalments, 6% flat fee). No personal guarantee. Apply at credicorp.co.uk."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Short-term business credit.
Three products, one principle: the borrower is the company,
not the director. You apply over on credicorp.co.uk —
this page is just here to explain how each one works.
## The three products
A single lump sum, an ongoing facility, or a supplier bill paid in instalments. Whichever you pick, the company borrows — never the director.
### Business Bridging Loan
[Apply at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
### Credicorp Flex
[Open at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/)
### Credicorp Slice
[See Credicorp Slice →](https://credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice/)
[Compare all three side by side →](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
## The three, side by side
Everything in one place, so you can weigh them up. The figures are the operator's published terms — always check the live product page before you apply.
| | Bridging Loan | Credicorp Flex | Credicorp Slice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shape | One lump sum | Revolving facility | A supplier bill, split into instalments |
| Amount | £50 – £500 | £50 – £500 limit | £50 – £2,000 bill |
| Pricing | 0.25%/day on principal | 0.25%/day on drawn balance | 6% flat fee of the bill |
| Term | 14 – 84 days | Ongoing | 3–4 instalments, up to 8 weeks |
| Cost cap | 100% of principal | 100% per drawing | 100% of the bill |
| Best when | You need a fixed sum for a fixed period | You want credit on tap, repaid and reused | You need to pay a supplier now, over time |
| Personal guarantee | None | None | None |
| Borrower | The company | The company | The company |
## Which one fits?
Three situations we see a lot. They're made-up examples, not real customers — just an easy way to show how the three differ.
### A one-off gap to bridge
A confirmed contract starts next month, but stock has to be bought now. You know the exact amount and when you can repay.
### Uneven, recurring needs
Cash flow rises and falls week to week. You want a limit you can draw on, repay, and draw again — paying only for what you use.
### A supplier wants paying today
An invoice is due now, but it suits the business to spread the cost. The supplier is paid in full today; you repay in instalments.
## How each one works
Three steps each, in plain terms. Applying and drawing down both happen on credicorp.co.uk.
### Business Bridging Loan
### Credicorp Flex
### Credicorp Slice
## How a decision is made
We don't assess applications here — the operator does that over at credicorp.co.uk. Here's how it works.
### What the decision looks at
### What it deliberately ignores
Demographic characteristics, postcode-based inference on its own, social-media activity, and unverified hearsay are excluded from the decision.
### People, not just algorithms
Straightforward applications can be decided automatically within minutes, so a same-day outcome is common. Cases that show signs of hardship, or that look unusual for a returning customer, are routed to a human reviewer from the start. And if an automated decision goes against you, you have the right under [UK GDPR Article 22](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/section/14) to ask for human review: the original decision is set aside, the file is reviewed afresh by a member of the credit team, and you receive a new written outcome.
[Read the operator's full underwriting note →](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/)
## Eligibility
Full operator eligibility detail is at
[credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/).
## Who Credicorp does not lend to
Body-corporate lending is the only direct-lending business
Credicorp Limited does. There is no personal-loan product
— see [/lending-and-regulation/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/)
for why the perimeter is drawn there.
## How the application works
Full walkthrough: [credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/).
## Honest about cost
These are small short-term loans. They are not cheap
relative to a business overdraft, a business credit card,
or a longer-term business loan, and the operator is upfront
about that. For most cash-flow needs, there is a cheaper
option — business overdraft, business credit card,
invoice finance, asset finance, a grant, a larger SME loan,
a director's loan, or simply asking a customer to pay
early.
The operator's business-loan page lists nine alternatives
the operator recommends checking first before applying for
a Credicorp loan:
[credicorp.co.uk/business-loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/).
### Worked examples
Illustrations using the published rates above. Repaid on schedule; actual figures depend on the amount, term and timing of repayments. Always confirm the live cost at the point of application.
| Product | You take | Over | Charge | Total to repay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bridging Loan | £300 | 30 days | £22.50 interest + £5 fee | £327.50 |
| Bridging Loan | £500 | 60 days | £75.00 interest + £5 fee | £580.00 |
| Credicorp Flex | £200 drawn | 20 days | £10.00 interest (+£5 first drawdown) | £215.00 |
| Credicorp Slice | £600 bill | 4 instalments | £36.00 flat fee (6%) | £636.00 (4 × £159.00) |
Interest on the Loan and Flex is 0.25% per day on the outstanding/drawn balance; the £5 establishment fee is one-time. Slice is a 6% flat fee with no interest. Every product is capped so the total cost never exceeds 100% of the amount borrowed.
## What protections do and do not apply
A Credicorp business loan is **unregulated business
credit**. Three practical consequences a borrower
should know about:
These follow from
[Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/),
not from any choice by Credicorp. Body-corporate lending
sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime.
## Where to go next
========================================================================
# PAGE: trade-marks — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trade-marks/
========================================================================
---
title: "Trade marks"
description: "The Creditcorp Group holds two UK trade marks under a written coexistence agreement: Credicorp (UK00004156742, registered) owned by Credicorp Limited, and Creditcorp (UK00004379570, pending registration) owned by CM Beyer Limited."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trade-marks/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Two wordmarks, one corporate group.
**Credicorp** is the registered mark;
**Creditcorp** is the new one, on its way through.
Two marks, held by two companies in the same group, with a
written agreement that sets out how they sit together.
## Two marks, one group
Held by two related UK companies under common directorship, cross-licensed under a written agreement.
## The two marks
| | Credicorp | Creditcorp |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number | []() | []() |
| Owner | Credicorp Limited () | CM Beyer Limited () |
| Status | **Registered** | **Application Published** |
| Filing date | | |
| Date of entry in register | | — |
| Renewal date | 6 February 2035 | — |
| Nice classes | | |
| First advert | Trade Marks Journal 2025/011 · 14 March 2025 | Trade Marks Journal · |
| Representative | | |
## Creditcorp — pending registration
The new Creditcorp application was filed by CM Beyer Limited
on and
published in Trade Marks Journal
on
. The
standard UK opposition window is two months from
publication, extendable to three months by a notice of
threatened opposition (form TM7A) filed before the
two-month deadline.
In practice that means:
After the window closes without opposition, the UK
Intellectual Property Office proceeds to registration and
issues a registration certificate. Until that happens, copy
on this brand site says "filed" / "pending registration",
not "registered".
## Coexistence agreement
The two companies operate the trade-mark coexistence under a written agreement:
[Download the agreement (PDF) →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
## Related reading on credicorp.co.uk
Operator pages that touch on the brand, the operator's regulatory position, and the trust signals around the company.
## When this page updates
Once the IPO issues a registration certificate for
Creditcorp, the "Status" cell in the table above will
change to **Registered** and a renewal date
will be added. We will not change other elements of the
page silently — the timeline above is part of the
public record.
========================================================================
# PAGE: lending-and-regulation — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/
========================================================================
---
title: "Lending and regulation"
description: "Credicorp Limited lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs. Lending to a body corporate is not a regulated credit agreement within Article 60B of the FSMA RAO 2001 and sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Outside the regime, not exempt from it.
Credicorp lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs.
That is why its lending sits outside the FCA's
consumer-credit rules. This page sets out which law
actually applies, and what it means if your company borrows.
## Article 60B, in plain English
UK consumer-credit regulation is set by the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000 — and, specifically, by
Article 60B of the
[Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (SI 2001/544)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B).
Article 60B(1) says that "entering into a regulated credit
agreement as lender is a specified kind of activity". A
specified activity is a regulated activity, which means the
lender must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority
to carry it out lawfully.
The phrase that does the work is "regulated credit
agreement", and Article 60B(3) defines a "credit agreement" as:
If the borrower (A) is neither an "individual" nor a
"relevant recipient of credit", there is no "credit
agreement" for Article 60B purposes — and therefore
no regulated activity at all.
[Article 60L of the same Order](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60L)
defines "relevant recipient of credit" as a small mixed
partnership or unincorporated body — and explicitly
excludes bodies corporate. "Individual" carries its
ordinary, natural-person meaning.
## Why a UK limited company or LLP is outside the regime
A UK private limited company is a body corporate by virtue of
[section 16 of the Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/16)
(incorporation confers separate legal personality). A
limited liability partnership is a body corporate by virtue
of [section 1 of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/12/section/1).
Neither is an "individual", and Article 60L explicitly
excludes bodies corporate from "relevant recipient of credit".
So when Credicorp Limited lends to a UK limited company or
LLP, the agreement it enters into is not a credit agreement
*within* Article 60B — not because it is exempt
under Articles 60C to 60H, but because the borrower's status
means it falls outside the definition of a credit agreement
in the first place.
**Outside, not exempt.**
## The exact words
Don't take our paraphrase — here is the statutory definition itself.
“relevant recipient of credit” means—
(a) a partnership consisting of two or three persons not all of whom are bodies corporate, or
(b) an unincorporated body of persons which does not consist entirely of bodies corporate and is not a partnership.
A UK limited company or LLP is a body corporate, so it is neither
limb (a) nor limb (b) — and it is not an “individual”.
It therefore sits outside the definition of a credit agreement in
[Article 60B](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B) altogether.
### Belt and braces: the business-purpose exemption
Even for a borrower that *is* within the definition,
[Article 60C](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60C)
makes a credit agreement *exempt* where it is entered into
wholly or predominantly for the borrower's business and the credit
exceeds £25,000 — or where the credit is £25,000 or less and
the agreement is entered into wholly for business purposes. So
body-corporate lending for genuine business purposes falls outside
the consumer-credit regime on the most fundamental ground, with the
business-purpose exemption sitting behind it.
## Financial promotions
[Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/8/section/21)
prohibits financial promotions, in the course of business,
of "investment activity", unless made by an authorised
person or with an authorised person's approval. For credit,
"investment activity" runs through the controlled-activity
at [paragraph 10BA of Schedule 1 to the Financial Promotion Order 2005](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1529/schedule/1):
"entering into a relevant credit agreement … as lender".
"Relevant credit agreement" mirrors the Article 60B test. So
financial promotions of body-corporate lending — which
is not a relevant credit agreement — sit outside the
s.21 perimeter too.
## What this means for borrowers
In practical terms, a Credicorp loan to a UK limited company
or LLP is unregulated business credit. That has three
consequences a borrower should know about:
This is not a gap or a loophole — it is how Parliament
wrote the statute. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the
consumer-credit provisions of FSMA exist to protect
*individuals* when they borrow. A limited company is
a separate legal person with its own balance sheet and its
own credit standing, and Parliament has not extended the
same statutory protections to body-corporate borrowing.
## Related reading and primary sources
The primary law behind the position, alongside the operator's own material. Check the statute yourself — do not take our summary for it.
## What this brand site does not do
This page explains the lending position; it is not a loan.
The brand site does not take applications, price loans, or
accept payments. The active service is at
[credicorp.co.uk/business-loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/).
========================================================================
# PAGE: faq — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/faq/
========================================================================
---
title: "FAQ"
description: "Consolidated frequently-asked questions across the Creditcorp Group brand site — the two trade marks, the regulatory position, products, the brand site itself. Each question links to the detailed answer on the relevant topic page."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/faq/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Every FAQ on the site, in one place.
Grouped by topic. Each one also links to the page where it's
covered in more depth.
##
More on []().
Looking for a Credicorp customer support article instead?
The operator's support centre is at
[credicorp.co.uk/support](https://credicorp.co.uk/support/).
========================================================================
# PAGE: contact — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/contact/
========================================================================
---
title: "Contact"
description: "Active customer contact goes through credicorp.co.uk. This page lists every channel for every kind of enquiry — customer support, brand-site postal, trade marks, accessibility, and verifiable identity."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/contact/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Who to contact, and where.
There's no phone number or contact form on this site. What
you need decides where to go — customer questions,
brand or press, trade marks — and the right place for
each is below.
## If you are a Credicorp customer (or want to become one)
All active customer contact is handled by the operator at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/):
## If your enquiry is about this brand site only
The brand site at **creditcorpgroup.co.uk** and
**creditcorp.uk** is published by
**CM Beyer Limited**. Postal correspondence
about the brand site itself (the trade-mark coexistence, the
content of these pages, accessibility issues with this
domain) can be sent to:
There is no phone or email channel for this brand site.
Customer enquiries that arrive by post will be referred to
credicorp.co.uk.
## If your enquiry is about the trade marks
Both trade marks —
**Credicorp**
([]())
and **Creditcorp**
([]())
— are represented before the UK Intellectual Property
Office by:
Trama Legal is identified as the parties' representative in
**clause 16.2** of the
[coexistence agreement](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf).
## If your enquiry is about the operating lender's regulatory position
The framework is on
[/lending-and-regulation/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/).
If you have a formal complaint about a Credicorp loan, the
route is the operator's internal complaints process at
[credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints](https://credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/),
not this brand site.
## If your enquiry is about an accessibility issue with this site
The brand site has no contact form, but the operator's
contact page will reach us:
[credicorp.co.uk/contact-us](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/).
Please include the URL of the page on creditcorpgroup.co.uk
and the assistive technology you were using. Full statement
at [/legal/accessibility/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/accessibility/).
## Verifiable identity
If you need to verify either company in the group, both records are public:
Both UK companies share a registered office at Suite 53c,
Unimix House, Abbey Road, London NW10 7TR, and share a single
sole director (common directorship), verifiable on the
Companies House records linked above.
## What this page deliberately does not include
That is deliberate. This site explains the brand; the
people who can actually help with your account are at
credicorp.co.uk, so that is where contact lives.
========================================================================
# PAGE: for-business-directors — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/for-business-directors/
========================================================================
---
title: "For business directors"
description: "If you are a director of a UK limited company or LLP looking for short-term credit, the active service is at credicorp.co.uk. This brand site does not take applications or accept payments."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/for-business-directors/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# The active service is at credicorp.co.uk.
This is our brand site, so you can't apply, get a quote or
pay here. But if you run a UK limited company or LLP and need
short-term credit, the links below take you straight to the
right part of credicorp.co.uk.
## What Credicorp lends
Credicorp Limited is the lender in the Creditcorp Group, and
it's the one you'll deal with. We lend short-term to UK
limited companies, LLPs and PLCs — body-
corporate lending under
[Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/),
outside the FCA's consumer-credit regime.
The borrower is the company, not you. We don't take a personal
guarantee. You'll find pricing, eligibility, loan amounts and
terms over on credicorp.co.uk — the links are
below.
## Where to go on credicorp.co.uk
Pick a link and it'll drop you straight onto the right page of credicorp.co.uk.
[Go to credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/)
## Before you apply
Two things worth knowing before you start an application on
credicorp.co.uk:
========================================================================
# PAGE: glossary — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/glossary/
========================================================================
---
title: "Glossary"
description: "Plain-English definitions of the technical terms used on this site — Article 60B, body corporate, FOS, FSCS, financial promotion, trade mark, opposition window, and more."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/glossary/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Plain-English definitions.
Every technical term on the site, explained in a sentence or
two. Where a term matters more, the entry links through to
the page that covers it properly.
##
Spot something missing or wrong? Reach the brand site
via the [contact page](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/contact/).
========================================================================
# PAGE: resources — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/resources/
========================================================================
---
title: "Resources"
description: "Curated external resources for verifying our facts — Companies House, UKIPO, primary statute (Article 60B, s.21 FSMA), the FCA register, FOS, FSCS, and related UK SME-credit references."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/resources/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Where to verify everything on this site.
Everything on this site can be checked at source —
Companies House, the UK IPO, the statute itself on
legislation.gov.uk, the FCA register, and the operator's own
pages. They are all gathered here.
## Primary statute
The legislation that defines the lending perimeter:
## Regulators and ombudsmen we are outside of
The brand site explains *why* these don't apply to a Credicorp business loan. Here are their own home pages for the curious:
## The operating site — credicorp.co.uk
Customer-facing services at the operator:
## UK SME credit references (independent)
If you are weighing up a Credicorp loan against alternatives, the operator itself recommends checking these first. Worth knowing even if you do nothing else:
## This brand site, in data-friendly form
========================================================================
# PAGE: press — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/press/
========================================================================
---
title: "Press"
description: "Press / journalist landing for the Creditcorp Group. Quick facts on the two UK companies, verifiable Companies House and UKIPO links, trade-mark press contact via Trama Legal s.r.o., and a downloadable copy of the coexistence agreement."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/press/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Press kit and sources.
The facts on the group, the links to check them, who to
contact about the trade marks, and the coexistence agreement
to download. Everything a journalist needs, in one place.
## Quick facts
| Brand | Creditcorp Group |
| --- | --- |
| Constituent UK companies | Credicorp Limited (16093826) · CM Beyer Limited (17009212) |
| Director | A single sole director, shared by both (see the Companies House officer records) |
| Trade marks | Credicorp (, registered) · Creditcorp (, Application Published) |
| Both registered office | Suite 53c, Unimix House, Abbey Road, London NW10 7TR |
| Operator domain | [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) |
| Brand-site domains | creditcorpgroup.co.uk · creditcorp.uk |
| creditcorp.co.uk | Transferred to Credicorp Limited on 17 June 2026 following Nominet DRS 29140 (summary decision, 2 June 2026) |
| Coexistence agreement | Signed 30 April 2026, governed by English law |
| Regulatory perimeter | Body-corporate lending under Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001; outside the FCA consumer-credit regime |
### Trade-mark queries
## Press contacts
Press queries specifically about either of the two trade
marks (Credicorp or Creditcorp), the coexistence
arrangement, or the IP filings go via the UK IPO
representative:
Public contact details for Trama Legal s.r.o. are on
their own public-facing materials and on both UKIPO trade-
mark records linked above. More on the role: [/trama-legal/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trama-legal/).
### Operator queries
Queries about Credicorp Limited as the operating lender
— products, pricing, customer matters, regulation,
policy — go through the operator's own contact
page:
[credicorp.co.uk/contact-us →](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/)
### Brand-site / publisher queries
The brand site at creditcorpgroup.co.uk and creditcorp.uk
is published by CM Beyer Limited. There is no phone or
email channel on this domain. Postal correspondence about
the brand site itself can be sent to:
## Trade-mark assets
Both wordmark images are published on the UKIPO register
and can be linked or reproduced under the Open Government
Licence v3.0 (subject to Crown copyright). For brand-site
use, the local copies are:
Use of the marks themselves is governed by the coexistence
agreement linked above; commercial reuse of the marks is
subject to the usual trade-mark protections.
## Background articles
[Atom feed for all articles →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/feed.xml)
## What this page deliberately does not include
========================================================================
# PAGE: timeline — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/timeline/
========================================================================
---
title: "Timeline"
description: "Public events in the Creditcorp Group story, in chronological order — incorporations, trade-mark filings, registrations, coexistence agreement signing, brand-site launch."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/timeline/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# The group, in chronological order.
The group's story so far, in order: when each company was
set up, when the trade marks were filed and registered, and
when the agreement was signed. You can check any of it on
Companies House or at the UK IPO.
Events with a grey marker are expected future milestones,
not yet recorded. They will be moved to the standard
(teal) timeline once they happen.
## Verifiable sources
========================================================================
# PAGE: security — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/security/
========================================================================
---
title: "Security"
description: "Security signals across the group — brand-site HTTPS, CSP and security headers, no PII collection; operator-side signed PDFs, audit log, Open Banking read-only via OBIE, Stripe for cards, Article 22 disclosures."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/security/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# How this site is kept secure.
This brand site and the operator's customer site are
secured differently, because they do different jobs. Here is
what is in place on each.
## Brand site — creditcorpgroup.co.uk and creditcorp.uk
This brand site has the smallest possible attack surface
by design. It takes no applications, no payments, no
contact-form submissions, no logins, no leads. The only
data it processes is server request logs and (with
consent) a single strictly-necessary cookie.
### HTTPS only
Every request to either domain is upgraded to HTTPS via
the site's `.htaccess`. There is no plain-HTTP
version of any page.
### HSTS — HTTP Strict Transport Security
The site sends an HSTS header with a one-year duration and
`includeSubDomains`. Once a browser has seen the
header, it refuses to connect to either domain over
plain HTTP for the lifetime of the policy.
### Content Security Policy
The site enforces a restrictive CSP via response header. The current policy:
### Other security headers
### No third-party tracking
No analytics scripts. No tag managers. No marketing
pixels. No remote fonts — the typefaces are
self-hosted, so no request leaves your browser for a
third party. No
session-replay tooling. The site is JavaScript-light
(one small `search.js` file, only loaded on
[/search/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/search/)) and works fully without
scripts.
### Cookies
One strictly-necessary cookie by default (`ccg_consent`,
records that you have dismissed the cookie banner). Any
analytics or marketing cookies, if introduced in future,
would be opt-in via the banner. Full disclosure at
[/legal/cookies/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/cookies/).
### Personal data
This brand site does not collect personal data through any
form, contact channel, or interactive surface. Server
request logs (IP, user-agent, URL, timestamp) are retained
for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted or anonymised.
Full privacy notice at
[/legal/privacy/](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/legal/privacy/).
### Hosting and infrastructure
The brand site runs on shared hosting at Hostinger. The
PHP stack is minimal — static page templates, no
database, no admin panel, no server-side sessions. There
is no admin login on this domain.
## Operator site — credicorp.co.uk
The operator's customer-facing site has a different
security posture because it does customer-facing things.
The signals it publishes about its own security are listed
here so that anyone evaluating the operator can see them
in one place. For the canonical statement, see
[credicorp.co.uk/our-technology](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/).
### Signed PDFs
Every Business Loan Agreement and Key Information Sheet is
issued as a tamper-evident, digitally signed PDF. A
signed PDF carries a cryptographic signature attached to a
named certificate — changing the document after
signing breaks the signature, which is visible in any
compliant PDF reader.
### Audit log
Every meaningful action on a customer file is recorded in
an append-only audit log. "Append-only" means entries can
be added but not edited or deleted, which makes the audit
trail useful for any later dispute resolution —
courts in particular treat an append-only log as
evidentially stronger than ordinary logs.
### Open Banking — read-only via OBIE
Where a customer connects their bank account during an
application, the operator uses Open Banking under the
Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) standards, which
sit under the FCA's Payment Services Regulations 2017.
The connection is **read-only**: the
operator can see transactions for affordability checks
but cannot move money out of the account.
### Stripe for card payments
Card details are entered directly with Stripe, the
operator's card-payment provider, via a Stripe-hosted form.
Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. **The operator
does not store card numbers on its own systems.**
### Article 22 UK GDPR — automated-decision review
The operator publishes that every automated decision in
the lending process is reviewable by a human on request.
This satisfies Article 22 UK GDPR, which gives data
subjects the right not to be subject to a solely automated
decision with significant effects.
### Operator policies
## Reporting a security issue
The brand site does not run a formal vulnerability-
disclosure programme. If you find a security issue with
creditcorpgroup.co.uk, creditcorp.uk, or any sub-path on
either domain, please report it via the operator's contact
page at
[credicorp.co.uk/contact-us](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/)
— include the URL, a description of the issue, and
(if applicable) a proof of concept that does not actually
exploit live data.
For issues on the operator's own site (credicorp.co.uk),
the same contact route applies. The operator publishes
more detail on its security practices at
[credicorp.co.uk/our-technology](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/).
## Related
========================================================================
# PAGE: trama-legal — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trama-legal/
========================================================================
---
title: "Trama Legal s.r.o."
description: "Trama Legal s.r.o. is the UK Intellectual Property Office representative for both Creditcorp Group trade marks — Credicorp (UK00004156742, registered) and Creditcorp (UK00004379570, pending registration). Identified in clause 16.2 of the coexistence agreement."
canonical: "https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/trama-legal/"
locale: "en-GB"
updated: "2026-06-22"
---
# Trama Legal s.r.o.
UK Intellectual Property Office representative for both
trade marks in the Creditcorp Group, and the parties'
representative under clause 16.2 of the coexistence
agreement.
## Address
Recorded as such on both UKIPO trade-mark records and in
clause 16.2 of the coexistence agreement (see below).
## Trade marks represented
| Mark | Owner | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Credicorp**
[]() | [Credicorp Limited](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/credicorp-limited/) | Registered |
| **Creditcorp**
[]() | [CM Beyer Limited](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/companies/cm-beyer-limited/) | Application Published — pending registration |
## Role under the coexistence agreement
The coexistence agreement signed 30 April 2026 between
Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited identifies Trama
Legal s.r.o. as the parties' representative in
**clause 16.2**. The agreement is governed by
English law.
[Download the coexistence agreement (PDF) →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
## When to use this contact route
Trade-mark queries about either of the Creditcorp Group
marks (oppositions, licensing, infringement notices,
third-party enquiries about the marks) go via the IPO
representative.
This page is informational only. The brand site itself
does not handle trade-mark correspondence and does not
route messages to Trama Legal. Contact details for Trama
Legal s.r.o. are on the UKIPO trade-mark records linked
above, and in the firm's own public-facing materials.
## Related pages
========================================================================
# PAGE: search — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/search/
========================================================================
# Search Creditcorp Group
Search creditcorpgroup.co.uk — the Creditcorp Group brand site.
**URL:** `https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/search/`
**Parameter:** `?q=` (URL-encoded search terms)
Client-side type-to-filter search across every page on the Creditcorp Group brand site. No tracking, no server round-trip. The index loads with the page.
## What you can find
- **Brand pages** — About, Companies, Trade marks, Products, Articles, Guides
- **Articles** — Business finance, lending, regulation, cashflow, and the Creditcorp brand transition
- **Guides** — Reference guides covering working capital, legal compliance, Companies House, and business credit
- **Regulatory information** — Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001; body-corporate lending outside the consumer-credit regime
## Example queries
- `cashflow` → Cashflow gap articles and working capital guides
- `FCA` → Regulatory framing and Article 60B guidance
- `credicorp` → Companies and brand information
- `trademark` → Trade mark and coexistence agreement pages
- `flex` → Flex working capital product
---
*The Creditcorp Group brand site is operated by CM Beyer Limited. For active lending services, visit [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).*
========================================================================
# GUIDES: Hub — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/
========================================================================
# Plain-English guides to business finance.
A reference library for directors of UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. Some guides explain the products Credicorp Limited lends; others explain finance types Credicorp does not offer, so you can compare options on even ground. Nothing here is a sales pitch — and nothing here is an application. Active services live at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).
## How to use this library
The guides fall into three groups. Start with the product explainers if you already have Credicorp in mind, the comparison guides if you are weighing one finance type against another, and the cost guides when you want to understand what borrowing actually costs.
Each guide is written for the director who reads the agreement before signing it. We use British English, we avoid jargon where plain words will do, and we are clear throughout that the company borrows, not the director. Where a calculator helps, we link to one. Where the operator's own page goes deeper, we link to that.
Three of the guides below explain finance types Credicorp Limited **does not** offer — invoice finance, asset finance and merchant cash advances. They exist purely so you can compare. We have kept the tone even and non-promotional in those guides, because the point is to help you decide, not to steer you.
## Understanding the products
The three things Credicorp Limited actually lends, explained in full — with the exact published terms and worked, illustrative examples.
### Business bridging loans explained
What a short-term business bridging loan is, when it fits, the exact Bridging Loan terms, worked examples, and where a bridge does not fit.
[Read the guide →](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/)
### Revolving credit facilities explained
How a revolving facility such as Credicorp Flex works against a fixed loan: drawing, repaying, redrawing, and paying interest on the drawn balance only.
[Read the guide →](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/)
### Paying suppliers in instalments
How spreading a supplier bill works with Credicorp Slice: the supplier is paid in full today, the company repays over a plan, for a flat fee.
[Read the guide →](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/)
## Comparing finance types
General explainers of finance types Credicorp does **not** offer. These are here so you can compare a short bridge against the wider market on its merits.
### Invoice finance explained
What invoice finance, factoring and discounting are, how they compare to a short bridge, and the kind of business each suits.
[Read the guide →](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/)
### Asset finance explained
Hire purchase against leasing for business equipment, and how funding an asset differs from short-term working capital.
[Read the guide →](/guides/asset-finance-explained/)
### Merchant cash advances explained
What a merchant cash advance is, how repayment as a percentage of card takings works, the cost to watch, and how it differs from a fixed-term company loan.
[Read the guide →](/guides/merchant-cash-advances-explained/)
## Costs & creditworthiness
Guides and tools that help you work out what borrowing costs and how a company's creditworthiness is judged. More are being added to this group as the brand site grows.
- [Business bridging loans explained](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) — includes worked, illustrative cost examples at the published rate.
- [The three products, side by side](/products/) — pricing, term and cost cap for the Loan, Flex and Slice.
- [Bridging loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) — work the daily-interest cost of a short bridge through for yourself.
- [Late payment interest calculator](/calculators/late-payment-interest/) — what statutory interest on an unpaid commercial invoice adds up to.
- [Working capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) — size the gap between paying out and getting paid.
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — what protections do and do not apply to body-corporate credit.
## Calculators and further reading
Where a number matters more than prose, reach for a calculator. Where you want context and sector detail, the news and updates index has longer pieces.
### Calculators
Free tools to work out the cost of a bridge, statutory late-payment interest, and the size of a working-capital gap.
[Open the calculators →](/calculators/)
### News & updates
Sector deep-dives and explainers — construction retentions, seasonal cashflow, the UK SME funding landscape, and more.
[Read the articles →](/articles/)
### Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the technical terms used across the site — Article 60B, body corporate, factoring, hire purchase and more.
[Open the glossary →](/glossary/)
## Where to go next
- [See the three Credicorp products in full](/products/)
- [Understand the regulatory framework](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Every operator link, gathered in one place](/for-business-directors/)
- [What Credicorp offers — products, eligibility and pricing at a glance](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
- [Compare the Loan, Flex and Slice on the operator site](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
[See what Credicorp offers at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: asset-finance-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/asset-finance-explained/
========================================================================
# Asset finance explained.
Asset finance spreads the cost of business equipment over its working life, instead of paying for it all at once. This is a general explainer of a finance type **Credicorp Limited does not offer**. It is here so directors can tell it apart from short-term working capital and choose well.
## First, a clear note
Credicorp Limited does not provide asset finance, hire purchase or leasing. This guide is purely educational: it sets out how equipment finance works in the wider market so you can compare it, on even terms, with the short-term products Credicorp does offer. We are not steering you toward anything here. What Credicorp does provide is on the [products page](/products/).
## What asset finance is
Finance shaped to a thing — a machine, a vehicle, a fit-out — that the business will use for years.
Asset finance is a way of acquiring or using business equipment without paying the full price up front. Rather than a lump sum passing through the company's account, the finance is tied to a specific asset, and the cost is spread across regular payments over a term that roughly tracks how long the asset will be used. The asset itself usually provides the security, which is what distinguishes asset finance from unsecured working capital.
The two broad families are **hire purchase**, where the business is buying the asset over time and owns it at the end, and **leasing**, where the business pays to use the asset and may or may not own it at the end. Within leasing there is a further split between a finance lease and an operating lease, which differ in who carries the asset's residual value and risk.
## Hire purchase against leasing
The headline difference is ownership: hire purchase ends in ownership; leasing is a paid right to use.
| | Hire purchase | Leasing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ownership | The business owns it at the end | The provider usually retains ownership |
| What you are paying for | To buy the asset over time | To use the asset over a term |
| Deposit | Often an initial deposit, then instalments | Often little or no deposit |
| End of term | Final payment, then the asset is yours | Return, renew, or sometimes buy |
| Suits | Assets you want to keep long term | Assets that date quickly or you may replace |
A finance lease puts most of the risks and rewards of ownership on the business even though the provider holds title; an operating lease keeps the asset more clearly the provider's, and tends to suit equipment that ages fast. Definitions for these terms are in our [glossary](/glossary/). Tax and accounting treatment varies between the forms, and is a matter for your accountant rather than this guide.
## How it differs from short-term working capital
The cleanest way to think about it: match the length of the finance to the length of the need.
| | Asset finance | Short-term working capital |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it funds | A long-lived asset | A short, timing-driven gap |
| Term | Years, tracking the asset's life | Days to weeks |
| Security | Usually the asset itself | Often none |
| Repayment source | The income the asset helps generate | A specific, near-term event |
| Example fit | A van, a machine, an IT refresh | Buying stock against a confirmed order |
Funding a five-year asset with days-long credit, or covering a two-week gap with a multi-year agreement, both create a mismatch that costs money or ties up commitment unnecessarily. A [short business bridge](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) is built for the timing gap; asset finance is built for the long-lived purchase. Our [working capital vs a term loan](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan) article works through the matching principle in more depth.
## Who asset finance suits
- **Businesses buying equipment they will use for years.** Vehicles, plant, machinery, IT and fit-out are the classic cases.
- **Companies that would rather not tie up cash in a single purchase.** Spreading the cost preserves working capital for day-to-day needs.
- **Firms replacing assets on a cycle.** Leasing can suit equipment that dates quickly and is swapped out regularly.
It suits less well where the need is short-term cash rather than a thing to own or use — that is the territory of [a revolving facility](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/) or a bridge. And it is distinct again from [invoice finance](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/), which raises cash against unpaid sales rather than against an asset.
## What to weigh before choosing a form
Hire purchase and the various leases are not interchangeable. A few questions usually point to the right one.
- **Do you want to own the asset?** If keeping it at the end matters, hire purchase points that way; if you would rather hand it back, a lease may suit.
- **How fast does the asset date?** Equipment that is quickly superseded — much IT, for instance — can favour leasing, so you are not left holding an asset worth little.
- **What does the term need to be?** The finance should track the asset's useful life, not run well beyond it or fall well short.
- **What is the all-in cost?** Compare the total paid across the term, including any deposit, balloon payment or end-of-term fee, rather than the monthly figure alone.
- **What is the accounting and tax treatment?** This varies between hire purchase, finance leases and operating leases, and is a question for your accountant.
Whichever form you land on, the discipline is the same one any director should apply to a finance offer — our [borrower due-diligence checklist](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist) sets it out, and the [glossary](/glossary/) defines the terms used here.
## Where to go next
- [Invoice finance explained](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/) — another option Credicorp does not offer
- [Merchant cash advances explained](/guides/merchant-cash-advances-explained/)
- [Business bridging loans explained](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) — for a short, timing-driven gap
- [What Credicorp does offer](/products/)
- [Working capital vs a term loan](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [Glossary of the terms used here](/glossary/)
[See what Credicorp offers at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
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# GUIDE: avoiding-over-borrowing — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/
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# Avoiding over-borrowing.
The most expensive borrowing is the borrowing a company did not need. This is a deliberately unpromotional guide to right-sizing: borrow for a specific, time-boxed need, match the term to that need, and leave headroom. Borrowing less is often the better decision.
## Borrow for a specific, time-boxed need
Good borrowing answers a precise question: how much, for what, repaid from where, by when?
Before a company borrows anything, it should be able to answer four questions plainly: how much, for what exact purpose, repaid from what source, and by what date. A loan that has a clear answer to all four is a tool. A loan taken "to have some cushion" or "in case" usually is not — it has no defined end, no clear repayment source, and a habit of being spent on whatever comes up. Vague borrowing is how a short, fixable gap turns into a standing liability.
The clearest case for borrowing is a defined timing gap: a confirmed order that needs stock bought now, a pre-season build-up, a supplier bill due before a customer pays. The money has a job and a deadline. Where there is no such defined need — where the shortfall is really a structural one, or there is no source of repayment — borrowing is the wrong answer, and the honest version of that is set out in the operator's note, [when not to borrow](/articles/when-not-to-borrow/).
## Match the term to the need
A short need wants short finance. Borrowing long for a short gap means paying for time you do not use.
The shape of the borrowing should match the shape of the need. A short, one-off timing gap is best met by short, fixed-term finance that ends when the gap does. Stretching a short need over a long term means carrying the debt — and its cost — long after the need has passed. Conversely, funding a long-lived asset with very short credit means refinancing again and again. Matching one to the other is the whole subject of [choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/), and the working-capital-versus-term-loan distinction is in [working capital vs a term loan](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan/).
Matching the term also keeps the cost honest. On a short daily-interest product, the cost is charged for the days the money is actually out, so a tightly matched term is a cheaper term. And if the need ends sooner than expected, early repayment without penalty means the company pays less still — covered in [early repayment and refunds](/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/). The reason a short term can look expensive on an annualised basis, yet be a small cash cost, is explained in [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/).
## Leave headroom
Borrow to the need, not to the limit. The repayments must fit comfortably inside the company's cash, with room to spare.
Right-sizing is as much about what a company can comfortably repay as about what it needs. The repayments should sit well inside the company's expected cash, not at the very edge of it. A plan that only works if everything goes exactly to schedule is a plan with no margin — and businesses rarely run exactly to schedule. Leaving headroom means a late-paying customer or a slow week does not turn a manageable repayment into a missed one.
A simple check is to look at how many months of cash the company holds against its net monthly burn before and after taking the loan — the [cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) is built for exactly that. Size the actual gap first with the [working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/), then borrow to that figure rather than to whatever limit is on offer. Borrowing the maximum simply because it is available is the opposite of right-sizing.
## A simple discipline before you borrow
Five checks that keep borrowing right-sized. If a loan fails any of them, borrow less — or not at all.
| Check | What "good" looks like |
| --- | --- |
| The need | Specific and time-boxed — a defined gap, not a general cushion. |
| The amount | Sized to the gap itself, not to the limit on offer. |
| The term | As short as the need; ending when the need ends. |
| The repayment source | Clear and identifiable — money you can see arriving. |
| The headroom | Repayments sit comfortably inside cash, with margin for slippage. |
Used this way, borrowing has a defined cost too. Every Credicorp product is bounded by a 100% cost cap, so the most a company can pay is knowable from the outset — the way that cap works is in [cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/). A capped, right-sized, short loan is a controlled tool. An oversized, open-ended one is a risk dressed up as convenience.
## And check the cheaper options first
Right-sizing also means asking whether to borrow at all, or whether a cheaper route does the job. Tightening the cash cycle — invoicing sooner, chasing late payers, holding less stock — releases working capital for free, as set out in [the cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/). A business overdraft, a business credit card, invoice finance or a grant may be cheaper for a given need; these are weighed across the [guides](/guides/). Credicorp itself is upfront that its short-term products are not the cheapest option for every need, and lists alternatives the operator recommends checking first in [the alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first/). Borrowing well starts with being willing not to borrow.
## Where to go next
- [Cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) — check headroom before and after borrowing
- [Working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) — size the actual need
- [When not to borrow](/articles/when-not-to-borrow/) — situations where a loan is the wrong answer
- [Choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/) — match term to need
- [Early repayment and refunds](/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/) — paying less when the need ends early
- [Cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) — the ceiling on what borrowing can cost
[Check your runway before you borrow →](/calculators/cashflow-runway/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: borrowing-as-a-new-company — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/borrowing-as-a-new-company/
========================================================================
# 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](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability/), and what a company file is built from is covered in [company credit files and the bureaux](/guides/company-credit-files-and-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](/products/) and on the operator's site at [credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer](https://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](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending/).
## 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](/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing/). 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](/guides/), including [business credit cards explained](/guides/business-credit-cards-explained/) and [business overdrafts and the alternatives](/guides/business-overdrafts-and-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](/guides/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](/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/), and the situations where a loan is the wrong answer entirely are in [when not to borrow](/articles/when-not-to-borrow/).
## Where to go next
- [Building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) — the record that opens the door
- [Company credit files and the bureaux](/guides/company-credit-files-and-bureaux/) — what a young file is built from
- [A director's loan vs company borrowing](/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing/) — an early-stage option, with the flags
- [Avoiding over-borrowing](/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/) — borrow for a specific need
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — and the six-month eligibility
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending/)
[Check eligibility at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: building-business-creditworthiness — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/
========================================================================
# Building your company's creditworthiness.
Creditworthiness is a property of the company, not the director. This guide sets out the practical, unglamorous steps a UK limited company can take to look stronger to a lender or supplier — and explains how the business credit bureaux actually see you.
## What creditworthiness means for a company
A judgement about whether a business will meet its obligations on time — formed from the public record, your payment history and your bank behaviour.
When a lender or a supplier weighs up whether to extend credit to your business, they are forming a view about one thing: the likelihood that the company pays what it owes, when it is due. That view is built from evidence. Some of it is public — your filings at Companies House. Some of it is reported by others — how promptly you settle trade invoices. And some of it the company controls directly — the discipline of its own bank account.
A useful starting point is to separate the company from the people behind it. A UK limited company is a separate legal person with its own balance sheet and its own standing. That is why Credicorp Limited assesses the **company** rather than running a personal credit check on the director — a point covered in detail under [/products/](/products/) and [/lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/). Building creditworthiness, then, means building the company's own record.
## File at Companies House on time
The single most visible signal. Late or overdue filings are a red flag that anyone can see.
Your annual accounts and confirmation statement are public. Any lender, supplier or credit bureau can pull them in seconds. A clean, current filing history says the business is being run properly; an overdue account, a string of late filings, or — worst of all — a strike-off notice in the *London Gazette* says the opposite, regardless of how the company is actually trading.
- **Know your dates.** A private company normally files accounts within nine months of its accounting reference date, and a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. Diarise both well ahead.
- **Do not file at the last minute.** A first late filing triggers an automatic penalty and a public mark. The mark lingers on the record long after the penalty is paid.
- **Keep the register accurate.** Registered office, directors, persons with significant control and SIC codes should all match reality. A bureau that cannot reconcile your record with itself scores the uncertainty against you.
- **Consider full rather than filleted accounts.** Smaller companies may file abbreviated figures, but a fuller set gives an assessor more to go on. Less visible can mean less credit, not more privacy.
You can check your own record, free, at [find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/).
## Run a disciplined business bank account
A dedicated company account, run cleanly, is the clearest evidence of how the business actually behaves.
A separate UK business bank account in the company's name is the foundation. Mixing company and personal money blurs the line that a body-corporate lender depends on, and it makes the account statements much harder to read. Most lenders — Credicorp included — lean heavily on the last several months of business bank statements when judging affordability, whether shared by read-only Open Banking or uploaded as PDFs.
| Habit | Why it reads well |
| --- | --- |
| Keep a positive average balance | A buffer that does not run to zero each month signals a business with headroom. |
| Avoid returned payments | Bounced Direct Debits and failed standing orders are visible and count against you. |
| Stay within any overdraft limit | Repeated unauthorised excesses suggest cash is run too tight. |
| Show steady, identifiable income | Regular customer receipts are easier to credit than sporadic, unexplained inflows. |
| Pay obligations on the due date | Tax, rent and supplier payments going out on time is the behaviour an assessor wants to see. |
If your account swings hard between flush and empty, it may be a working-capital timing problem rather than a profitability one. The [cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/) guide explains why, and the [cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) helps you see how many weeks of cover you actually hold.
## Build a trade-credit history
Paying suppliers on agreed terms is how a company earns a reported track record of meeting its obligations.
Trade credit is the everyday credit your suppliers extend when they let you pay 30 days after delivery rather than on the day. It is also one of the few places a young company can build a reported payment record without taking on a loan. Many larger suppliers report payment performance to the business credit bureaux, so settling those invoices on or before the due date gradually builds evidence that the company honours its terms.
- **Ask for terms, then meet them.** A modest account with a stationery supplier or a trade merchant, paid promptly, is worth more than a large account paid late.
- **Do not chase the longest terms you can get.** Stretching payment days flatters your own cash position but can show up as slow payment on a supplier's report.
- **Settle disputes quickly.** A withheld payment over a genuine dispute can still surface as an overdue balance. Resolve and document it.
- **Keep a couple of accounts active.** A thin file — little reported activity — leaves a bureau with nothing positive to score. Some steady, well-handled trade credit is better than none.
Be wary of the opposite habit, too. Persistently paying late to ease your own cash flow widens the gap the [late-payment interest calculator](/calculators/late-payment-interest/) quantifies, and it damages the record you are trying to build.
## The business credit bureaux
Three bureaux compile the data above into a business credit profile. Knowing what they hold lets you correct it.
A business credit profile is not the same thing as the personal credit file an individual holds. It is a record about the company, compiled by commercial bureaux from public filings, reported trade-payment data and other sources. Credicorp screens against the business bureaux rather than the director's personal file. The three most commonly used in the UK are:
| Bureau | What it broadly draws on |
| --- | --- |
| Experian Business | Companies House data, commercial trade-payment data and public information, combined into a business score and a delinquency indicator. |
| Creditsafe | Financial filings, payment-trend data and group structure, expressed as a rating and a suggested credit limit. |
| Equifax Business | Commercial credit data and public records used to profile a company's standing and likelihood of default. |
You can ask each bureau what it holds about your company and request that genuine errors be corrected. A mis-recorded late payment, a stale registered office or an outdated director can all drag a score down for no good reason. Checking your own profile before you approach a lender is sensible housekeeping — and unlike a personal credit search, a business checking its own file does not harm it.
## A simple ongoing checklist
None of this is quick to fake and all of it compounds. Treat it as routine, not a pre-application scramble.
- Accounts and confirmation statement filed on time, every time.
- Companies House record accurate — office, officers, PSCs, SIC codes.
- A dedicated business bank account, run with a positive buffer and no returned payments.
- A handful of trade accounts paid on or before terms.
- Your profile at each bureau checked, with any errors challenged.
- Tax and statutory obligations met on schedule.
A lender weighs all of this against affordability — the evidence in the bank statements that the company can comfortably carry the repayments. Creditworthiness gets you in the door; affordability decides the amount. For how Credicorp combines the two, see [credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
## Where to go next
- [The cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/) — why a profitable company can still run short of cash.
- [Open Banking for business finance](/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/) — how read-only statement access speeds an affordability check.
- [Choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/) — match the shape of finance to the shape of the need.
- [Cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) and [late-payment interest calculator](/calculators/late-payment-interest/).
- [The Credicorp products](/products/) and the [plain-English glossary](/glossary/).
[See how Credicorp assesses a company →](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/)
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# GUIDE: business-bank-accounts-and-borrowing — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-bank-accounts-and-borrowing/
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# Business bank accounts and borrowing.
A business bank account in the company's own name is the
foundation of company-level borrowing. It is where the lender
reads affordability, where funds land, and where repayments are
collected. This guide explains why the account matters, what
Open Banking reads from it, and how everyday account discipline
helps a lending decision go your way.
## Why the account has to be in the company's name
The company is the borrower. The account that proves it is trading, and that takes the funds, has to belong to the company too.
Credicorp lends to the company, not the director. The agreement
is between Credicorp Limited and your incorporated business, and
no personal guarantee is taken. For that to hold together, the
money has to move through an account the company owns. A UK
business bank account in the registered company name is not a
formality — it is the practical expression of the borrower being
a body corporate rather than an individual. It is one of the
eligibility conditions set out on the
[products page](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/).
A personal account in the director's name will not do, even if
the director is the sole owner. Mixing company income with
personal money blurs the line the whole lending model depends
on, makes affordability impossible to read cleanly, and works
against the limited-liability protection the company structure
gives you. The reasons a company borrows in its own name, rather
than the director borrowing personally, are set out in
[borrowing as a new company](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/borrowing-as-a-new-company/).
## What the account does at each stage
The business bank account is involved at three points: the assessment, the drawdown, and the repayment.
| Stage | What the account is used for |
| --- | --- |
| Assessment | The last several months of transactions are the clearest evidence of how the company actually trades — income, outgoings, and whether repayments are affordable. |
| Drawdown | Approved funds are paid into the company's account, usually the same working day if the agreement is signed before 3 pm UK time. |
| Repayment | Repayments are collected from the same account on the agreed cadence — weekly or fortnightly on the Bridging Loan, or by Direct Debit on Credicorp Slice. |
Because the account sits at the centre of all three stages, its
state tells a lender a great deal. A tidy, well-run account makes
the assessment faster and the decision more straightforward. A
cluttered one — full of returned payments, undated transfers and
personal spending — makes the same company look riskier than it
may really be.
## What Open Banking actually reads
Read-only access to recent transaction history — nothing more. It cannot move money, and you control the connection.
Rather than asking you to gather and upload months of PDF
statements, a lender can read your account through Open Banking:
a regulated, read-only data-sharing standard you authorise
through your own bank's login. You grant access, the lender
receives a snapshot of recent transactions, and that is the
extent of it. Open Banking access cannot initiate payments, and
it expires — it is a window onto the data, not a key to the
account. The mechanics, and what the access does and does not
permit, are covered in full in
[Open Banking for business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/).
From the transaction feed, a lender is looking to understand:
None of this is a credit score in disguise. It is a reading of
real money moving through a real account, which is why
affordability assessed this way rests on evidence rather than
inference. How a lender turns that reading into a decision is the
subject of
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/),
and you can size your own headroom with the
[cashflow runway calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/cashflow-runway/).
## Account discipline that helps
Good habits over the months before you apply do more for an application than anything you can do on the day.
The same discipline that reads well to a lender is simply good
financial hygiene, and it feeds the wider company credit record
covered in
[building business creditworthiness](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/)
and
[company credit files and bureaux](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/company-credit-files-and-bureaux/).
## What the account is not
A clear account improves the picture. It does not, by itself, decide the outcome.
A well-kept business bank account makes an application easier to
assess, but it is one input among several. The decision also
draws on business credit screening through the business bureaux,
a standard compliance check, and — for returning borrowers — the
company's own repayment history. The account is read alongside
these, not in place of them. The full set of inputs is set out on
the [products page](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/).
It is also worth being clear about what Open Banking access is
not. It is not a standing connection that watches your account
indefinitely, it cannot take payments, and granting it is not the
same as agreeing to borrow. You can decline it and share PDF
statements instead; the choice is yours. And the existence of a
business account changes nothing about the regulatory perimeter:
body-corporate lending sits outside the FCA consumer-credit
regime under Article 60B, as explained in
[lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/).
## Where to go next
[Start an application at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/apply/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: business-bridging-loans-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/
========================================================================
# Business bridging loans explained.
A bridging loan is a short, fixed-term advance that covers a gap between money going out and money coming in. This guide explains what one is, when it fits a UK company, the exact terms Credicorp Limited lends on, and — just as importantly — where a bridge is the wrong tool.
## What a business bridging loan is
A lump sum, lent for a defined period, repaid on a fixed schedule. The clue is in the name: it bridges a gap you can already see.
A business bridging loan is short-term credit advanced to a company as a single lump sum. You borrow a fixed amount, you repay it over a fixed term, and the cost is worked out on the amount still outstanding. It is not a facility you dip into and out of — that is a revolving facility, covered in our [revolving credit facilities guide](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/). A bridge is one advance for one purpose.
The defining feature is that the gap is visible before you borrow. You know the amount you are short, and you know the event that will close the gap — a confirmed contract, a stage payment due next month, a customer invoice with a date on it. A bridge buys you the time between now and then. Because the borrower is the company, not the director, this is body-corporate credit and sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime; the detail of why is on our [lending and regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/).
## When a bridge fits
The clean cases share one thing: a known shortfall now, and a known repayment source later.
- **Buying stock against a confirmed order.** A contract starts next month and you must pay for materials now. The order is the repayment source.
- **Covering a stage-payment gap.** You have completed a stage of work but cannot bill it for a few weeks, and a supplier wants paying first.
- **Bridging a slow-paying invoice.** A customer pays on 60-day terms; a smaller, faster bill falls due before their money lands.
- **A one-off, time-limited cost.** A single piece of equipment hire or a deposit that unlocks a larger return, repaid as soon as the return arrives.
In each of these, the term of the borrowing should match the length of the gap — no longer. A short-term loan held for longer than it is needed only adds cost. If you are unsure how the cost scales with the term, our [bridging loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) lets you try the numbers before you apply.
## The Credicorp Business Bridging Loan, in figures
These are the operator's published terms. Always confirm the live figures at the point of application — see [credicorp.co.uk/business-loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/).
| Term | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Amount | £50 – £500 |
| Term | 14 – 84 days |
| Interest | 0.25% per day on outstanding principal |
| Establishment fee | £5.00, one-time |
| Cost cap | 100% of principal |
| Repayment cadence | Weekly or fortnightly |
| Personal guarantee | None |
| Right to withdraw | 14 days from signing |
| Borrower | The company |
Two features are worth dwelling on. First, interest is charged on the *outstanding* principal, so repaying early reduces the cost. Second, the total cost is capped at 100% of the amount borrowed — whatever the rate and the term, you never repay more than double the principal in charges. The full product page sets out the cap and the cadence: [credicorp.co.uk/business-loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/).
## Worked examples
Illustrations at the published rate, repaid on schedule. These are made-up examples, not real customers. Actual figures depend on the amount, the term and the timing of repayments.
| You take | Over | Interest | Fee | Total to repay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| £300 | 30 days | £22.50 | £5.00 | £327.50 |
| £500 | 60 days | £75.00 | £5.00 | £580.00 |
| £200 | 14 days | £7.00 | £5.00 | £212.00 |
| £450 | 84 days | £94.50 | £5.00 | £549.50 |
Interest is 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal; the £5 establishment fee is one-time. The total cost is capped at 100% of the principal in every case. Worked here as if held for the full term and repaid in one sum; in practice, repaying earlier than the term shown reduces the interest.
Want to try your own figures? The [bridging loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) runs the same maths for any amount and term.
## Where a bridge does not fit
A bridge is a precise tool. Reaching for it in the wrong situation usually means there is a cheaper or better-shaped option.
- **Funding a long-term purchase.** Equipment, vehicles or fit-out costs that you will use for years should be matched to finance that runs over years. For an asset with a working life, [asset finance](/guides/asset-finance-explained/) is usually the better fit.
- **Plugging an ongoing, recurring shortfall.** If the gap returns every month, a one-off bridge only delays it. A [revolving facility](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/) you can draw, repay and redraw fits a recurring need better.
- **Replacing a structural cashflow problem.** If the business is loss-making rather than merely timing-constrained, borrowing does not solve it. A bridge assumes a real repayment source.
- **Paying a single supplier bill you would rather spread.** Where the need is to pay one invoice over a plan, [spreading the supplier bill](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/) with Credicorp Slice may suit better than a lump-sum loan.
The operator is candid that a short-term loan is not cheap relative to a business overdraft, a business credit card, or a longer-term SME loan, and lists alternatives it recommends checking first: [credicorp.co.uk/business-loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/). For a wider view of the choices, see our guide to [invoice finance](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/) and the [UK SME funding landscape](/articles/uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026).
## How applying works
The brand site does not take applications. Everything below happens at credicorp.co.uk.
- **Apply online** with company details, a UK business bank account, photo ID and six months of business bank statements.
- **A person reviews the file** — Companies House verification, a business credit check, and an affordability check on the statements. No personal credit check on the director.
- **Sign the agreement** between Credicorp Limited and your company. No personal guarantee.
- **Funds are released** to your business bank account, usually the same working day if the agreement is signed before 3 pm UK time.
The full walkthrough is at [credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/), and the operator's underwriting approach at [credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
## Where to go next
- [Revolving credit facilities explained](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/) — for a recurring need
- [Paying suppliers in instalments](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/) — for a single bill
- [The three Credicorp products, side by side](/products/)
- [Bridging loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/)
- [What protections do and do not apply](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Glossary of the terms used here](/glossary/)
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: business-credit-cards-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-credit-cards-explained/
========================================================================
# Business credit cards, explained.
A business credit card and short-term company borrowing both cover spending the bank balance cannot. They work very differently. This guide explains revolving credit, the interest-free window, when a card suits a company and when it does not — and the distinction that runs through both: the company is the borrower, never the director.
## How a business credit card works
Revolving credit on a monthly cycle, with a settlement date.
A business credit card gives a company a revolving credit limit it can spend against. Each month the card issuer sets a statement, and the company chooses how much of the balance to repay — at least a stated minimum, up to the full amount. Spending frees up again as it is repaid, which is what makes the credit revolving rather than a one-off advance.
The card is most useful for spread-out spending: supplier payments, fuel, software subscriptions, travel and the small, frequent costs of trading. It is less suited to a single large drawdown, because cards carry a cash-advance penalty if you try to turn the limit into cash, and the limit itself is often modest for a smaller company.
## The interest-free window
The single feature that decides whether a card is cheap or expensive.
Most business credit cards give an interest-free period between a purchase and the statement due date — often up to around 45 to 56 days, depending on when in the cycle you spend. If the full statement balance is cleared by the due date, no interest is charged on those purchases. Used this way, the card is a short, free deferral of payment.
The moment a balance is carried past the due date, the interest-free window closes and the card's APR applies to the outstanding balance. Business card APRs are typically higher than a term loan, so a card that is cheap when cleared monthly becomes an expensive way to borrow when a balance rolls.
This is the crux of the comparison with short-term borrowing. A card is at its best as a payment tool you clear in full. It is at its worst as a way to fund a sustained shortfall, because the cost compounds month after month with no fixed end date.
## A card against short-term company borrowing
Different shapes, different jobs. The table sets them side by side.
| | Business credit card | Short company bridge |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shape | Revolving limit, monthly cycle | Fixed sum, fixed short term |
| Cost if used well | Free, if cleared inside the interest-free window | A known charge over a known period |
| Cost if carried | APR applies, compounding with no fixed end | Not applicable — the term is fixed |
| Best for | Spread-out spending, repaid in full each month | A single known amount you can repay by a set date |
| Getting cash | Penalised as a cash advance | Funds paid to the business bank account |
| Borrower | The company | The company |
In short: a card and a bridge are not competitors so much as tools for different jobs. Many companies use a card for day-to-day spending and reach for a short bridge or a revolving facility only when they need a defined sum that the card cannot sensibly carry.
## The company is the borrower
Whose name is on the credit — and why it matters.
A business credit card is issued to the company. The company is the account holder and owes the balance. The director or an employee may hold a card in their name to make payments, but the credit agreement is the company's. This is the same principle that runs through every Credicorp product: the borrower is the body corporate, not the person who signs.
There is one common qualification. For a smaller company, a card issuer may ask a director to give a **personal guarantee** standing behind the company's balance. A guarantee turns the company's debt into a personal exposure for the director if the company cannot pay. It is worth reading the small print for exactly this. Our guide to [personal guarantees](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) explains how a guarantee works and what to look for, and Credicorp's own position — it does not take one — is set out in the article on [why we don't take personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees/).
Because the borrower is a company rather than an individual, card lending of this kind sits in the same broad territory as Credicorp's products: business credit to a body corporate, outside the FCA consumer-credit regime. See [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) for what that means in practice.
## When a card suits — and when it does not
### A card suits when
- Spending is spread across many small payments rather than one large one.
- You can clear the full statement balance each month, keeping the borrowing free.
- You value the convenience of one statement and a single monthly settlement.
### A card is the wrong tool when
- You need cash in the business bank account, not card spending power.
- The amount is larger than the card limit, or larger than you can clear monthly.
- The need is a defined sum over a defined short period — that is the shape a bridge or a revolving facility is built for.
Where a company needs a known sum it can repay by a known date, Credicorp's **Business Bridging Loan** (£50 to £500 over 14 to 84 days, 0.25% per day on principal, one-time £5 fee, 100% cost cap) or its revolving **Credicorp Flex** facility may fit where a card does not. To compare the real cost of a short-term product against a card APR on a like-for-like basis, use the [flat-fee to APR converter](/calculators/flat-fee-apr-converter/) and read our guide to [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/).
## Where to go next
- [Business overdrafts and the alternatives](/guides/business-overdrafts-and-alternatives/) — where cards sit in the wider picture
- [Flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/) — why a card APR and a flat fee are hard to compare directly
- [Personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) — what a director guarantee on a card means
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — Loan, Flex and Slice in detail
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — plain-English definitions of the terms used here
[Open a Credicorp Flex facility at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: business-finance-and-your-accountant — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-finance-and-your-accountant/
========================================================================
# Business finance and your accountant.
Your accountant sees the figures behind a borrowing decision
more clearly than any lender does. This guide explains why it
is worth a conversation before you sign, the questions worth
asking, and the tax and accounting flags that are theirs to
advise on — not ours. It is general information for directors,
not advice.
## Why involve your accountant first
A short conversation before you borrow is cheaper than unpicking the consequences afterwards.
A lender assesses whether your company can afford to repay. An
accountant does something different: they hold the full picture
of the company's tax position, its filing obligations, the
timing of money in and out, and the alternatives already sitting
inside the business. That makes them the right person to ask
before a borrowing decision, not after it.
Borrowing is rarely the only option, and sometimes it is not the
best one. An accountant may point you to a cheaper route — a
supplier deferral, an HMRC Time to Pay arrangement, or simply
releasing cash already tied up in the cycle. They can also spot
when the timing gap is structural rather than temporary, which is
the one case where a short loan tends to make things worse. The
guide on [avoiding
over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/) sets out that distinction; your accountant can
apply it to your own numbers.
## The questions worth asking
Take the borrowing decision to them as a set of plain questions, not a fait accompli.
None of these need a lender in the room. They are the questions
an accountant answers every week, and answering them before you
apply turns a borrowing decision into a considered one.
## Tax and accounting flags — theirs to advise on
These are matters a qualified accountant should rule on for your specific company. The notes below are general, to help you frame the conversation — they are not tax advice.
| Flag | Why it is one for your accountant |
| --- | --- |
| Deductibility of interest and fees | Interest and finance costs on borrowing for a business purpose are generally treated as a business expense, but how that applies to your company depends on its circumstances. Your accountant confirms the treatment. |
| Accounting treatment of the loan | How the borrowing, repayments and any fee are recorded, and where they appear in the accounts at the year end. |
| VAT timing | Borrowing is often used to meet a VAT bill. How a VAT liability and any finance around it interact is a timing question your accountant manages. |
| Director's loan account | If a director has been funding the company personally, how external borrowing interacts with the director's loan account has tax consequences worth checking. See [a director's loan vs the company borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing). |
| Business purpose | The money must serve the business. What qualifies as a [business purpose](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/what-counts-as-a-business-purpose) is straightforward in most cases, but your accountant can confirm it for an unusual use. |
Tax treatment depends on the specific circumstances of each company and may change. Nothing here is tax or accounting advice — take these flags to a qualified accountant who can advise on your own position.
## Where the lender's role ends
A lender prices and assesses the borrowing. It does not, and should not, advise on your tax position.
It is worth being clear about the division of labour. The operator,
Credicorp Limited, assesses affordability and sets out the cost in
plain terms — interest, any fee, and the total to repay, with a
100% cost cap so the total cost can never exceed the amount
borrowed. That is the lender's proper job, and the
[bridging-loan cost
calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) lets you work the cash figures through yourself.
What a lender does not do is tell you how to treat the borrowing in
your accounts or your tax return. That sits with your accountant,
who knows your company. Keeping the two roles separate is part of
borrowing well: the lender is upfront about price, and your own
adviser is upfront about consequence. Because the company is the
borrower and no personal guarantee is taken — as covered in
[personal
guarantees explained](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) — the decision stays a company matter,
which is exactly the frame an accountant works in.
This is body-corporate lending, outside the FCA consumer-credit
regime under [Article 60B of the
FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/). Neither this site nor the
operator provides tax or accounting advice, and a guide is no
substitute for an adviser who has seen your books.
## Preparing for the conversation
A few minutes of preparation makes the meeting shorter and the answers sharper.
The better prepared you arrive, the more useful the answer. An
accountant who can see the gap, the figures and the terms together
can tell you in one sitting whether to borrow, how much, and how to
record it. The work of matching the shape of the finance to the
shape of the need is set out in
[choosing the
right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
## Where to go next
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: business-finance-for-seasonal-trade — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-finance-for-seasonal-trade/
========================================================================
# Business finance for seasonal trade.
A seasonal company earns in bursts but spends all year. The danger is not the busy peak — it is the quiet trough before the money comes back. This guide explains the seasonal working-capital cycle, why the trough is where companies come unstuck, and where a short company bridge fits.
## The seasonal working-capital cycle
Revenue arrives in a concentrated season; costs arrive every month. The gap between them is the cycle.
Many incorporated businesses earn most of their money in a short window. A coastal hotel fills in summer; a garden centre sells in spring; a fireworks retailer trades for a few weeks in autumn; an agricultural business is paid at harvest. The revenue is seasonal, but the costs are not. Rent, wages, insurance and stock have to be paid through the quiet months as well as the busy ones. The result is a working-capital cycle that swings hard across the year.
This is a timing problem, not a profitability problem. A seasonal company can be perfectly profitable over a full year and still run short of cash for part of it, because profit is earned when the season comes and cash is spent all the way round. The wider point — that profit and cash move on different schedules — is the subject of [the cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/), and the sector-by-sector view is in the operator's note, [seasonal businesses and the working-capital cycle](/articles/seasonal-business-working-capital/).
## Why the trough, not the peak, is the danger
The peak feels busy, but the cash is healthiest then. The risk lives in the low point before the season returns.
It is tempting to worry about the peak — all that activity, stock and demand. But the peak is when cash is flowing in. The dangerous point is the **trough**: the stretch before the season when the company is still paying its fixed costs, often buying stock ahead of demand, with little revenue coming in. That is when the bank balance is at its lowest and a single unexpected bill can tip a viable business into trouble.
Worse, the trough usually arrives just when the company most needs to spend. A retailer buys its peak-season stock weeks before it can sell any of it; a hotel refurbishes before the guests arrive. The company is funding the build-up to its best season at the very moment its cash is thinnest. Planning for the trough — knowing roughly how deep it goes and how long it lasts — is the single most useful thing a seasonal director can do. You can size that low point with the [working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) and check how many months of cover the company holds with the [cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/).
## Planning for the low point
Most of the work happens before the trough, not during it. These steps reduce how deep it goes.
| Step | Why it helps the trough |
| --- | --- |
| Forecast the cash low point | Knowing the date and depth of the trough lets you prepare for it rather than be surprised by it. |
| Set aside peak cash | A reserve built in the good season is the cheapest cover for the quiet one — no borrowing needed. |
| Time stock buying carefully | Buying too early deepens the trough; buying too late risks missing the season. Aim for the latest workable point. |
| Negotiate supplier terms | Agreed longer terms with a key supplier let them carry some of the pre-season cost. |
| Match any borrowing to the gap | If a gap remains, borrow only the size of the trough and only for as long as it lasts. |
Operational planning comes first, and a reserve built from a strong season is always cheaper than credit. But even a well-run seasonal company can face a genuine, defined gap between paying for the season and being paid by it. That is where short-term finance has a role — provided it is matched to the gap and not used to paper over a structural problem.
## Where a short company bridge fits
For a defined pre-season gap with a clear repayment date — the season itself — a short, fixed-term bridge fits the shape of the need.
When the trough is a known amount over a known number of days, with the season's revenue visible at the end, the matching shape of finance is a short, fixed-term loan. The company borrows to cover the pre-season build-up, trades through the season, and repays from the revenue the season brings. That is exactly what the Credicorp [Business Bridging Loan](/products/) is built for: £50 to £500 over 14 to 84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee and the total cost capped at 100% of the principal. The borrower is the company, with no personal guarantee. And because the loan can be repaid early without penalty, a season that arrives sooner than expected costs less — see [early repayment and refunds](/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/).
A bridge suits a one-off, time-limited seasonal gap. If the swing is a recurring rise and fall the company manages every year, a revolving facility such as Credicorp Flex may fit better — the choice between the two is set out in [choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/). What a bridge is not for is funding a season that does not generate enough to repay it. If the numbers do not work over a full year, that is a profitability problem, and borrowing only postpones it — the honest version of which is in [when not to borrow](/articles/when-not-to-borrow/).
## Where to go next
- [Working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) — size the trough for your own trade
- [Cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) — how many months of cover you hold
- [The cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/) — why profit and cash diverge
- [Choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/) — bridge or revolving facility
- [Seasonal businesses and the working-capital cycle](/articles/seasonal-business-working-capital/) — the sector view
- [The Business Bridging Loan and the other products](/products/)
[Size your seasonal gap →](/calculators/working-capital-gap/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: business-overdrafts-and-alternatives — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-overdrafts-and-alternatives/
========================================================================
# Business overdrafts, and what to use instead.
A business overdraft was once the default way a company covered a short gap in its current account. They have become harder to arrange and slower to draw on. This guide explains what an overdraft is, why that has changed, and the alternatives a UK company can weigh up — including where a short company bridge fits.
## What a business overdraft actually is
A facility attached to a current account, not a separate loan.
A business overdraft lets a company spend below zero on its current account, up to an agreed limit. There is no lump sum paid out. The facility sits on the account, and the company uses it only when the balance drops below nothing. Interest is charged on the amount actually overdrawn, day by day, and most banks add an arrangement or renewal fee on top.
Two features made the overdraft popular. It is revolving — you draw, repay as receipts land, and draw again, all without re-applying. And it is fast at the point of use, because the limit is already in place. The cost only accrues while the account is genuinely overdrawn, which suits the kind of short, uneven gaps that working capital throws up.
Crucially, when the borrower is a UK limited company, LLP or PLC, an overdraft to that company is business credit to a body corporate. The company owes the money, not the director. That matters for the comparison below, because the same distinction runs through every alternative.
## Why they have become harder to get
The facility still exists; access to it has narrowed.
Overdrafts have not disappeared, but several things have made them less reliable as a first port of call for a smaller incorporated business:
- **Tighter appetite for unsecured limits.** Many banks now prefer to steer companies towards a structured product — a card, a loan, or invoice finance — rather than an open-ended overdraft on the current account.
- **Repayable on demand.** An overdraft is usually repayable in full whenever the bank asks. That is rarely invoked, but it makes the facility less dependable than borrowing with a fixed term.
- **Annual review and renewal.** Limits are reviewed, can be cut, and can carry a renewal fee each year. A facility you relied on last year may be smaller this year.
- **Personal guarantees.** For a smaller company, a bank may ask a director to give a personal guarantee for the overdraft — which turns a company facility into a personal exposure. We cover that in our guide to [personal guarantees](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/).
- **Time to arrange.** Setting up or increasing a limit can take days or weeks, which does not help when the gap is this week.
None of this makes an overdraft a bad product. Where you have one, on sensible terms, it is often the cheapest way to cover a short dip. The difficulty is getting one, keeping it, and relying on it.
## The alternatives, at a glance
Each solves a slightly different problem. None is "best" in the abstract — the right one depends on the shape of the gap.
| Option | Shape | Best when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business overdraft | Revolving, on the current account | You already have one on good terms and the gap is brief |
| Business credit card | Revolving, with an interest-free window if cleared in full | Spread spending on cards, repaid monthly; see our [cards guide](/guides/business-credit-cards-explained/) |
| Short company bridge | Fixed sum, fixed short term | You know the amount and when you can repay it |
| Revolving facility | A limit you draw, repay and redraw | Needs recur and you want credit on tap |
| Invoice finance | Advance against unpaid invoices | You sell on credit terms and are waiting to be paid |
| Asset finance | Borrowing secured on equipment or vehicles | You are buying a specific, long-lived asset |
For a fuller map of how UK companies fund themselves — banks, the alternative-finance market, cards and overdrafts, invoice and asset finance — see the operator's overview of the [UK SME funding landscape in 2026](/articles/uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026/).
## Cards, invoice finance and asset finance
Three of the alternatives a company most often reaches for first.
### Business credit cards
A business credit card is revolving credit with a monthly cycle. If the balance is cleared in full each month, the interest-free window can make it effectively free to use for short periods. Carry a balance, and the APR applies. A card suits spread-out spending — supplier payments, fuel, subscriptions — rather than a single large drawdown. Our [guide to business credit cards](/guides/business-credit-cards-explained/) sets out the company-as-borrower distinction in full.
### Invoice finance
If your company sells to other businesses on credit terms, invoice finance advances a percentage of an unpaid invoice now, and settles up when your customer pays. It is well suited to a business whose cash is tied up in its sales ledger. It does not help if the gap is not caused by unpaid invoices — for example, buying stock ahead of a season.
### Asset finance
Asset finance borrows against a specific, long-lived asset — a vehicle, a machine, equipment. The asset itself is usually the security. It is the right tool for a capital purchase spread over the asset's life, and the wrong tool for a short-term cash gap.
## Where a short company bridge fits
For a known amount over a known, short period — when an overdraft is not available in time.
A short bridge is a fixed sum lent for a fixed, short term. It is not a substitute for a cheap overdraft, and it is not meant to be drip-fed like one. It fits a different shape of need: you know roughly how much you need, you know when money is coming in to repay it, and you need the funds before an overdraft could be arranged or renewed.
Credicorp Limited lends three short-term products to UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. The **Business Bridging Loan** is a single sum of £50 to £500 over 14 to 84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal, with a one-time £5 establishment fee and a 100% cost cap. **Credicorp Flex** is a revolving facility — a limit of £50 to £500 you draw, repay and redraw, paying 0.25% per day on the drawn balance only — which behaves more like an overdraft. **Credicorp Slice** splits a supplier bill of £50 to £2,000 into 3 or 4 instalments over up to eight weeks for a 6% flat fee. The company is the borrower on every one, and none takes a personal guarantee.
These are small, short-term products and are not cheap relative to a bank overdraft. For most routine cash-flow needs there is a cheaper option, which is why the operator lists the alternatives it recommends you check first. See the full set in [the alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first/), and the product detail on our [products page](/products/).
To weigh the cost of a short bridge against a card or overdraft on a like-for-like basis, the [flat-fee to APR converter](/calculators/flat-fee-apr-converter/) and the [bridging-loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) both help — see also our guide to [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/).
## Where to go next
- [Business credit cards explained](/guides/business-credit-cards-explained/) — revolving credit and the interest-free window
- [Flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/) — comparing costs like for like
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — Loan, Flex and Slice in detail
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — why this is body-corporate lending under Article 60B
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — plain-English definitions of the terms used here
[Open a Credicorp Flex facility at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: choosing-the-right-business-finance — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/
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# Choosing the right business finance.
The right finance is the one whose shape matches the shape of the need. A one-off gap, an uneven recurring need, a single supplier bill and a long-lived asset each call for a different answer. This guide pairs the need with the instrument, and sets the options side by side.
## Match the shape, not the headline rate
Borrowers tend to shop on price. The bigger mistake is buying the wrong shape — finance that does not match how the need behaves over time.
Most finance regret comes from a mismatch, not a misprice. A company funds a long-lived asset with short-term credit and has to keep refinancing; or it takes a fixed lump sum for a need that rises and falls, and pays interest on money it is not using. The first question is therefore not "what does it cost?" but "what shape is the need?" Get the shape right and the cost question becomes simple to answer.
There are four shapes worth recognising. Is the need a single, defined gap with a clear repayment date? Is it uneven and recurring? Is it one specific supplier bill? Or is it a long-lived asset, or an ongoing lag in getting paid by customers? Each points to a different instrument.
## The shape of the need, and what fits
Five common needs, paired with the instrument built for each.
### A one-off, defined gap
A known amount, for a known period, with a clear repayment date — bridging a confirmed receivable or a short timing gap.
### An uneven, recurring need
Cash that rises and falls week to week. You want a limit to draw on, repay and reuse, paying only for what you use.
### A specific supplier bill
One invoice you would rather spread, with the supplier paid in full today and the cost repaid over a few weeks.
### A long-lived asset
Plant, vehicles or equipment that earn over years. The funding should be spread over the asset's working life.
### An ongoing receivables lag
A persistent gap between invoicing customers and being paid, tied to your sales ledger rather than a one-off event.
Not sure whether your gap is a one-off or a recurring pattern? The [cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/) guide helps you tell the difference, and the [working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) puts a figure on it.
## The finance types, side by side
A general comparison of common UK business finance types. Credicorp Limited offers the first three; asset and invoice finance are shown for context and are provided by other lenders.
| Type | Best for | Shape | Repaid |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bridging loan | A one-off, defined gap with a clear end date | Single lump sum, fixed term | In full at the end of the term |
| Revolving facility | Uneven, recurring needs | A limit to draw, repay and redraw | Ongoing; interest on the drawn balance |
| Instalments | Spreading a specific supplier bill | One bill, split into a few payments | Over a fixed short plan |
| Asset finance | Plant, vehicles or equipment | Funding tied to a long-lived asset | Over the asset's working life |
| Invoice finance | An ongoing receivables lag | Advance against the sales ledger | As customers settle invoices |
A general orientation, not advice on a specific transaction. Asset and invoice finance are provided by other lenders; this guide includes them so directors can place the Credicorp products in the wider market.
## Where the Credicorp products fit
Three of the shapes above map directly onto the three Credicorp products. The borrower is always the company, with no personal guarantee.
| | Bridging Loan | Credicorp Flex | Credicorp Slice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shape of need | One-off, defined gap | Uneven, recurring | A specific supplier bill |
| Amount | £50 – £500 | £50 – £500 limit | £50 – £2,000 bill |
| Pricing | 0.25%/day on principal, £5 fee | 0.25%/day on drawn balance, £5 first drawdown | 6% flat fee of the bill |
| Term | 14 – 84 days | Ongoing; 14-day cycles | 3–4 instalments, up to 8 weeks |
| Cost cap | 100% of principal | 100% per drawing | 100% of the bill |
These are small, short-term facilities, and the operator is candid that for many needs a business overdraft, business credit card, a larger SME loan, asset finance or invoice finance will be cheaper. See the full product detail at [/products/](/products/), and the operator's own comparison at [credicorp.co.uk/compare](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/).
## A short decision routine
Five questions, in order. The answers usually name the instrument before you reach a price.
- **Is the need a one-off or a pattern?** A defined one-off points to a bridging loan; a recurring rise and fall points to a revolving facility.
- **Is there a clear repayment event?** A receivable you can see arriving makes a fixed-term bridge straightforward to repay.
- **Is it tied to one supplier bill?** If so, instalments keep it simple and the supplier paid today.
- **Is it an asset or a long-term need?** Long-lived assets and structural needs want longer-dated finance — asset finance, or a longer SME term loan — not short-term credit.
- **Have you sized it, and can the company afford it?** Put a number on the gap with the [working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) and a cover figure with the [cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) before you borrow anything.
Whatever the shape, the borrower is the company, and a Credicorp loan to a UK limited company, LLP or PLC is unregulated business credit under [Article 60B of the FSMA RAO 2001](/lending-and-regulation/). Knowing which protections do and do not apply is part of choosing well.
## Where to go next
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — Business Bridging Loan, Credicorp Flex and Credicorp Slice.
- [The cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/) — is your gap a one-off or a pattern?
- [Building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) and [Open Banking for business finance](/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/).
- [Working-capital gap](/calculators/working-capital-gap/), [cashflow runway](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) and [late-payment interest](/calculators/late-payment-interest/) calculators.
- [Compare Loan, Flex and Slice](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/), the [regulatory position](/lending-and-regulation/) and the [glossary](/glossary/).
[See the products, then apply at credicorp.co.uk →](/products/)
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# GUIDE: company-credit-files-and-bureaux — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/company-credit-files-and-bureaux/
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# Company credit files and the bureaux.
Your company has a credit file of its own, separate from any director's personal file. This guide explains how a company file works, which UK business bureaux hold one, what feeds it, and the practical steps a director can take to make it stronger.
## A company has a file of its own
The company is a separate legal person, and it builds a separate credit history.
When a company is incorporated it becomes a separate legal person. It can hold a bank account, owe money, and build a record of how it pays what it owes. That record is the **company credit file**, and it belongs to the company — not to its directors as individuals. A director may have a strong personal credit history and a brand-new company with almost no file at all, or the reverse. The two are assessed separately.
A company file matters because suppliers, lenders and insurers use it to decide whether to extend credit, what terms to offer, and how much to advance. A company that pays on time and files its accounts promptly tends to be offered better trade terms and a wider choice of finance. The difference between a company score and a personal one is set out further in the operator's note, [understanding business credit scores](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores/).
## The UK business bureaux
Several bureaux hold a file on your company, and each scores it on its own model. The same company can carry different scores at each.
| Bureau | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| Experian Business | A major UK business bureau holding company files and producing a commercial delinquency score and credit limit guidance. |
| Creditsafe | A widely used business credit-checking service producing company scores and recommended credit limits across UK companies. |
| Equifax Business | The commercial arm of Equifax, holding company data and producing business risk scores. |
Because each bureau runs its own model on its own data, a company can show a different score at each one. There is no single "official" company score in the way people imagine. A lender assessing your company may pull data from one or more of these bureaux as one input among several — Credicorp screens applicants against business bureaux rather than running a personal credit check on the director, as set out on the [products page](/products/).
## What feeds the file
A company file is built from public records and from the way the company pays its bills.
- **Companies House data.** Incorporation date, registered office, directors, the accounts and confirmation statements the company files, and whether those are filed on time or late.
- **Payment performance.** How promptly the company settles its suppliers and trade creditors. Some suppliers and lenders report payment data to the bureaux, building a picture of the company as a payer.
- **Public adverse records.** County court judgments against the company, plus any insolvency events such as a winding-up petition.
- **Credit applications and existing facilities.** Some footprint of credit the company already holds or has recently applied for.
- **Financial accounts.** Where filed, figures from the company's accounts feed into the risk models the bureaux run.
Notice what is *not* in that list: a director's personal borrowing, their personal credit cards, or their household finances. A company file is about the company. The exception is a very young or very small company with little of its own history, where a lender may look more closely at the director's track record — covered in [borrowing as a new company](/guides/borrowing-as-a-new-company/).
## How to improve it
A company file responds to discipline. Most of what strengthens it is within a director's control.
- **File on time, every time.** Late accounts and confirmation statements at Companies House are visible and read as a warning sign. Filing promptly is the single clearest signal of a well-run company.
- **Pay suppliers to terms.** Settling trade invoices on or before the due date builds a record of reliability. Persistent late payment, where reported, drags a score down.
- **Keep the public record clean.** Deal with disputes before they become a county court judgment. A registered CCJ sits on the file for years.
- **Keep details current.** A correct registered office, accurate director details and an up-to-date SIC code reduce the friction in any check run against the company.
- **Check your own file.** Companies can review the data the bureaux hold and ask for genuine errors to be corrected. An out-of-date adverse marker should not be left to depress the score.
- **Build a trade-credit history deliberately.** A company with no history is harder to assess than one that has borrowed modestly and repaid cleanly.
These steps overlap with the wider habits in [building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/). Improvement is gradual: a file rewards months of consistent behaviour rather than a single action.
## What it means when your company borrows
A company file is one input into a lending decision, not the whole of it. Credicorp screens applicants against the business bureaux — Experian Business, Creditsafe and Equifax Business — but the decision rests first on affordability, evidenced by the last six months of business bank statements shared by read-only Open Banking or uploaded as PDFs. There is no personal credit check on the director. How that assessment is reached is described in [how a lender assesses whether a company can afford to repay](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability/).
Because the company is the borrower, a clean company file works in the company's favour and a thin one is not necessarily fatal — a younger company with a solid, demonstrable cash position can still be affordable. The borrower is always the body corporate, never the director, and never a personal credit profile.
## Where to go next
- [Building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) — the wider habits that lift a file
- [Understanding business credit scores](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores/) — company score versus personal score
- [Open Banking for business finance](/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/) — what read-only access does and does not read
- [Borrowing as a new company](/guides/borrowing-as-a-new-company/) — when the file is thin
- [How a lender assesses affordability](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability/) — where the file fits the decision
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — definitions of the terms used here
[See what Credicorp offers at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
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# GUIDE: cost-caps-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/cost-caps-explained/
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# What a 100% cost cap means.
A cost cap sets a hard ceiling on what borrowing can ever cost. Every Credicorp product carries a 100% cap: the total cost can never exceed the amount borrowed. This guide explains what the cap covers, why it protects a company borrower, and shows the arithmetic with illustrative worked numbers.
## The cap, in one sentence
The cost of borrowing never overtakes the sum you borrowed.
A 100% cost cap means the total of everything you are charged to borrow — interest, fees, any late charges — can never exceed 100% of the amount borrowed. Borrow £400 and, whatever happens over the life of the borrowing, you can never be charged more than £400 in cost on top. The most you could ever repay is the £400 you took plus £400 in charges: £800, and not a penny more.
It is a ceiling, not a price. In practice, on a short product repaid on schedule, the cost lands far below the cap — a few pounds or tens of pounds. The cap is the backstop that fixes the worst case. It tells you the one number that can never be beaten, before you sign.
## What the cap covers
The total cost of credit — not just the interest.
The 100% figure is measured against the cost of borrowing as a whole, not one component of it. On Credicorp's products that means:
- **Interest** — the 0.25% per day charged on the outstanding principal of a Business Bridging Loan or the drawn balance of Credicorp Flex.
- **Establishment fee** — the one-time £5 fee on the Loan, or on the first drawdown of Flex.
- **The flat fee** — the 6% charge on a Credicorp Slice bill.
- **Late fees** — for example the £12 per missed instalment on Slice, which is itself separately capped.
Add all of that together, and the running total can never pass 100% of the amount borrowed. Once the charges reach the amount borrowed, they stop. This matters most in the situations where short-term borrowing can otherwise run away: a missed payment, a delay, a balance left outstanding longer than planned. The cap is precisely the protection for those cases.
## Worked numbers
Illustrative figures using the operator's published terms. The on-schedule cost is the realistic case; the cap is the worst case.
| Product | Amount borrowed | Typical cost, on schedule | Most cost can ever be (cap) | Most you could ever repay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bridging Loan | £300 | £27.50 over 30 days | £300 | £600 |
| Bridging Loan | £500 | £80.00 over 60 days | £500 | £1,000 |
| Credicorp Flex | £200 drawn | £15.00 over 20 days | £200 | £400 |
| Credicorp Slice | £600 bill | £36.00 (6% flat fee) | £600 | £1,200 |
Read the last two columns as the ceiling, not the bill. On a £300 Bridging Loan repaid in 30 days the cost is about £27.50, roughly a tenth of the way to the cap. The cap exists for the day something goes wrong — not for the day everything goes right.
Interest on the Loan and Flex is 0.25% per day on the outstanding or drawn balance; the £5 establishment fee is one-time. Slice is a 6% flat fee with a £12 late fee per missed instalment (itself capped). Every product is capped so the total cost never exceeds 100% of the amount borrowed.
## Why the cap protects a borrower
The danger with any short-term borrowing is not the cost when everything runs to plan — it is the cost when it does not. A balance left outstanding, a missed instalment, a delayed receipt: in the absence of a cap, charges on a small sum can compound until they dwarf the original amount. The 100% cap removes that tail risk entirely. The worst case is bounded, and it is bounded at a figure you can see before you borrow.
It also makes the borrowing easy to reason about. A director weighing up a £400 facility knows, with certainty, that the company's total exposure is at most £800 — never an open question, never a number that grows without limit. That certainty is part of why the company, not the director, is the borrower and why no personal guarantee is taken: the company's exposure is fixed and knowable. See [personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) for the related point.
A cap is a contractual protection the operator chooses to give. It is not a regulatory requirement here — body-corporate lending sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, as set out in [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/). The protection comes from the product terms, not from the perimeter.
## Where to go next
- [Bridging-loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) — see the cash cost against the cap
- [Flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/) — reading the cost of short-term borrowing
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — Loan, Flex and Slice in detail
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — why this is body-corporate lending under Article 60B
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — plain-English definitions of the terms used here
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# GUIDE: debentures-and-charges-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/debentures-and-charges-explained/
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# Debentures and charges, explained.
When a company borrows against its assets, the lender usually takes a debenture and registers a charge at Companies House. This guide explains what a debenture is, how fixed and floating charges differ, how registration works, and why Credicorp lends without any charge over your company at all.
## What a debenture is
A document that records a company's debt and the security a lender takes over the company's assets.
In UK practice, a **debenture** is the document a lender uses to record that a company owes it money and to take security for that debt over the company's assets. It is granted by the company in favour of the lender. The word is sometimes used loosely, but for most directors it means one thing: the lender now has a legal claim over company property if the loan is not repaid.
A debenture typically creates one or more **charges**. A charge is the security itself — the right that lets the lender look to a particular asset, or to the company's assets generally, to recover what it is owed. If the company defaults, a charge can let the lender appoint an administrator or a receiver and have the charged assets sold to clear the debt. That is a very different position from an unsecured loan, where the lender simply ranks alongside the company's other ordinary creditors.
Security and a personal guarantee are not the same thing. A charge is security over the *company's* assets. A personal guarantee is a promise by an *individual* — usually a director — to pay the company's debt personally. The distinction matters, and it is set out in full in [personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/). Credicorp takes neither.
## Fixed and floating charges
The two kinds behave differently, and the difference decides what a company can do with its own assets.
| | Fixed charge | Floating charge |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it covers | A specific, identified asset — premises, plant, a vehicle | A shifting class of assets — stock, debtors, cash that comes and goes |
| Use of the asset | The company cannot sell it freely without the lender's consent | The company trades with the assets normally until the charge "crystallises" |
| Crystallisation | Not applicable — it is fixed from the start | On default or insolvency, it fixes onto whatever assets are then held |
| Ranking on insolvency | Generally ranks ahead of a floating charge | Ranks behind fixed charges and certain preferential claims |
A **fixed charge** bites on a named asset. The company cannot dispose of that asset without the lender's agreement, which is why fixed charges are common over property and major equipment. A **floating charge** hovers over a category of assets that naturally changes — the stock on the shelf, the money owed by customers — and lets the company keep trading until something goes wrong. On default or insolvency the floating charge *crystallises*, fixing onto whatever assets the company holds at that moment. A debenture often combines both: fixed charges over specific assets, and a floating charge over everything else.
## Registration at Companies House
A charge is only fully effective if it is registered — and the register is public.
When a company creates a charge, it must usually be registered at Companies House within 21 days of being created. Registration puts the charge on the public record, so anyone — a supplier, a prospective lender, a buyer of the business — can see that a company's assets are already pledged. If a charge is not registered in time, it can be void against an administrator, a liquidator or another creditor, which would leave the lender unsecured for the very debt it tried to secure.
You can see a company's registered charges yourself on its Companies House record, under the charges tab. Each entry shows the date the charge was created, the lender named as the person entitled, and whether the charge is outstanding or satisfied. A company with several outstanding charges has already promised much of its asset base to existing lenders — something worth checking before it takes on more. Reviewing a company's own filings is part of [building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/), and the public register is one of the verification steps in [how to verify a UK business lender in five minutes](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes/).
When a secured loan is repaid in full, the company can apply to mark the charge as satisfied, and the register is updated to show it discharged. Until that happens, the charge stays visible even if the underlying debt has shrunk.
## Why it matters to a director
A charge changes what your company controls, what it can offer later, and where a lender stands if things go wrong.
- **It limits flexibility.** A fixed charge over an asset means you cannot sell or refinance it freely. That can matter if the company's plans change.
- **It affects future borrowing.** Assets already charged to one lender are not freely available to secure a facility from another. A first lender's charge ranks ahead of a later one.
- **It is visible.** The charge is on the public record. Counterparties doing their own diligence will see how much of the company is already pledged.
- **It changes the order of repayment.** On insolvency, secured lenders are repaid from charged assets before ordinary unsecured creditors. A charge moves a lender up the queue.
None of this makes a charge wrong. Security is a normal feature of larger or longer business lending, and it can unlock a bigger or cheaper facility than would otherwise be available. The point is to know what you are granting, over which assets, and where it leaves the company. The broader trade-off is covered in [secured versus unsecured business borrowing](/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/).
## Credicorp's unsecured, no-guarantee model
Credicorp lends to UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs, and none of its three products takes a debenture, a fixed charge or a floating charge over the company. There is nothing to register at Companies House, because there is no security to register. The agreement is an unsecured promise to repay, between Credicorp Limited and the company.
This follows from how the products are built. The sums are small and short-term — the [Business Bridging Loan](/products/) runs from £50 to £500 over 14 to 84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee and the total cost capped at 100% of the principal. Credicorp Flex and Credicorp Slice work to the same unsecured principle. At that scale, over those terms, taking and registering a charge would add cost and delay without changing the decision, which rests on the company's affordability rather than on assets to fall back on.
So a director borrowing from Credicorp does not pledge company premises, plant, stock or debtors, and does not sign a personal guarantee either. If the company cannot pay, Credicorp ranks as an ordinary unsecured creditor — and the director's own home and savings are never in the picture. The reasoning behind that position is restated on the operator's customer site at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/news/why-no-personal-guarantee/).
## What to check before granting a charge
If another lender asks for a debenture, these are the questions that matter.
- **Fixed, floating, or both?** Know which assets are pledged specifically and which are caught by a floating charge.
- **What does it cover?** A debenture can extend to "all assets and undertaking" — far wider than the asset the loan was meant to fund.
- **Does it block future finance?** A charge can restrict granting further security, limiting your options later.
- **Is a personal guarantee attached as well?** Security over company assets and a personal guarantee are separate commitments; a lender may ask for both.
- **How is it discharged?** Confirm the lender will mark the charge satisfied at Companies House once the debt is cleared.
A short due-diligence routine for any UK business-credit offer, including the security question, is set out in [a borrower's due-diligence checklist before taking finance](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist/).
## Where to go next
- [Secured versus unsecured business borrowing](/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/) — the broader trade-off
- [Personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) — how a guarantee differs from a charge
- [Building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) — your own filings and record
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — unsecured, no charge, no personal guarantee
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — why the company is the borrower under Article 60B
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — plain-English definitions of the terms used here
[Apply for an unsecured Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# GUIDE: early-repayment-and-refunds — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/
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# Early repayment and refunds.
If your company can clear a short-term loan sooner, it should not cost you to do so. This guide explains how early repayment works on short-term company credit, why there is no early-repayment penalty, how the 100% cost cap bounds it, and how an unused fee is refunded on Credicorp Slice.
## Why there is no early-repayment penalty
On a well-built short-term product, paying early simply costs less — there is nothing to charge you for ending sooner.
An early-repayment penalty exists to recover the interest a lender expected to earn over the remaining term. It makes some sense on a long, fixed-rate facility where the lender has priced years of income into the deal. It makes little sense on a small, short-term loan, where the cost is charged for the days the money is actually out — and where the whole point is to cover a short, defined gap and clear it.
Credicorp charges no early-repayment penalty on any of its products. If the company can repay sooner than agreed, it does, and there is nothing extra to pay for doing so. The borrower is the company, and the agreement is simply discharged early. That is the position restated across the operator's terms and on its customer site at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).
## Daily interest: repay early, pay fewer days
On the Bridging Loan and Flex, interest is charged per day on the balance. End it sooner and the days simply stop.
The [Business Bridging Loan](/products/) charges 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal, and Credicorp Flex charges the same daily rate on the drawn balance only. Because interest accrues by the day, repaying early means the interest stops accruing on the day the balance is cleared. You pay for the days you used, and no more. The one-off £5 establishment fee is a fixed charge for setting the facility up, not a charge that grows with time.
So a £300 Bridging Loan taken over an agreed 30 days, but repaid on day 20, carries 20 days of interest rather than 30 — the interest simply tracks the shorter period. The exact effect for any amount and any number of days is something you can model in the [Bridging Loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) and the [Flex facility cost calculator](/calculators/flex-facility-cost/). The general principle that a short daily-interest loan rewards early settlement is also why an annualised rate overstates its real cash cost — see [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/).
## Credicorp Slice: the unused-fee refund
Slice is priced on a flat fee, not daily interest — so early repayment works through a refund of the unused part.
Credicorp Slice is different in shape. It splits a supplier bill of £50 to £2,000 into three or four instalments over up to eight weeks, for a flat fee of 6% of the bill — there is no daily interest. Because the fee is fixed at the outset, early repayment cannot work by stopping the clock. Instead, Slice refunds the unused portion of the fee: if the company settles the plan early, the part of the 6% fee that related to the time not used is refunded. Early repayment is free, and the unused fee comes back. That treatment is set out on the [products page](/products/) and on the operator's product page at [credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice](https://credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice/).
The effect is the same in spirit as daily interest on the other two products: a company that no longer needs the full term does not pay for the time it did not use. How Slice works overall, and where it fits against a loan, is covered in [paying suppliers in instalments](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/).
## The 100% cost cap as a ceiling
Even before early repayment is considered, the total cost can never exceed the amount borrowed.
Every Credicorp product carries a 100% cost cap: the total cost of borrowing — interest plus fees — never exceeds the amount borrowed. That ceiling holds regardless of how the loan runs, so a company can never end up repaying more than double the principal. Early repayment sits underneath that cap: clearing the balance sooner brings the cost down further still. The cap fixes the worst case; early repayment improves on it. How the cap works in full, and what it protects a company borrower from, is the subject of [cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/).
| Product | How early repayment works |
| --- | --- |
| Business Bridging Loan | Daily interest stops on the day the balance is cleared; no penalty. |
| Credicorp Flex | Interest accrues on the drawn balance only; repay and it stops; no penalty. |
| Credicorp Slice | Flat fee, with the unused portion refunded on early settlement; no penalty. |
Illustrative of how each product behaves on early repayment. Confirm the live terms at the point of application; figures depend on amount, term and timing.
## What this means for a director
Taken together, the position is straightforward. A company can borrow for a short, defined need, and if the money it was waiting for arrives sooner, it can clear the loan and pay less — never more for ending early. That makes short-term credit a genuinely flexible tool rather than a trap, provided it is used for a time-boxed purpose with a clear repayment source. Using it that way is the discipline set out in [avoiding over-borrowing](/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/), and knowing when a loan is the wrong answer at all is covered in the operator's note, [when not to borrow](/articles/when-not-to-borrow/).
## Where to go next
- [Cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) — the 100% ceiling early repayment sits under
- [Paying suppliers in instalments](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/) — how Slice and its refund work
- [Flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/) — why short daily-interest loans reward early settlement
- [Bridging Loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) — model the cost over your own term
- [Avoiding over-borrowing](/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/) — borrowing for a time-boxed need
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/)
[Model an early repayment →](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: flat-fees-vs-apr — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/
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# Flat fees versus APR.
A flat fee and an APR describe the cost of borrowing in two different languages. On a very short term they can point in opposite directions — a low cash cost can carry a startling APR, and a high APR can mean only a few pounds. This guide explains the difference, why APR can mislead over days rather than years, and how to compare a Credicorp product like for like.
## What each one measures
One is a price in pounds. The other is a rate, annualised.
A **flat fee** is a fixed charge for the borrowing, set as a percentage of the amount and not varying with time. Credicorp Slice is priced this way: a 6% flat fee on a supplier bill. Borrow £600 and the fee is £36, whether you repay over four weeks or eight. The cost is known the moment you sign, in pounds, and it does not move.
An **APR** — annual percentage rate — expresses the cost of borrowing as a yearly rate, taking interest and most fees and compounding them across a full year. It exists to let borrowers compare products of different sizes and terms on one scale. Daily-interest products such as the Credicorp Business Bridging Loan and Credicorp Flex charge 0.25% per day on the balance, which can also be expressed as an APR.
The two are not wrong, but they answer different questions. A flat fee answers "what will this cost me, in pounds?" An APR answers "what would this cost per year if it ran for a year?" For very short-term borrowing, that second question is largely hypothetical — and that is where APR starts to mislead.
## Why APR can mislead on a very short term
Annualising a few days' borrowing magnifies a small cost into a large-looking rate.
APR was designed for borrowing measured in months and years — a mortgage, a car loan, a multi-year SME term loan. To annualise the cost of a loan that lasts a fortnight, the calculation has to assume the same cost is incurred again and again, cycle after cycle, for a whole year. That assumption rarely matches how short-term borrowing is actually used.
The effect is most extreme with a fixed fee. Suppose a £600 bill carries a £36 flat fee over six weeks. In cash terms the cost is £36 — knowable, capped, and the end of it. Express the same £36 as an APR and, because the calculation pretends the fee recurs every six weeks for a year, the headline rate runs into the hundreds of per cent. Nothing about the actual cost has changed. Only the unit of measurement has.
This is why a representative APR on a very short product can be a poor guide to whether it is good value. A borrower who fixes only on the APR may reject a product that costs a few pounds, or fail to notice that a lower-APR product over a longer term costs more in total cash. For short-term borrowing, the figure that matters most is the total pounds repaid and the cost cap — not the annualised rate on its own.
## A like-for-like comparison
Illustrative figures using the operator's published terms. Repaid on schedule; always confirm the live cost at the point of application.
| Product | You take | Over | How it is priced | Cash cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Credicorp Slice | £600 bill | 4 instalments | 6% flat fee | £36.00 |
| Bridging Loan | £300 | 30 days | 0.25%/day + £5 fee | £27.50 |
| Bridging Loan | £500 | 60 days | 0.25%/day + £5 fee | £80.00 |
| Credicorp Flex | £200 drawn | 20 days | 0.25%/day (+£5 first drawdown) | £15.00 |
Read across, not up and down. The honest comparison between a flat-fee product and a daily-interest one is the cash cost for the amount and the term you actually need — not a headline rate. Every Credicorp product is also capped so the total cost never exceeds 100% of the amount borrowed, which puts a hard ceiling on the figure in the last column.
Slice is a 6% flat fee with no interest. Interest on the Loan and Flex is 0.25% per day on the outstanding or drawn balance; the £5 establishment fee is one-time.
## How to compare like for like
A short routine that works across flat-fee and interest products.
- **Fix the amount and the term.** Decide how much you need and for how long. Cost is meaningless until both are pinned down.
- **Work out the total pounds repaid.** For a flat fee, it is the amount plus the fee. For a daily-interest product, it is the principal plus interest over the term, plus any one-time fee.
- **Check the cost cap.** A 100% cost cap means the charge can never exceed the amount borrowed, whatever happens. See our guide to [cost caps](/guides/cost-caps-explained/).
- **Convert only if you need a common scale.** If you genuinely need one number to compare against a card APR or an overdraft, convert the flat fee to an APR — but read the result knowing it annualises a short cost.
Two tools do the arithmetic for you. The [flat-fee to APR converter](/calculators/flat-fee-apr-converter/) turns a flat fee over a given term into an equivalent APR, so you can place it next to a card or overdraft rate. The [bridging-loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) gives the cash cost and total to repay for a Bridging Loan at a chosen amount and term.
## Where to go next
- [Flat-fee to APR converter](/calculators/flat-fee-apr-converter/) — put a flat fee on the same scale as a rate
- [Bridging-loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) — cash cost and total to repay
- [Cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) — what a 100% cap guarantees
- [Business credit cards explained](/guides/business-credit-cards-explained/) — comparing a card APR with a flat fee
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — Loan, Flex and Slice in detail
- [How short-term business finance is priced](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced/) — the cost drivers behind the figures
[Compare Loan, Flex and Slice at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
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# GUIDE: how-to-prepare-to-borrow — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/how-to-prepare-to-borrow/
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# How to prepare your company to borrow.
A clean application is a fast application. Before a company
asks a lender for money, a short amount of preparation makes
the difference between a same-day decision and a stalled file.
This guide is the checklist: tidy filings, the right bank
account, six months of statements, and a clear grip on the
exact need and where the repayment comes from.
## Why preparation pays
A lender is reading evidence, not taking your word for it. The faster that evidence is to hand, the faster the answer.
When your company borrows, the lender has to satisfy itself
of two things: that the business is who it says it is, and
that it can afford to repay. Almost everything below exists to
answer one of those two questions cleanly. A file that arrives
complete — verifiable company details, an account in the
company's name, recent statements, a defined need — can often
be decided the same working day. A file with gaps comes back
with questions, and each round of questions adds days.
Preparation also protects the company from itself. Working
through the checklist forces you to state, in plain terms,
how much you need, what for, and how it will be repaid. If any
of those three is hard to answer, that is worth knowing before
you borrow, not after. The same discipline sits at the heart of
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/).
## The checklist at a glance
Six things to have in order. The rest of this guide takes each one in turn.
| What to prepare | Why a lender wants it |
| --- | --- |
| Clean Companies House filings | Confirms the company exists, is active, and is up to date — a basic identity and standing check. |
| A business bank account | The account must be in the company's name; that is where funds are sent and repayments are taken. |
| Six months of bank statements | The clearest evidence of how the business actually trades and whether it can afford to repay. |
| The exact amount needed | A defined figure, not a round guess, shows the borrowing is sized to a real need. |
| A clear repayment source | The single most important question: where does the money to repay come from, and when? |
| Director ID and access | Photo identification and read-only account access let the lender verify and assess without delay. |
## Clean Companies House filings
Your public record is the first thing a lender reads. Make sure it is current and tells a tidy story.
Before a single statement is opened, a lender will look the
company up at Companies House. An active status, accounts and
a confirmation statement filed on time, and an accurate register
of directors and persons with significant control all signal a
business that runs itself properly. Overdue filings, an
"active — proposal to strike off" flag, or a register that does
not match reality are the kind of thing that turns a quick
decision into a slow one.
None of this is about a perfect history. It is about a record
that is current and consistent, so the lender can verify the
company in minutes rather than chasing discrepancies.
## A business bank account in the company's name
Funds go to the company and repayments come from the company. That needs a company account.
Credicorp lends to the company, not the director, so the money
has to move through an account in the company's own name. A
personal account, or a director paying business costs through
their own card, will not do — it blurs exactly the line that
keeps the lending at company level. A dedicated business
current account is a requirement, and it is also the source of
the statements a lender will want to see.
A clean business account does more than tick a box. It produces
a clear record of trading income and outgoings, which is the raw
material of an affordability assessment. Mixing business and
personal spending in one account muddies that picture and makes
the company harder to assess. If your company does not yet have
a separate account, opening one well before you apply is the
single most useful thing you can do.
## Six months of bank statements
This is the evidence that does the heavy lifting. It shows how the business really trades, not how it describes itself.
The clearest evidence of affordability is the last six months
of business bank statements. They show income arriving, costs
going out, the rhythm of the trading cycle and the headroom the
company runs on. A lender reads them to answer the affordability
question directly: does this business generate enough, reliably
enough, to service the borrowing it is asking for?
There are two ways to provide them. You can upload PDF
statements, or you can share read-only access through Open
Banking, which lets the lender see the transaction history
without any ability to move money. Open Banking is usually
faster and removes the risk of a statement being incomplete or
out of date — how it works, and what it can and cannot see, is
explained in
[Open Banking for business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/).
It helps to know in advance what the statements will show.
Persistent late-paying customers, a thin cash buffer, or a
heavily seasonal pattern are not necessarily problems, but they
are easier to explain if you have thought about them first. You
can sanity-check your own position with the
[cashflow runway calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/cashflow-runway/)
and the
[working-capital gap calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/working-capital-gap/)
before anyone else looks.
## Know the exact amount and the exact need
Borrow to a defined figure for a defined purpose. A round number plucked from the air is a warning sign, to a lender and to you.
Before you apply, write down the precise amount the company
needs and what it is for. A specific figure — the cost of the
stock, the size of the supplier invoice, the shortfall on the
tax bill — is far stronger than a round guess. It shows the
borrowing is sized to a real need, and it stops the company
taking on more than the situation requires.
The need should also have a shape. A one-off, time-limited gap
suits a fixed-term advance; a need that rises and falls suits a
revolving line; a single supplier bill suits instalments. Sizing
the figure and matching it to the right product are two halves
of the same decision, covered in
[choosing the right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
If the purpose is a routine bunching of outgoings — a VAT or
PAYE bill, say — naming it precisely makes the application
cleaner still.
For a Credicorp product, the amount also has to sit inside the
published range: the
[Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) runs from £50 to
£500, and Credicorp Slice covers a supplier bill of £50 to
£2,000. Knowing your exact figure tells you straight away which
product, if any, fits.
## Be clear on the repayment source
The most important question of all. Borrowing without a clear answer to "what repays this?" is borrowing on hope.
Every sound piece of borrowing has an answer to one question:
where does the money to repay come from, and when does it
arrive? For a short bridge, the answer is usually a specific
event — a confirmed invoice landing, a contract paying out, a
busy season turning over stock. You should be able to point to
it and put a date on it. A repayment source you can see arriving
is what makes a short-term advance the right tool; the absence
of one is the clearest sign that a loan is the wrong answer, as
set out in
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/).
Matching the repayment date to that event matters too. The
[Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) runs 14 to 84
days; Credicorp Slice spreads a bill over three or four
instalments across up to eight weeks. If the cash you are
waiting on lands inside that window, the borrowing repays itself
from the event that prompted it. If it lands well outside the
window, the shape is wrong, and a different facility — or simply
waiting — may serve the company better.
What a short advance is never for is repaying other borrowing or
plugging a permanent shortfall. If the only repayment plan is to
borrow again, the problem is structural, and more credit
postpones it rather than solving it.
## The last items before you apply
A few practical things to have ready so the application itself takes minutes, not days.
A Credicorp decision rests on the company's own evidence: the
last six months of business bank statements, a business-credit
check rather than a personal one, and the standard compliance
checks. There is no personal guarantee and no personal credit
check on the director — the company is the borrower throughout.
The application itself, and the underwriting behind it, are
handled by the operator at
[credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/).
## Where to go next
[See how to apply at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: invoice-finance-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/invoice-finance-explained/
========================================================================
# Invoice finance explained.
Invoice finance lets a business raise cash against invoices it has already issued but not yet been paid for. This is a general explainer of a finance type **Credicorp Limited does not offer**. It is here so directors can weigh it against the options Credicorp does provide.
## First, a clear note
Credicorp Limited does not provide invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting. This guide is educational: it explains how the product works in the wider market so that, if you are weighing your options, you can compare it fairly with a short bridge or a revolving facility. We have kept the tone even and have not steered you toward any product. Where you want to see what Credicorp *does* offer, that is on the [products page](/products/).
## What invoice finance is
Borrowing against money you are already owed, rather than against a future event.
When a business sells on credit terms, it issues an invoice and waits — often 30, 60 or 90 days — to be paid. Invoice finance turns that waiting period into cash now. A finance provider advances a percentage of the invoice value, commonly somewhere around 70% to 90%, as soon as the invoice is raised. When the customer eventually pays, the provider releases the remaining balance, less its charges. The two main charges are a service fee (a percentage of turnover, for running the facility) and a discount charge (interest-like, on the funds advanced).
It is a financing of the *sales ledger* — the book of money owed to the business. That makes it fundamentally different from a bridge, which finances a specific upcoming gap, and different again from [spreading a supplier bill](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/), which works on money the business *owes* rather than money it is owed.
## Factoring against discounting
The two main forms of invoice finance differ mainly in who collects the money and whether the customer knows.
| | Factoring | Invoice discounting |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Who chases payment | The finance provider | The business itself |
| Customer awareness | Usually disclosed to the customer | Usually confidential |
| Credit control | Outsourced to the provider | Kept in-house |
| Typically suits | Smaller firms wanting the admin handled | Larger firms with their own credit-control team |
A further distinction is **recourse** versus **non-recourse**. With recourse, the business carries the risk if a customer never pays; with non-recourse, the provider takes some of that risk, usually for a higher fee. Two more terms worth knowing are *whole-turnover* (the whole ledger is financed) versus *selective* or *spot* finance (single invoices). Definitions for these sit in our [glossary](/glossary/).
## How it compares to a short bridge
Two ways to handle a timing gap, with different mechanics, commitments and costs.
| | Invoice finance | Short business bridge |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is secured on | Your unpaid sales invoices | Nothing taken as security; repaid from a known source |
| Commitment | Often an ongoing facility with notice periods | A single, short, fixed-term advance |
| Cost shape | Service fee plus a discount charge | A daily rate on the amount, plus a one-time fee |
| Needs a sales ledger | Yes — you must invoice on credit terms | No |
| Best when | Slow-paying customers are a constant feature | A one-off, visible gap needs covering |
If your problem is structural — you always wait two months to be paid — invoice finance addresses the pattern. If the problem is a single, dated gap, a [short bridge](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) may be simpler and carry no ongoing commitment. To size the gap either way, the [working capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) is a useful starting point.
## Who invoice finance suits
- **Businesses that sell on credit terms.** You need a sales ledger of invoices to other businesses for it to work at all.
- **Firms with reliable, creditworthy customers.** The provider is, in effect, lending against your customers' ability to pay.
- **Companies growing faster than their cash.** As sales rise, the funding available rises with the ledger.
It tends to suit less well where invoices are few and large, where customers are consumers rather than businesses, or where the admin and notice-period commitments outweigh the benefit of early cash. For a wider map of the choices, see our [UK SME funding landscape](/articles/uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026) article and the related guide on [asset finance](/guides/asset-finance-explained/).
## What to check before committing
Invoice finance is usually an ongoing facility rather than a one-off, so the small print matters more than with a short advance.
- **The all-in cost.** Add the service fee and the discount charge together, and work out what the facility costs across a typical month — not just the headline percentage.
- **Notice periods and minimum terms.** Many facilities run on a contract with a minimum term and a notice period to exit. Know how, and how quickly, you can leave.
- **Concentration limits.** A provider may cap how much it will advance against any one customer, which matters if your sales are concentrated on a few big accounts.
- **Recourse.** Be clear whether you, or the provider, carry the loss if a financed customer never pays.
- **Customer awareness.** Factoring is usually disclosed to your customers; discounting is usually confidential. Decide which you are comfortable with.
None of this is a reason for or against the product — it is the diligence any director should do before signing. Our [borrower due-diligence checklist](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist) sets out the same discipline for any finance offer, and the [glossary](/glossary/) defines the terms used above.
## Where to go next
- [Business bridging loans explained](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) — the short-bridge comparison
- [Asset finance explained](/guides/asset-finance-explained/) — another option Credicorp does not offer
- [Merchant cash advances explained](/guides/merchant-cash-advances-explained/)
- [Working capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/)
- [What Credicorp does offer](/products/)
- [Glossary of the terms used here](/glossary/)
[See what Credicorp offers at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: merchant-cash-advances-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/merchant-cash-advances-explained/
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# Merchant cash advances explained.
A merchant cash advance is repaid as a slice of a business's daily card takings, rather than in fixed instalments. This is a general explainer of a finance type **Credicorp Limited does not offer**. It is here so directors can understand it and compare it against a fixed-term company loan.
## First, a clear note
Credicorp Limited does not offer merchant cash advances. This guide is educational: it explains how an MCA works in the wider market so that, if you are weighing your options, you can compare it fairly with the fixed-term, fixed-cost products Credicorp does provide. We have kept the tone even and have not steered you toward any product. What Credicorp does offer is on the [products page](/products/).
## What a merchant cash advance is
An advance today, repaid automatically as a percentage of every card sale until a set total is reached.
A merchant cash advance (MCA) gives a business a lump sum today in exchange for a fixed share of its future card sales. The provider advances, say, a sum to a retailer or restaurant, and then takes an agreed percentage — the **holdback** — from each day's card takings until the agreed total has been repaid. The total owed is set at the outset using a **factor rate**: a multiplier applied to the advance, so an advance with a factor rate of 1.3 means £1.30 is repaid for every £1.00 advanced.
Because repayment moves with takings, the amount collected rises on busy days and falls on quiet ones. There is no fixed monthly payment and, in the typical structure, no fixed end date — the advance is cleared when the total is reached, which happens sooner if trade is strong and later if it is slow. Repayment is usually taken automatically through the card-payment processor.
## How repayment as a percentage of takings works
A made-up example, not a real customer, to show the mechanics.
Suppose a business takes an advance and agrees a holdback of 15% of daily card takings against a total to repay set by a factor rate. On a day it turns over £1,000 on card, £150 goes toward the advance. On a £400 day, £60 goes toward it. The proportion is constant; the pounds vary with trade. The business never faces a fixed instalment it cannot meet from that day's sales, which is the feature MCAs are usually sold on — but the flip-side is that a strong run of trade clears the (fixed) total faster, which raises the *effective* cost of the money over the time it was actually borrowed.
This is the key thing to understand about MCA pricing: a factor rate is not an interest rate. A factor rate of 1.3 is a flat 30% of the advance regardless of how quickly it is repaid, so if the balance clears in a few months the cost expressed as an annual rate can be very high. It pays to convert the factor rate into a pounds-and-time figure before comparing it with anything quoted as a daily or annual rate.
## Cost considerations
What to look at closely before comparing an MCA with other finance.
- **The factor rate, converted to pounds.** Work out the total repaid (advance × factor rate) and the charge in pounds, not just the multiplier.
- **The effective cost over the real term.** Because the total is fixed but the timing is not, faster repayment raises the effective annualised cost. Estimate how long repayment is likely to take.
- **The holdback's drag on cashflow.** A slice of every card day is gone before it reaches the business — model what that does to day-to-day cash.
- **Reliance on card sales.** The structure assumes most income comes through card terminals; businesses paid mainly by bank transfer or invoice fit it poorly.
- **Stacking.** Taking a second advance on top of a first compounds the holdback and the cost; treat it with caution.
## How it differs from a fixed-term company loan
The two price and repay in fundamentally different ways. The table sets them side by side.
| | Merchant cash advance | Fixed-term company loan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Repayment | A percentage of daily card takings | A fixed schedule over a fixed term |
| Cost expressed as | A factor rate (a flat multiplier) | A rate over time, plus any fee |
| End date | Variable — when the total is reached | Known from the start |
| Total cost certainty | Total is fixed; effective rate varies with speed | Total and timing both known up front |
| Needs card sales | Yes — repayment is tied to the terminal | No |
| Borrower | The business | The company |
A fixed-term loan such as the [Credicorp Business Bridging Loan](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) gives you a known total and a known end date, with interest charged on the outstanding balance and a cost capped at 100% of the principal. An MCA trades that certainty for repayments that flex with takings. Which is preferable depends on how steady your income is and how much you value a known end date. For a wider view of the options, see our [UK SME funding landscape](/articles/uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026) article.
## Who an MCA tends to suit
- **Card-heavy retailers and hospitality businesses** with a high volume of small card transactions.
- **Trade that varies day to day**, where a repayment that flexes with takings is genuinely useful.
- **Owners who value cashflow-matched repayment** over the lowest headline cost.
It suits less well where income arrives mainly by invoice or bank transfer, where the effective cost of the factor rate is steep relative to alternatives, or where a known end date matters more than flexible repayment. In those cases a [revolving facility](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/) or a fixed bridge may serve better.
## Where to go next
- [Invoice finance explained](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/) — another option Credicorp does not offer
- [Asset finance explained](/guides/asset-finance-explained/)
- [Business bridging loans explained](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) — a fixed total and a known end date
- [What Credicorp does offer](/products/)
- [How short-term business finance is priced](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced)
- [Glossary of the terms used here](/glossary/)
[See what Credicorp offers at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: open-banking-for-business-finance — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/
========================================================================
# Open Banking for business finance.
Open Banking lets your company share read-only access to its bank statements with a lender, securely and for a limited time. This guide explains what it is, what the lender can and cannot see, and why it makes an affordability check faster and more accurate.
## What Open Banking actually is
A UK framework that lets a business authorise a third party to read its bank data through a secure connection, without handing over its login.
Open Banking is the UK system that lets you give a regulated third party permission to read your bank account information directly from the bank, through a secure connection. It grew out of the Competition and Markets Authority's 2017 order and the regulatory framework around it, and it is now a routine part of how business finance is assessed.
The key idea is consent. Nothing is read until the company's authorised signatory actively approves it, and approval is given to the bank — not to the lender. The lender never sees your online-banking username or password. Instead, you log in at your own bank in the usual way and confirm the specific, read-only access you are granting. The connection is built on the same security standards banks use for their own services.
## What is read — and what is not
For lending, the access is read-only and scoped to the account information that evidences affordability. It cannot move money.
| Read | Not read or not possible |
| --- | --- |
| Account name and the account number on the statement | Your online-banking username or password |
| Transaction history — money in and money out, with dates | The ability to move, withdraw or send any money |
| Current and available balances | Any change to your account, payees or settings |
| Regular incomings and outgoings over the shared period | Personal accounts you do not explicitly connect |
The access used for a lending decision is **account information** only: a read of the statements. It is a window, not a door. The separate Open Banking capability that can initiate a payment is a different permission, and it is not what a lender uses to assess your company. Access is also time-boxed — granted for a defined period and capable of being withdrawn by you at any point, directly with your bank.
## Why it speeds an affordability check
Statement data straight from the bank is current, complete and unedited — so the assessment is both faster and fairer.
Affordability is the heart of a responsible lending decision: can the company comfortably carry the repayments out of its actual cash flow? The clearest evidence of that is the recent history of the business bank account. There are two ways to provide it — upload PDF statements, or share them by Open Banking — and the second is faster on both sides.
- **No collation.** You skip downloading, saving and uploading several months of PDFs. One consent at your bank does it.
- **Current to the day.** The data is live rather than a month-old export, so the assessment reflects where the business is now.
- **Complete and tamper-evident.** Because it comes straight from the bank, there is nothing missing and nothing edited — which protects an honest applicant from being second-guessed.
- **Quicker decisions.** Straightforward, well-evidenced applications can be decided promptly, because the affordability picture is in front of the assessor immediately.
None of this replaces judgement. Open Banking supplies the evidence; a person still weighs it. For the underwriting approach behind that, see [credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
## How Credicorp uses it
Open Banking is offered as the convenient route, never the only one. The choice stays with the company.
Credicorp Limited offers read-only Open Banking access as a way to share the business bank statements that support an application, alongside the option to upload PDFs instead. The company decides which route it prefers. Where access is shared, it is scoped to account information for the affordability check and can be withdrawn at the company's bank at any time.
Two points worth keeping in view. First, the borrower is the company, and the account that matters is the company's business bank account — consistent with the body-corporate-only lending position set out at [/lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/). Second, the screening that runs alongside affordability uses the business credit bureaux, not the director's personal file — covered in [building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/).
The operator describes its Open Banking handling, signed PDFs and audit log on its technology page: [credicorp.co.uk/our-technology](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/), and the surrounding decision process at [credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
## Common questions, briefly
- **Can a lender take money using this?** No. Account-information access is read-only. It cannot move funds or change anything on the account.
- **Does the lender get my banking password?** No. You authenticate at your own bank; the credentials are never shared.
- **How long does access last?** It is time-limited, and you can withdraw it at any point directly with your bank.
- **Do I have to use it?** No. Uploading PDF statements remains available; Open Banking is simply the quicker route.
- **Whose account is read?** The company's business bank account — because the company is the borrower.
## Where to go next
- [Building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) — the company-level record a lender reads.
- [The cash conversion cycle](/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/) — what the statements reveal about timing.
- [Choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/) — matching finance to need.
- [Credicorp — our technology](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/) and [how we lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
- [The products](/products/), [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/), and the [glossary](/glossary/).
[Read how Open Banking is used →](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/)
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# GUIDE: paying-suppliers-in-instalments — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/
========================================================================
# Paying suppliers in instalments.
Sometimes a supplier needs paying in full now, but it suits the business to spread the cost. This guide explains how Credicorp Slice does exactly that: the supplier is settled today, and the company repays over a short, fixed plan for a flat fee.
## What spreading a supplier bill means
Two timelines, decoupled: the supplier is paid today; the company repays over the following weeks.
Credicorp Slice is built around a single supplier invoice. You choose the bill, Credicorp settles it with the supplier in full straight away, and your company then repays Credicorp over a short plan of three or four instalments. The supplier sees a bill paid on time; the company gets a few weeks to spread the cost. Unlike a [bridging loan](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/), the money does not pass through your account — it goes to the supplier — and unlike a [revolving facility](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/), it is tied to one specific bill rather than a general limit.
The cost is a flat fee on the bill, not daily interest. That makes the total knowable from the start: you see the fee, you see the instalment amounts, and there is nothing to accrue. Because the borrower is the company, this is body-corporate credit and sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime — see [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/).
## How it works, step by step
- **Choose the bill.** Pick the supplier invoice you want to spread, between £50 and £2,000.
- **The supplier is paid today.** Credicorp settles the invoice in full now, so the supplier relationship is unaffected.
- **Repay over a plan.** Your company repays in three or four instalments over up to eight weeks, by Direct Debit on dates you choose.
- **Settle early if you wish.** Early repayment is free, and the unused portion of the fee is refunded.
Because the dates are yours to set within the plan, you can line the instalments up with the days money usually lands in the business — after a customer pays, say, rather than before.
## Credicorp Slice, in figures
The operator's published terms. Confirm the live figures before you use it — see [credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice](https://credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice/).
| Term | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Bill amount | £50 – £2,000 |
| Instalments | 3 or 4, over up to 8 weeks |
| Fee | 6% of the bill, flat and one-time |
| Late fee | £12 per missed instalment, capped |
| Cost cap | 100% of the bill |
| Early repayment | Free; unused fee refunded |
| Collection | Direct Debit on dates you choose |
| Personal guarantee | None |
| Borrower | The company |
## Worked examples
Illustrations at the published 6% flat fee, repaid on schedule. These are made-up examples, not real customers.
| Bill | Instalments | Flat fee (6%) | Total to repay | Each instalment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| £600 | 4 | £36.00 | £636.00 | £159.00 |
| £900 | 3 | £54.00 | £954.00 | £318.00 |
| £1,500 | 4 | £90.00 | £1,590.00 | £397.50 |
| £250 | 3 | £15.00 | £265.00 | £88.33 |
The 6% fee is flat and one-time, with no daily interest. The total cost is capped at 100% of the bill. A missed instalment carries a £12 late fee, which is itself capped. Settling early refunds the unused part of the fee.
## What a flat fee changes
A flat fee behaves differently from daily interest, and the difference is worth understanding before you choose.
With daily interest, the cost grows the longer you hold the money — repay early and you pay less. A flat fee, by contrast, is set once on the bill and does not grow day by day. The whole cost of a Slice plan is therefore knowable the moment you take it: a 6% fee on the bill, full stop. There is nothing accruing in the background, and nothing to recalculate if you settle on the published schedule. That certainty is the trade-off — you gain a fixed, visible cost in exchange for the daily flexibility that a [bridging loan](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/)'s interest gives you.
Two features soften the edges. Early repayment is free and refunds the unused portion of the fee, so settling ahead of plan is never penalised. And while a missed instalment carries a £12 late fee, that fee is itself capped, and the whole cost — fee, late charges and all — can never exceed 100% of the bill. The intention is that the cost stays proportionate even if a plan does not run perfectly. To see how a flat fee compares with an interest rate over a given period, our [guide to how short-term finance is priced](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced) is a useful companion.
## When spreading a bill fits
### Fits well
- A single supplier invoice you can pay, but would rather not pay all at once.
- A bill due before the income that will cover it arrives.
- A situation where keeping the supplier paid on time matters to the relationship.
### Fits poorly
- A general, recurring need rather than one bill — a [revolving facility](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/) suits that.
- A lump sum you need in your own account — a [bridging loan](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) does that.
- Money you are owed by customers that you want to draw against — that is [invoice finance](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/), which works the opposite way round and which Credicorp does not offer.
It is worth being clear that Slice and invoice finance point in opposite directions. Slice helps you *pay* a supplier over time; invoice finance helps you get paid sooner on invoices you have *issued*. Our [invoice finance guide](/guides/invoice-finance-explained/) covers the latter.
## Where to go next
- [Business bridging loans explained](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/)
- [Revolving credit facilities explained](/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/)
- [The three Credicorp products, side by side](/products/)
- [Compare Loan, Flex and Slice on the operator site](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
- [What protections do and do not apply](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Glossary of the terms used here](/glossary/)
[See Credicorp Slice at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice/)
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# GUIDE: personal-guarantees-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/
========================================================================
# Personal guarantees, explained.
A personal guarantee is the most consequential thing a director can sign when a company borrows. It quietly undoes the separation between the company and the person — turning a company debt into a personal one. This guide explains what a guarantee is, how it works, what it puts at risk, and why Credicorp deliberately does not take one.
## What a personal guarantee is
A promise by a person to pay a company's debt if the company cannot.
When a company borrows, the company is the borrower. It is a separate legal person, and its debts are its own. That separation is the whole point of incorporating: a director is not personally liable for the company's borrowing simply because they run it.
A **personal guarantee** is a separate promise, given by an individual — usually a director — that if the company does not repay, they will. It is a contract between the lender and the person, sitting alongside the loan agreement between the lender and the company. The director does not receive the money. They take on the obligation to pay it back if the company defaults.
Lenders ask for guarantees to reduce their own risk. Where a company is small, young, or has few assets, a director's signature gives the lender a second pocket to reach into. That is rational from the lender's side. The cost falls on the director, who has pierced the protection that incorporation was meant to give them.
## How it turns company debt into personal debt
The mechanism is simple, and that is exactly why it is easy to underrate.
Without a guarantee, if a company cannot pay its debts, the lender's claim is against the company. The director's own house, savings and income are not in play. The most the director can lose is what they put into the company. That is limited liability working as intended.
With a guarantee, the position changes the moment the company defaults. The lender can demand payment from the director personally, under the guarantee, for the company's debt. If the director cannot pay, the lender can pursue them as it would any personal debtor — through a county court judgment, a charge over their property, or in the worst case bankruptcy. The guarantee can outlive the company itself: even if the company is dissolved, the personal promise stands.
Some guarantees are **unlimited** — covering whatever the company owes, however large. Some are **capped** at a figure. Some are supported by a charge over the director's home, which makes the home directly at risk. A director signing one should know exactly which kind it is, what it is capped at, and what assets stand behind it. These are the terms that decide how much of a person's life is tied to the company's borrowing.
## With and without a guarantee
The same default, two very different outcomes for the director.
| | No personal guarantee | With a personal guarantee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Who owes the debt | The company only | The company, and the director if it defaults |
| If the company cannot pay | Lender's claim is against the company | Lender can pursue the director personally |
| Director's personal assets | Not exposed by the borrowing | Savings, income and possibly the home at risk |
| If the company is dissolved | The debt ends with the company | The personal promise can survive |
| Limited liability | Intact | Pierced for this debt |
A guarantee is not inherently wrong — it is a normal feature of much business lending, and sometimes the only way to access a larger or cheaper facility. But it is a decision to expose personal assets, and it should be made with that fully in view, not buried in a signature page.
## Why Credicorp does not take one
Credicorp lends to UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs, and the borrower is always the body corporate. None of its three products — the Business Bridging Loan, Credicorp Flex or Credicorp Slice — takes a personal guarantee. The agreement is between Credicorp Limited and the company, and it stays there. If the company cannot pay, the director's own money and home are not on the line.
This follows from how the products are built. The sums are small and short-term, and every product is bounded by a 100% cost cap, so the company's exposure is fixed and knowable from the outset — see [cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/). Decisions rest on the company's affordability, evidenced by its business bank statements, rather than on a director's personal credit file or a personal promise to fall back on. The lending is to the company because the company is what is assessed.
It also reflects a deliberate position rather than an oversight. The operator's own note, [why we don't take personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees/), sets out the reasoning in full, and the operator restates it on its customer site at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/news/why-no-personal-guarantee/). The related guide on [secured versus unsecured business borrowing](/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/) explains how a guarantee differs from security over company assets — Credicorp's products take neither.
## What to check before signing any guarantee
If another lender asks for one, these are the questions that matter.
- **Is it limited or unlimited?** An unlimited guarantee covers whatever the company comes to owe, not just today's balance.
- **What is the cap, if any?** Know the maximum figure you are personally promising.
- **Is your home pledged?** A guarantee supported by a charge over your property puts the home directly at risk.
- **How and when does it end?** Some guarantees roll on to cover future borrowing and survive the company's dissolution.
- **Have you taken independent advice?** A guarantee is a personal legal commitment; it is worth a solicitor's eye before you sign.
A short due-diligence routine for any UK business-credit offer, including the guarantee question, is set out in [a borrower's due-diligence checklist before taking finance](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist/).
## Where to go next
- [Why we don't take personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees/) — the operator's reasoning in full
- [Secured versus unsecured business borrowing](/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/) — how a guarantee differs from security
- [Cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) — how the 100% cap bounds the company's exposure
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — unsecured, no personal guarantee
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — why the company is the borrower under Article 60B
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: reading-a-business-loan-agreement — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/reading-a-business-loan-agreement/
========================================================================
# Reading a business loan agreement.
A loan agreement is a contract, and it rewards a careful read before you sign. This guide walks through the parts that matter most — the parties, the amount, the charges, the term, what counts as default, and who is on the hook. It is general information, not legal or financial advice.
## Start with the parties
Who is lending, and who is borrowing? On a company facility, the borrower should be the company.
The first thing to read in any loan agreement is who the parties are. A business loan agreement names the lender and the borrower. On company finance, the borrower should be the company itself — identified by its full registered name and its Companies House number — not a director in their own name. That single detail decides who owes the debt. The reason a company borrows in its own name rather than a director's is explained in [a director's loan vs the company borrowing in its own name](/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing/).
Check the registered company number against [Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/) and make sure it is your company. Check the lender's identity too — running the lender through the same register is part of [verifying a UK business lender in five minutes](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes/). A clear, correct set of parties is the foundation everything else rests on.
## The amount and the charges
How much is advanced, what it costs, and what the total comes to. These should be stated plainly.
| Clause to find | What to confirm |
| --- | --- |
| The amount advanced | The exact principal the lender pays to the company. |
| Interest or fee | How the cost is charged — a rate per day, a flat fee, or both — and on what balance. |
| Any other charges | Establishment or arrangement fees, and any late or default fees, with their amounts. |
| Total amount payable | The full sum the company will repay if it pays to schedule. |
| Any cost cap | Whether the total cost is capped — for example at 100% of the amount borrowed. |
On a short-term product, watch how the cost is expressed. A daily rate over a few weeks is a small cash cost even though it annualises to a large-looking number — the reason an APR can mislead on short borrowing is the whole subject of [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/). What you want from the agreement is the cash total: the pounds the company will actually repay. You can sanity-check that figure for a Credicorp product against the [calculators](/calculators/).
## The term and how you repay
When the money is due back, on what cadence, and whether you can repay early without penalty.
The term is the period over which the company repays. Read how the repayments are structured — a single repayment at the end, weekly or fortnightly instalments, or minimum payments on a revolving balance. Match that cadence against the company's own cash cycle: the repayment dates need to fall where the company will have the money. Matching the shape of the borrowing to the shape of the need is covered in [choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
Look specifically for what happens if the company repays early. On a well-built short-term product there is no early-repayment penalty, and on a daily-interest loan repaying early simply means fewer days of interest. How that works, and how an unused-fee refund operates, is explained in [early repayment and refunds](/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/). An agreement that punishes early repayment is telling you something about how the lender makes its money.
## Default and what follows
What counts as default, what the lender can do, and what it costs — this is the part most readers skim and should not.
The default clauses set out what happens if the company does not pay as agreed. Read them carefully. They usually define the events that count as default — a missed payment, or in some agreements a wider set of triggers — and the steps the lender may then take. Note any late or default fees and how they are capped, whether interest continues to run, and what notice the lender must give before acting.
Two things in particular are worth checking. First, whether any **security** is granted — a debenture or charge over company assets, explained in [debentures and charges explained](/guides/debentures-and-charges-explained/). Second, whether any **personal guarantee** is attached, which would put a director's own assets at risk and is a separate commitment entirely — see [personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/). A clear agreement makes both of these obvious; an agreement that buries them on a signature page deserves a second look, and ideally a solicitor's eye.
## The company as sole obligor
The most important question a director can ask of a company loan agreement is simple: *who is on the hook?* Where the company is the sole obligor, the company alone owes the debt. If the company cannot pay, the lender's claim is against the company — the director's own home, savings and income are not in play. That is limited liability working as intended.
In a Credicorp agreement, the company is the sole obligor. The agreement is between Credicorp Limited and the company, with no personal guarantee and no charge over company assets. The borrower is always the body corporate, never the director. That position follows from the lending sitting outside the consumer-credit regime under [Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001](/lending-and-regulation/), and it is the line that [keeps the lending a business matter](/articles/what-counts-as-a-business-purpose/). When you read any company loan agreement, find the answer to the sole-obligor question before you find anything else.
## A note on advice
This guide is general information to help a director read an agreement with a sharper eye. It is not legal or financial advice, and it cannot account for the particular terms in front of you. For anything material, or anything you do not fully understand, take the agreement to a solicitor or accountant before you sign. The cost of an hour's advice is small against the cost of a clause you missed.
## Where to go next
- [The Key Information Sheet explained](/guides/the-key-information-sheet-explained/) — the pre-contract summary that sits alongside
- [Early repayment and refunds](/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/) — what the term clause should allow
- [Debentures and charges explained](/guides/debentures-and-charges-explained/) — spotting security in an agreement
- [Personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) — the obligor question
- [A borrower's due-diligence checklist](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist/) — before you sign anything
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — why the company is the borrower
[See how a Credicorp agreement works at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: repayment-schedules-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/repayment-schedules-explained/
========================================================================
# Repayment schedules explained.
The cadence of a repayment matters as much as its size. A
schedule that lands money out of the company on the days cash
comes in is one a business can carry comfortably; one that
pulls against the rhythm of trade is a strain. This guide
sets out the repayment shapes across the Credicorp products
— weekly and fortnightly cadence, the Flex 14-day cycle and
minimum payment, and Slice instalments — and how to match
the schedule to your own cashflow.
## Cadence, not just the total
Two repayments of the same total can sit very differently against a company's cashflow.
A repayment schedule is the plan for how a borrowing is paid
back: how much, how often, and on which dates. The headline
cost matters, but the schedule is what the company actually
lives with week to week. A sum repaid in one go at the end of
a short term behaves nothing like the same sum drawn down at
regular intervals, even when the total paid is identical.
The thing to get right is fit. Money has to be in the account
on the day a payment is due. A schedule that takes its
instalment the morning after a large customer pays you is easy
to meet; a schedule that takes it the day before is a problem,
whatever the arithmetic says. Before looking at any single
product, the question to hold in mind is simple: when does cash
reliably arrive, and does the repayment fall after that point
rather than before it.
## Weekly versus fortnightly cadence
A Business Bridging Loan can be repaid weekly or fortnightly over its fixed term. The choice is about matching the pull to your inflows.
The [Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) is a fixed
sum over a fixed term — £50–£500 over 14–84 days, with interest
at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal and a one-off £5
establishment fee. Across that term, repayment can be spread on
a weekly or a fortnightly cadence. Both reach the same end point;
the difference is the size and frequency of each pull.
| Cadence | Each payment is | Suits a company that |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | Smaller, more frequent | Takes in money steadily — regular weekly sales or settlements that keep the account topped up. |
| Fortnightly | Larger, less frequent | Is paid in less even bursts — a fortnightly settlement run, or invoices that land every couple of weeks. |
Neither is cheaper in itself, because interest accrues on the
outstanding principal day by day. What changes the total is how
quickly the principal comes down: paying a little more, a little
sooner, reduces the balance the daily rate is charged on. Weekly
repayment chips the principal down faster than fortnightly, so it
tends to cost marginally less over the term — at the price of a
more frequent, smaller call on the account. You can see how the
interest tracks the balance with the
[bridging-loan cost calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/).
## The Credicorp Flex 14-day cycle and minimum payment
A revolving facility does not run to a fixed end date. It runs on a recurring cycle, with a minimum due each time.
[Credicorp Flex](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/)
works differently from a fixed-term loan. It is a revolving
facility — a credit limit of £50–£500 that the company draws on,
repays, and draws again. Interest is 0.25% per day on the drawn
balance only, so you pay for what you are using and nothing for
the headroom you are not. There is a £5 establishment fee on the
first drawdown, and each drawing is capped so its total cost
never exceeds 100% of the amount drawn.
Because the facility revolves, its schedule is a cycle rather
than a countdown. The cycle is 14 days. At the end of each cycle,
a minimum payment falls due: **10% of the drawn balance, or
£20, whichever is greater**. That is the floor — the least
the company has to pay to keep the facility in good standing for
the next cycle.
| Drawn balance at cycle end | 10% of balance | Minimum due (greater of 10% or £20) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| £120 | £12.00 | £20.00 |
| £200 | £20.00 | £20.00 |
| £350 | £35.00 | £35.00 |
These are illustrative figures on the published terms, not a real
account. The minimum keeps the facility moving, but paying only
the minimum leaves a balance that the daily rate keeps charging
on. Clearing more than the minimum when cash allows shortens the
time the balance is outstanding and lowers the cost — the same
logic as overpaying a loan. The
[Flex facility cost calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/flex-facility-cost/)
shows how the drawn balance and the cost move together across cycles.
## Slice: a supplier bill in fixed instalments
The most predictable schedule of the three — a known number of equal instalments, on dates you set.
[Credicorp Slice](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/)
splits a single supplier bill of £50–£2,000 into three or four
instalments over up to eight weeks, for a 6% flat fee of the bill
and no interest. The supplier is paid in full straight away; the
company repays the bill, plus the flat fee, across the instalment
plan. Collection is by Direct Debit on dates the company chooses,
which is what makes the schedule so easy to plan around.
Take a £600 bill split into four instalments. The flat fee is 6%,
or £36, so the total to repay is £636 — four equal instalments of
£159, each landing on a date the company has set. Nothing about
that figure moves later: it is fixed at the outset, with no daily
interest ticking in the background. A missed instalment carries a
£12 late fee, itself capped, and the total cost across the plan
can never exceed 100% of the bill. If the bill is settled early,
the unused portion of the fee is refunded — covered in
[early repayment and refunds](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/).
Because the instalments are equal and the dates are yours to set,
Slice is the schedule to reach for when the company wants the
repayment plan known and unchanging from day one. Work the
instalments through for your own bill with the
[Slice instalments calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/slice-instalments/).
## The three repayment shapes, side by side
One countdown, one cycle, one fixed plan. The shape is what you are choosing between as much as the product.
| | Bridging Loan | Credicorp Flex | Credicorp Slice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Schedule shape | Fixed-term countdown | Recurring cycle | Fixed instalment plan |
| Cadence | Weekly or fortnightly | Every 14 days | 3 or 4 dated instalments |
| Amount each time | Set across the term | Minimum 10% of drawn, or £20 | Equal instalments |
| End point | End of the fixed term | When the balance is cleared | Last instalment, up to 8 weeks |
| Interest behaviour | 0.25%/day on principal | 0.25%/day on drawn balance | None — 6% flat fee |
| Best when cash arrives | Steadily or in fortnightly bursts | Unpredictably, in and out | You want it fully fixed |
Picking the product and picking the schedule are nearly the same
decision. The wider question of which product fits which need is
the subject of
[choosing the right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
## Matching the schedule to your cashflow
Set the repayment dates against the days money reliably arrives — not against the calendar.
Whatever the product, the same discipline applies. Map out when
cash actually lands in the company account — settlement runs, the
days big customers tend to pay, any predictable weekly or monthly
inflow — and place the repayments just after those points, with a
small buffer. The aim is for every payment to come out of money
that is already there, not money you are hoping will arrive.
A schedule built this way is the one a company can meet without
strain, even in a slightly off week. To check that the repayments
leave enough cover in the account between inflows, run the numbers
through the
[cashflow runway calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/cashflow-runway/).
## When a payment is going to be tight
The schedule is a plan, not a trap. If an inflow slips, the time to act is before the payment date, not after.
Even a well-matched schedule meets the occasional off week. The
right move is always the same: flag it early. The operator's
help-with-payments route exists for exactly this — a delayed
receipt, a one-off shortfall, a payment that is going to be tight.
Raising it before the date is due is far easier to resolve than a
missed payment after the fact. Because the company is the borrower
and no personal guarantee is taken, the conversation is about the
company's position, not the director's.
Every product carries the same backstop: the total cost is capped
at 100% of the amount borrowed, so charges can never run away even
if a plan slips — explained in
[cost caps explained](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/cost-caps-explained/).
Active accounts, payment arrangements and hardship support are all
handled by the operator, not on this brand site; the route in is
[credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments](https://credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments/).
## Where to go next
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: revolving-credit-facilities-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/
========================================================================
# Revolving credit facilities explained.
A revolving facility is a credit limit a company can draw on, repay, and draw on again — paying only for what is actually drawn. This guide explains how a facility such as Credicorp Flex works, how it differs from a fixed loan, and when the revolving shape is the right one.
## What a revolving facility is
A limit, not a lump sum. You take part of it when you need it, repay, and the headroom comes back.
A revolving credit facility gives a company an approved credit limit it can use as needed. You do not receive the whole amount up front. Instead you **draw** part of the limit when you have a use for it, **repay** what you have drawn, and as you repay, the headroom is restored so you can **redraw** later. The limit revolves — hence the name. Interest is charged only on the balance you have actually drawn, not on the full limit sitting unused.
This is a different shape of borrowing from a [business bridging loan](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/), which hands you one lump sum for one purpose over a fixed term. A facility is built for needs that come and go. Because the borrower is the company rather than the director, a facility of this kind is body-corporate credit and sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime — see [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/).
## Draw, repay, redraw
The cycle that defines a revolving facility, in three movements.
- **Open the facility.** A credit limit is set for the company. Opening the facility does not mean borrowing — nothing is owed until you draw.
- **Draw what you need.** Take part of the limit when a need arises. Interest starts on that drawn amount, and only that amount.
- **Repay, and the headroom returns.** As you repay the drawn balance, your available limit is restored. You can then draw again, without reapplying.
The practical effect is that you pay for use, not for access. A facility can sit at zero drawn for weeks, costing nothing in interest, and then carry a balance during a busy stretch. That is what makes it suited to uneven, recurring needs rather than a single visible gap.
## Credicorp Flex, in figures
The operator's published terms for its revolving facility. Confirm the live figures before you open one — see [credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/).
| Term | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Credit limit | £50 – £500 |
| Interest | 0.25% per day on drawn balance only |
| Establishment fee | £5.00, on first drawdown |
| Cost cap | 100% per drawing |
| Term | Ongoing while in good standing |
| Cycle | 14 days |
| Minimum per cycle | 10% of drawn balance, or £20, whichever is greater |
| Personal guarantee | None |
| Borrower | The company |
Note that the £5 establishment fee falls on the first drawdown, not on opening the facility, and that interest accrues on the drawn balance alone. The minimum-per-cycle figure is the floor on each repayment, not a cap on it — repaying more reduces the drawn balance, and therefore the interest, faster.
## Revolving facility against a fixed loan
The two solve different problems. The table sets the shapes side by side; the test underneath is the quick way to choose.
| | Revolving facility (Flex) | Fixed loan (Bridging Loan) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shape | A limit you draw on as needed | One lump sum, once |
| Best for | Uneven, recurring needs | A single, visible gap |
| Interest charged on | The drawn balance only | The outstanding principal |
| Reuse | Repay and redraw, no reapplication | Borrow again means a new application |
| Term | Ongoing while in good standing | 14 – 84 days, fixed |
| Cost when idle | None — nothing drawn, nothing charged | Interest runs for the whole term held |
A simple test: if you can name the amount and the date the gap closes, a fixed loan matches the need. If the need recurs and the amount varies, a revolving facility fits better. The operator sets the three products against each other at [credicorp.co.uk/compare](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/), and our [working capital vs a term loan](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan) article goes deeper on matching the finance to the need.
## A worked example
A made-up example, not a real customer, to show how charging on the drawn balance plays out.
Suppose a company opens a Flex facility with a £500 limit. In week one it draws £200 to cover a supplier while a customer invoice is outstanding. At 0.25% per day, that £200 costs £0.50 a day in interest; held for 20 days, the interest is £10.00, plus the one-time £5 establishment fee on that first drawdown — £15.00 in total. When the customer pays, the company repays the £200, and the full £500 headroom is restored. A fortnight later it draws £150 against a different gap. The point is that the £300 of unused limit cost nothing while it sat there, and the second drawdown carries no new establishment fee.
To explore the cost of a single drawing over a given number of days, the daily-interest maths is the same as a bridge, so the [bridging loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) gives a useful feel for it.
## When a facility fits — and when it does not
### Fits well
- Cashflow that rises and falls week to week, where the amount needed varies.
- A buffer you want available on tap without reapplying each time.
- Short, repeated gaps between paying out and getting paid.
### Fits poorly
- A one-off, known shortfall — a [fixed bridge](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) is tidier.
- A single supplier invoice you want to spread — [Credicorp Slice](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/) is built for that.
- A long-lived asset purchase — match that to [asset finance](/guides/asset-finance-explained/) instead.
## Where to go next
- [Business bridging loans explained](/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) — the fixed-loan alternative
- [Paying suppliers in instalments](/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/)
- [The three Credicorp products, side by side](/products/)
- [Compare Loan, Flex and Slice on the operator site](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
- [What protections do and do not apply](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Glossary of the terms used here](/glossary/)
[Open a Credicorp Flex facility at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/
========================================================================
# Secured versus unsecured business borrowing.
When a company borrows, the agreement is either secured — tied to specific assets the lender can claim — or unsecured. This guide explains the difference, what a debenture or charge actually is, and what "no personal guarantee" means in practice. Three terms that decide what a lender can reach if things go wrong.
## Secured and unsecured, defined
The difference is what the lender can claim if the debt is not repaid.
**Secured** borrowing is tied to an asset. The lender takes security — a legal right over something the company owns — so that, if the company does not repay, the lender can take or sell that asset to recover what it is owed. A mortgage over premises and asset finance over a vehicle are both secured: the building or the vehicle stands behind the debt.
**Unsecured** borrowing is not tied to a specific asset. The lender relies on the company's promise to repay and on its general creditworthiness. If the company fails to repay, an unsecured lender ranks as an ordinary creditor and has no particular asset to claim ahead of others. Most short-term facilities, business credit cards and small working-capital products are unsecured.
Secured borrowing is usually cheaper and larger, because the lender's risk is lower — it has something to fall back on. The trade-off is that the company pledges assets and the arrangement takes longer to put in place. Unsecured borrowing is faster and lighter, but typically smaller and priced for the higher risk the lender carries.
## What a debenture or charge is
The legal instrument that turns "secured" into something a lender can enforce.
A **charge** is a legal interest a lender takes over a company asset as security. There are two broad kinds. A **fixed charge** attaches to a specific, identified asset — a particular property or machine — which the company then cannot sell freely without the lender's consent. A **floating charge** hovers over a class of changing assets, such as stock or trade debtors, letting the company use and replace them in the ordinary course of business until the charge "crystallises" on a default.
A **debenture** is the document that typically grants a lender a package of these charges — often a fixed charge over major assets and a floating charge over the rest of the business. A debenture given by a UK company is registered at Companies House, so it appears on the public record and other lenders can see it. It is a serious commitment of the company's assets, and it is the standard way bank term lending to a company is secured.
Because security is registered and ranked, the order in which charges were taken matters: an earlier-ranking charge is paid before a later one. A company that has already given a debenture to one lender may find a second lender unwilling to lend, or willing only on a lower ranking. This is part of why small, short-term, unsecured products exist — they avoid the cost, delay and entanglement of taking security at all.
## What "no personal guarantee" means
Security over company assets is one thing. A claim on a director personally is another.
Security and guarantees are often confused, but they sit in different places. A charge gives the lender a right over *company* assets. A **personal guarantee** gives the lender a right against a *director* personally — a promise that, if the company cannot pay, the director will. A guarantee turns a company debt into a personal debt, reaching past the company to the individual's own money and, sometimes, their home.
A loan can be unsecured against the company and still carry a personal guarantee. Many small-business facilities are exactly that: no charge over company assets, but a director's signature standing behind the debt. So "unsecured" alone does not tell a director whether their personal position is exposed. The question to ask is separate: *is a personal guarantee required?*
Credicorp's products are unsecured and take **no personal guarantee**. There is no debenture or charge over the company's assets, and no director is asked to stand behind the company's borrowing. The borrower is the body corporate, and the company's exposure is bounded by the 100% cost cap. Our companion guide, [personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/), covers how a guarantee works and why Credicorp deliberately does not take one — see also the article on [why we don't take personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees/).
## The three terms, side by side
What each one lets a lender reach.
| Term | What it gives the lender | What is exposed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Secured (charge/debenture) | A right over specific or floating company assets | The company's assets, in a registered ranking |
| Unsecured | Only the company's promise to repay | Nothing specific; lender ranks as an ordinary creditor |
| Personal guarantee | A claim against a director if the company cannot pay | The director's personal money and assets |
Read the rows as independent questions, not a single sliding scale. A borrowing can be secured or unsecured, and separately can carry a guarantee or not. Credicorp's products are unsecured and carry no guarantee — the bottom-right exposures do not arise.
## Where to go next
- [Personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) — how a guarantee turns company debt into personal debt
- [Cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) — how the 100% cap bounds the company's exposure
- [The three Credicorp products](/products/) — unsecured, no personal guarantee
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — why this is body-corporate lending under Article 60B
- [Glossary](/glossary/) — plain-English definitions of the terms used here
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: short-term-finance-and-vat-bills — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/short-term-finance-and-vat-bills/
========================================================================
# Short-term finance and VAT bills.
A VAT bill lands on a fixed quarterly rhythm, in one lump,
and it is money the company has already collected and spent.
That is what makes it bunch up cashflow. This guide sets out
why the bill bites, the options for meeting it — saving ahead
and HMRC Time to Pay among them — and where a small, short
company bridge fits at the edges.
## Why a VAT bill bunches up cashflow
The money was never the company's to keep, but it sits in the same bank account as everything else until the bill falls due.
VAT is a tax the company collects on the Government's behalf. You
charge it on what you sell, you pay it on what you buy, and four
times a year you hand HMRC the difference. The trouble is that the
VAT you have charged customers does not arrive in a ring-fenced
pot. It lands in the trading account alongside takings, gets used
to pay suppliers and staff through the quarter, and then has to be
found again — in a single payment — when the return falls due.
A standard VAT quarter is followed by roughly five extra weeks
before the return and the payment are due: one month and seven
days after the period ends. So the bill arrives well after the
trading it relates to, by which time the cash may already have
done other work. Most companies pay by Direct Debit, which HMRC
collects a few working days after the deadline. The effect is the
same either way — a large, predictable demand on a fixed date,
out of step with the day-to-day flow of receipts.
The deeper the company's [understanding of its own cashflow](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/understanding-business-cashflow/),
the less of a surprise this is. But understanding it does not, on
its own, conjure the cash. A profitable company can still find the
quarter-end bill awkward, for the same timing reason set out in
[the cash conversion cycle](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/).
## The quarterly rhythm is the problem
Four large fixed dates a year, each one a step-change in outflow rather than a steady drip.
A cost you pay weekly or monthly is easy to absorb — it moves with
the rest of the company's spending. A VAT bill is the opposite. It
sits quiet for three months, then arrives in full. An illustrative
company turning over £40,000 a quarter in standard-rated sales might
face a net VAT bill running into several thousand pounds on a single
day, depending on how much input VAT it can reclaim. If that day
also happens to fall near a rent quarter, a payroll run, or a
Corporation Tax instalment, several large outflows stack on top of
one another.
| Standard VAT quarter ends | Return and payment due |
| --- | --- |
| 31 March | 7 May |
| 30 June | 7 August |
| 30 September | 7 November |
| 31 December | 7 February |
Illustrative dates for a company on the calendar-quarter stagger;
your own quarter dates depend on the stagger HMRC assigns. The
point is the shape, not the exact days: four step-changes a year,
each landing about five weeks after the period it covers. Knowing
the dates in advance is the whole opportunity — unlike a late
customer payment, a VAT bill never arrives unannounced.
## The first answer: save ahead
The cheapest way to meet a known bill is to have already set the money aside. For VAT, that is more achievable than for most outflows.
Because the bill is predictable in both timing and rough size, it
lends itself to being put by in advance. The disciplined approach
is to move the VAT element of each sale into a separate account as
the money comes in, so the trading account never counts it as
available. When the return falls due, the cash is already waiting.
Some companies use a second business account purely for this; the
mechanics are covered in
[business bank accounts and borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-bank-accounts-and-borrowing/).
HMRC's own schemes can smooth the rhythm too. The Annual Accounting
Scheme replaces quarterly returns with monthly or quarterly
instalments and one annual reconciliation, turning a lumpy bill
into a level one. The Flat Rate Scheme can simplify the calculation
for smaller companies. Whether either fits depends on the company's
turnover and circumstances, and the rules change — confirm the
current detail on
[GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/vat-annual-accounting-scheme)
or with your accountant before relying on it.
Saving ahead is the ideal, and it should be the plan for every
future quarter. But it does not help the company that is staring
at a bill *this* quarter with nothing set aside. For that
company, two further routes matter.
## HMRC Time to Pay
If the company genuinely cannot meet the bill on time, the first call is to HMRC — not to a lender.
HMRC offers a Time to Pay arrangement: an agreed instalment plan
that spreads a tax bill the company cannot pay in one go. It is the
right first port of call for a VAT bill the business cannot meet,
and it has real advantages over borrowing. There is no establishment
fee and no lender to repay — only interest charged on the
outstanding balance at HMRC's published late-payment rate. The
arrangement is made directly with the body you owe.
A few things are worth knowing before relying on it. Time to Pay is
agreed case by case, not granted automatically — the company has to
ask, explain its position, and propose a realistic plan. It is
meant for genuine, temporary difficulty, not as a routine financing
tool quarter after quarter. Interest still runs on the outstanding
amount. And a company that already has a Time to Pay arrangement, or
a record of late payment, may find HMRC less willing to agree
another. The current rules and how to apply are on
[GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/difficulties-paying-hmrc).
Approach HMRC early — ideally before the deadline passes rather
than after. An arrangement put in place ahead of time looks very
different from one sought after a missed payment and a penalty.
## Where a small bridge fits
Not the first answer, and not for every company — but for a defined, one-off gap with a clear repayment source, a short fixed-term bridge can fit the shape of the bill.
Saving ahead and Time to Pay between them cover most situations. A
short bridge sits at the edge: the company that has the receipts
coming but not on the exact day the bill falls, that would rather
not enter a formal arrangement with HMRC for a one-quarter wobble,
and that knows precisely when the cash to repay will land. Here the
shape of the need — a known amount, over a known and short number
of days, with a clear repayment source — matches a short,
fixed-term loan.
That is what the Credicorp
[Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) is built for:
£50–£500 over 14–84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the
outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee and the
total cost capped at 100% of the principal. The company is the
borrower, with no personal guarantee. You can work the cash cost of
a given amount and term on the
[bridging-loan cost calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/)
before deciding, and read how the
[100% cost cap](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/cost-caps-explained/) bounds the
worst case.
A bridge is poorly suited to two cases in particular. If the VAT bill
cannot be paid because the company is structurally short of cash —
not just out of timing — then borrowing postpones the problem and
adds cost; Time to Pay or a frank look at viability is the better
path. And if the amount needed is larger than a small bridge covers,
or the gap recurs every single quarter, the answer is to save ahead
or to choose a different shape of finance entirely. Matching the
finance to the need is the subject of
[choosing the right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/),
and the discipline of not over-reaching is covered in
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/).
## An order of preference
For a VAT bill, the options line up in a sensible order. Work down the list, not up it.
| Option | Best when | Watch for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Save ahead | For every future quarter — the VAT is set aside as it is collected. | Needs discipline; does not help a bill due now with nothing put by. |
| HMRC Time to Pay | The company genuinely cannot meet the bill and needs to spread it. | Agreed case by case; interest applies; meant for real difficulty, not routine use. |
| A short company bridge | A one-off, short timing gap with a clear repayment source. | Adds cost; wrong for a structural shortfall or a recurring, larger gap. |
The same logic applies to a Corporation Tax or PAYE bill that bunches
up the same way — the route that fits a one-off VAT gap fits those
too. The principle holds across them all: have the money ready if you
can, talk to HMRC if you cannot, and reach for short finance only for
a genuine, time-limited gap you can see your way clear of.
## Where to go next
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: the-cash-conversion-cycle — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/
========================================================================
# The cash conversion cycle.
A profitable company can still run out of cash. The cash conversion cycle is the reason, and it is measured in days, not pounds. This guide sets out the formula, works a simple illustrative example, and shows where a short company bridge fits the gap it describes.
## Profit is not the same as cash
A company books profit when it earns; it holds cash only once it has actually been paid. The gap between the two is timing.
A business can be profitable on paper and still struggle to pay its own bills. That is not a contradiction — it is timing. Profit is recorded when a sale is made and a cost is incurred. Cash moves on a different schedule: you pay suppliers and staff before the customer pays you, and you may buy and hold stock for weeks before any of it sells. Between the moment cash leaves and the moment it returns, the company has to fund itself.
The cash conversion cycle puts a number of days on that gap. It measures how long the company's cash is tied up in the operating process before it comes back as cash again. The longer the cycle, the more working capital a business of a given size has to carry.
## The formula, in three parts
Receivables days, plus inventory days, minus payables days. Each part is a count of days, and the three combine into the cycle.
| Part | What it measures | Effect on cash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Receivables days (+) | How long, on average, customers take to pay you after you invoice them. | Longer ties cash up for longer. |
| Inventory days (+) | How long stock sits before it is sold. | Longer ties cash up for longer. |
| Payables days (−) | How long you take to pay your own suppliers. | Longer frees cash up — your suppliers fund you for the period. |
Put together: **cash conversion cycle = receivables days + inventory days − payables days**. A service business that holds no stock simply drops the inventory term. The result is the number of days the company funds its own operation before the cash cycles back.
## A worked example
An illustrative trading company — figures invented to show the mechanics, not a real customer.
Picture an incorporated wholesaler. It buys stock, holds it for a while, sells on 30-day terms to trade customers, and pays its own suppliers on 30-day terms. Suppose the books show:
| Measure | Days |
| --- | --- |
| Inventory days — stock sits before it sells | 40 |
| Receivables days — customers take to pay | 45 |
| Payables days — the company takes to pay suppliers | 30 |
| **Cash conversion cycle** (40 + 45 − 30) | **55** |
The company funds 55 days of its own operation before the cash comes back. Now grow it. A larger order means more stock bought up front and a bigger receivable to wait on. The cycle stays at 55 days, but the pounds tied up in it rise. This is the awkward truth of profitable growth: **the faster the company grows, the more cash the cycle swallows** — even as the profit-and-loss account looks healthier than ever. A short, predictable shortfall opens up between paying out and being paid.
You can size that shortfall for your own company with the [working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/), and check how many weeks of cover you hold with the [cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/).
## Shortening the cycle first
Before funding the gap, see whether you can narrow it. Every day shaved is working capital released for free.
- **Reduce receivables days.** Invoice promptly, tighten terms, chase early, and make it easy to pay. Persistent late payers widen the gap — the [late-payment interest calculator](/calculators/late-payment-interest/) shows what that delay is worth.
- **Reduce inventory days.** Hold less stock, order more often, and clear slow-moving lines. Cash sitting on a shelf is cash not in the bank.
- **Lengthen payables days, carefully.** Agreed longer terms with a supplier free up cash — but stretching beyond what was agreed damages the trade-credit record covered in [building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/).
Operational tightening should always come first. But there is a floor: a viable business needs some stock and offers some terms, so the cycle rarely falls to zero. Past that floor, a genuine timing gap remains.
## Where a short company bridge fits
For a defined, short timing gap with a clear repayment date, a small fixed-term bridge is shaped to fit the cycle.
When the gap is the cash conversion cycle — a known amount, covering a known number of days, with money you can see arriving at the end — the shape of finance that matches is a short, fixed-term loan. You borrow the sum, cover the gap, and repay when the receivable lands. That is exactly what the Credicorp [Business Bridging Loan](/products/) is built for: £50–£500 over 14–84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee and the total cost capped at 100% of the principal. The borrower is the company, with no personal guarantee.
A bridge suits a one-off, time-limited gap. If the shortfall is instead a recurring rise and fall, a revolving facility may fit better; if it is a single supplier bill, instalments may be the cleaner answer. Matching the shape of the finance to the shape of the need is the whole subject of [choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/). What a bridge is not for is plugging a permanent, structural cash deficit — that is a profitability problem, and borrowing only postpones it.
## Where to go next
- [Working-capital gap calculator](/calculators/working-capital-gap/) — size the shortfall for your own company.
- [Choosing the right business finance](/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/) — match the shape of finance to the need.
- [Building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) and [Open Banking for business finance](/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/).
- [The Business Bridging Loan and the other products](/products/), and the [glossary](/glossary/).
[Size your working-capital gap →](/calculators/working-capital-gap/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: the-cost-of-credit-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/the-cost-of-credit-explained/
========================================================================
# The cost of credit, explained.
The cost of borrowing is not one number. It is interest, plus
fees, added together into a total — and on a short-term product
the headline rate tells you very little about what the company
actually pays. This guide separates the parts, shows what a 100%
cost cap fixes, and sets out how to compare the real pounds paid
rather than the rate on the page.
## Three numbers, not one
Interest, fees and total cost are distinct things. Confusing them is how borrowing gets misjudged.
When a director asks "what does this cost?", the honest answer
has three parts. There is the **interest** — a
charge that depends on how much is owed and for how long. There
are the **fees** — fixed charges that do not move
with time, such as a one-off establishment fee. And there is the
**total cost of credit** — interest and fees added
together, the single figure that actually leaves the company's
bank account on top of the amount borrowed.
The total is the number that matters. A product can carry a
low-looking rate and a heavy fee, or a higher rate and no fee at
all, and end up at the same total — or a very different one. You
cannot compare two offers on interest alone, and you cannot
compare them on fees alone. You compare them on the total cost of
credit, in pounds, over the same period.
## Interest: the charge for time
Interest grows with the amount owed and the days it is owed for. Repay sooner and it falls.
Interest is the price of holding someone else's money. On the
Credicorp [Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) it is
charged at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal; on
[Credicorp Flex](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) it is 0.25% per day on
the drawn balance only. Two things follow directly from that. The
more you owe, the more interest accrues each day. And the longer
the balance stays out, the more days of interest you pay.
Because interest tracks time, it rewards early repayment. Clear a
bridging loan in three weeks rather than the full term and you
pay three weeks of interest, not the full term's worth. This is
the mirror image of a flat fee, which does not move at all once
set — the contrast is the whole subject of
[early repayment and refunds](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/).
You can put your own figures through the
[bridging-loan cost calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/)
to see exactly how the days add up.
## Fees: the fixed charges
A fee is a set amount that does not change with time. It is part of the cost, not a footnote to it.
A fee is a fixed charge attached to the borrowing rather than to
the days it runs. On a Business Bridging Loan there is a one-off
£5 establishment fee; Credicorp Flex carries the same £5 fee on
the first drawdown. [Credicorp Slice](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) is
priced almost entirely as a fee: a flat 6% of the bill, charged
once, with no daily interest at all. A £600 bill carries a £36
fee, whether it is repaid over six weeks or eight.
The trap with fees is reading them as small print. A £5 fee on a
£50 loan is a tenth of the amount borrowed; the same £5 on a £500
loan barely registers. A flat percentage fee, meanwhile, is the
full cost on a product with no interest. Whichever shape the fee
takes, it belongs inside the total — never outside it.
## The anatomy of the total
Illustrative figures using the operator's published terms, repaid on schedule. The total cost of credit is interest plus fees — read that column, not the rate.
| Product | Amount | Over | Interest | Fee | Total cost of credit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bridging Loan | £300 | 30 days | £22.50 | £5.00 | **£27.50** |
| Bridging Loan | £500 | 60 days | £75.00 | £5.00 | **£80.00** |
| Credicorp Flex | £200 drawn | 20 days | £10.00 | £5.00 | **£15.00** |
| Credicorp Slice | £600 bill | 4 instalments | £0.00 | £36.00 | **£36.00** |
Read across each row and the structure is plain. On the loans the
cost is mostly interest, with a small fixed fee on top. On Slice
it is all fee and no interest. The total cost of credit — the last
column — is the figure to carry into any comparison, because it is
the figure the company actually pays.
Interest on the Loan and Flex is 0.25% per day on the outstanding or drawn balance; the £5 establishment fee is one-time. Slice is a 6% flat fee with no interest. Every product is capped so the total cost never exceeds 100% of the amount borrowed.
## The 100% cost cap, on top of it all
Whatever the interest and fees come to, the total can never pass the amount borrowed.
Every Credicorp product carries a hard ceiling: the total cost of
credit can never exceed 100% of the amount borrowed. Borrow £400
and the cost — interest, fee and any late charge added together —
can never top £400, so the most the company could ever repay is
£800. Once the running charges reach the amount borrowed, they
stop.
The cap is not the price. On a short product repaid on schedule
the real cost lands far below it — a few pounds or tens of pounds,
as the table above shows. The cap is the backstop for the day
something slips: a balance left out longer than planned, a missed
instalment, a delayed receipt. It bounds the worst case at a
figure you can read before you sign.
[Cost caps explained](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/cost-caps-explained/)
works through exactly what the cap covers and why it protects a
company borrower.
## Compare the pounds, not the rate
A headline rate is a poor guide on a loan that lasts weeks. The total in pounds, over the same period, is the honest comparison.
A rate is built for borrowing measured in years. Stretch it across
a loan that lasts a few weeks and it stops describing anything you
recognise: a cost of a few pounds can carry a startling-looking
annual percentage rate, and two products at the same APR can cost
wildly different amounts in cash. Why that happens — and how to
read an APR on a short term without being misled — is set out in
[flat fees versus APR](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/), with
the [flat-fee to APR converter](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/flat-fee-apr-converter/)
to do the sums.
For a short-term product the cleaner question is simpler. To
compare two offers fairly:
Done this way, the comparison is honest and the worst case is
knowable. A low rate hiding a heavy fee, or a high rate that
amounts to pennies, both show their true colours once you total
the pounds.
## Is the cost worth it?
Knowing the total is the start. The next question is whether the borrowing earns its keep.
A clear total cost lets a director answer the only question that
finally matters: does the borrowing pay for itself? If a £27.50
cost unlocks a contract, clears a supplier holding up delivery, or
avoids a far larger late-payment penalty, the credit has done its
job. If it merely postpones a shortfall that will return next
month, the cost buys nothing — and that is a profitability
problem, not a financing one.
Short-term business credit is not cheap relative to a business
overdraft, a card, or a longer-term loan, and the operator is
open about that. There is often a cheaper route, and weighing the
total cost against the alternatives is exactly the discipline of
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/)
and
[choosing the right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
A cost you have separated into its parts is a cost you can judge.
None of this is a regulatory floor. A cost cap and transparent
pricing are protections the operator chooses to give; body-corporate
lending sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, as set out in
[lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/) under
Article 60B of the FSMA RAO 2001. The clarity comes from the
product terms, not from the perimeter.
## Where to go next
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: the-key-information-sheet-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/the-key-information-sheet-explained/
========================================================================
# The Key Information Sheet, explained.
Before a company signs a loan agreement, a clear one-page summary of the deal is worth more than pages of dense terms. This guide explains what a Key Information Sheet is, why a plain pre-contract summary matters, and what a good one tells a director at a glance.
## What a Key Information Sheet is
A short, plain summary of the loan, given before the full agreement, so the headline terms are clear up front.
A **Key Information Sheet** — often shortened to KIS — is a brief, plain-language summary of a loan, set out before the full agreement. Its job is to put the things that matter most on a single page: who is lending, how much, what it costs, over what term, and what happens if something goes wrong. It is a companion to the loan agreement, not a replacement for it. The full, binding terms still live in the agreement itself — how to read which is covered in [reading a business loan agreement](/guides/reading-a-business-loan-agreement/).
The value of a summary like this is simple. A loan agreement is a contract, written to be precise, and precision can crowd out clarity. A director scanning a dense agreement can miss the figure that actually matters. A good pre-contract summary lifts the headline terms out of the small print so they can be checked in a minute, before time and effort are sunk into signing.
## What a good one sets out
A useful summary answers the questions a director would ask first — in plain figures, not jargon.
| It tells you | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| Who is lending and who is borrowing | Confirms the company is the borrower, named with its Companies House number. |
| The amount advanced | The principal the company receives. |
| The cost | Interest or fee, any establishment fee, and the total to repay in pounds. |
| The term and repayments | How long, and on what cadence the company repays. |
| Any cost cap | Whether total cost is capped — for example at 100% of the amount borrowed. |
| Security and guarantees | Whether any charge over company assets or personal guarantee is required. |
| Late and default charges | What a missed payment costs, and how those charges are capped. |
| Your right to withdraw | Any cooling-off or withdrawal window after signing. |
The point is that none of these should be a surprise discovered deep in the agreement. A summary that shows them plainly lets a director weigh the deal before committing, and tells you something reassuring about the lender: they are willing to state the terms simply rather than hide them.
## Why a clear summary matters
Clarity before contract is a sign of a lender that expects to be read, not skimmed.
A lender that puts its key terms in plain sight is making a statement about how it wants to do business. Short-term business credit is priced differently from a mortgage or a multi-year term loan, and the figures can look unfamiliar — which is exactly why a plain summary helps. The reasoning behind short-term pricing, with no invented rate, is set out in [how short-term business finance is priced](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced/), and the way a headline APR can mislead on a loan lasting weeks is in [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/).
The opposite is a warning sign. If the genuinely important terms — the total cost, a personal guarantee, an early-repayment penalty — are hard to find or absent from any summary, that is a reason to slow down. A clear pre-contract summary is part of what a borrower should look for in any offer, and it sits alongside the wider checks in [a borrower's due-diligence checklist before taking finance](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist/).
## How it works with Credicorp
When a Credicorp application is approved, the company is given a Key Information Sheet alongside the Business Loan Agreement before anything is signed. The agreement is between Credicorp Limited and the company. The borrower is the company; there is no personal guarantee, and no charge over company assets. Every product is bounded by a 100% cost cap, so the company's total exposure is fixed and knowable from the outset — the way that cap works is explained in [cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/).
The figures behind the summary are the operator's published terms: the [Business Bridging Loan](/products/) runs from £50 to £500 over 14 to 84 days at 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee. You can work through the cost for yourself before you ever see a sheet, using the [Bridging Loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/). Signing happens on the operator's site — the full walkthrough is at [credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/).
## Where to go next
- [Reading a business loan agreement](/guides/reading-a-business-loan-agreement/) — the full terms behind the summary
- [Cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) — how the 100% cap bounds total cost
- [Flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/) — reading the cost figure correctly
- [Early repayment and refunds](/guides/early-repayment-and-refunds/) — a term worth finding on the sheet
- [Bridging Loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) — work the figures yourself
- [A borrower's due-diligence checklist](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist/) — what to look for in any offer
[See how it works at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: trade-credit-and-supplier-terms — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/trade-credit-and-supplier-terms/
========================================================================
# Trade credit and supplier terms.
The cheapest finance most companies use is the one they rarely
think of as finance at all: the time a supplier gives you to
pay. This guide explains how trade credit works, how to
negotiate terms, what an early-settlement discount really costs,
and where a short company bridge complements supplier terms
rather than replacing them.
## Trade credit is finance you already use
When a supplier invoices on terms, they are lending you the value of the goods for the length of those terms — usually at no charge.
Trade credit is the gap between receiving goods or services and
paying for them. A supplier who invoices on 30-day terms has,
in effect, lent your company the value of that invoice for 30
days. No interest, no fee, no agreement to sign beyond the
purchase order itself. For most incorporated businesses it is by
some distance the largest single source of short-term funding on
the balance sheet, and it costs nothing while the terms are
honoured.
That is why supplier terms deserve to be managed as deliberately
as any borrowing facility. Every extra day of agreed terms is a
day your suppliers fund your operation rather than your bank. In
the language of the
[cash conversion cycle](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/),
supplier terms are the payables-days term — the one part of the
cycle that *frees* cash rather than tying it up. Lengthen
it, within what is agreed, and the working-capital gap narrows.
## How supplier terms are written
A handful of conventions cover most invoices. Knowing what each one means is the first step to negotiating it.
| Term | What it means | Effect on your cash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Payment on delivery | The invoice is due when the goods arrive. | No trade credit at all — your cash leaves immediately. |
| Net 30 / Net 60 | The full amount is due 30 or 60 days after the invoice date. | The supplier funds you for that window at no charge. |
| End of month (EOM) | Due a set number of days after the month-end in which you were invoiced. | Bills bunch to one date; can lengthen credit on early-month purchases. |
| 2/10 net 30 | A 2% discount if paid within 10 days; otherwise the full amount at 30 days. | A choice between a discount for paying early and keeping the cash longer. |
The first thing to establish on any new supplier relationship is
simply which of these applies. New companies are often quoted
payment-on-delivery or pro-forma terms until a track record
exists — a point covered in
[borrowing as a new company](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/borrowing-as-a-new-company/).
Earning standard terms is itself a form of credit-building.
## What an early-settlement discount really costs
A discount for paying early looks like free money. Turn it round, and it is the price of the credit you give up.
Take the common "2/10 net 30": a 2% discount for paying at day 10
instead of day 30. Pass up the discount and you keep the cash for
20 extra days, but you pay 2% more for the privilege. Annualise
that and the implied rate is high — roughly 2% over 20 days, which
scales to a figure well into the tens of percent across a year.
Read the other way, **taking** the discount is one of
the better uses of spare cash a company has, because the return is
fixed and certain.
The decision is not automatic, though. Taking every discount only
makes sense if the company has the cash to settle early without
creating a shortfall elsewhere. The illustrative figures below
show the trade-off both ways.
| Decision | On a £5,000 bill | What you gain | What you give up |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Take 2/10 | Pay £4,900 at day 10 | £100 saved | 20 days of held cash |
| Pay net 30 | Pay £5,000 at day 30 | 20 days of held cash | £100 discount |
Illustrative figures on a single £5,000 invoice under 2/10 net 30 terms. The right answer depends on whether the company can settle early without opening a gap somewhere else.
## Negotiating better terms
Terms are quoted, not fixed in law. A supplier who values the relationship will often move — if you ask in the right way.
There is a hard line between negotiating longer terms and simply
paying late. The first is good cash management. The second shows
up on your trade-payment record, can trigger statutory interest
under the
[Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/the-late-payment-act-explained)
when a counterparty does it to you, and erodes the goodwill that
earned you terms in the first place.
## Where a short bridge complements supplier terms
Trade credit is the first line of finance. A short bridge is for the moments it does not stretch far enough.
Supplier terms are powerful, but they are not infinite. A
supplier window of 30 days does not help if a confirmed customer
pays on day 50, and it does nothing for a supplier who insists on
payment up front. When the timing gap runs past what trade credit
covers — and there is identifiable money arriving to close it — a
small, fixed-term bridge fills the difference without straining the
supplier relationship.
That is the shape the Credicorp
[Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) is built for:
£50–£500 over 14–84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the
outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee and the
total cost capped at 100% of the principal. The company is the
borrower, with no personal guarantee. You bridge the gap supplier
terms leave open, pay the supplier on time, and repay the bridge
when the receivable lands. Two further routes sit alongside it:
| Situation | What fits |
| --- | --- |
| A confirmed sum, a known repayment date | A [Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-bridging-loans-explained/) — a single fixed-term advance. |
| A recurring rise and fall in the gap | A [revolving facility](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/revolving-credit-facilities-explained/) such as Credicorp Flex — draw, repay, redraw. |
| One specific supplier bill to spread | [Credicorp Slice](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/paying-suppliers-in-instalments/) — the supplier is paid today; you repay over a short plan. |
Note that Credicorp Slice and ordinary trade credit point the same
way — both let you pay a supplier over time — but Slice settles the
supplier in full today for a flat fee, where trade credit is the
free window the supplier grants directly. Matching the shape of
finance to the shape of the need is the subject of
[choosing the right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
## A free line of credit, with limits
Trade credit is cheap because it is unfunded goodwill. Treat it that way and it stays available.
The reason supplier terms cost nothing is that they rest on trust,
not on a priced facility. A supplier extends credit because they
expect to be paid on the agreed day, and they price that
expectation into a relationship rather than an interest charge.
Abuse it — by stretching unilaterally, paying late, or
disputing invoices to delay them — and the terms tighten or
vanish, often without warning. The most valuable thing a company
can do with trade credit is protect it.
Because the company is the borrower whenever it draws a Credicorp
product alongside its supplier terms, this is body-corporate
credit and sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime — see
[lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/).
Neither trade credit nor a short bridge fixes a permanent,
structural shortfall: that is a profitability question, and
borrowing only postpones it. The honest test for when borrowing is
the wrong answer is set out in
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/).
## Where to go next
[Size your working-capital gap →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/working-capital-gap/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: understanding-business-cashflow — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/understanding-business-cashflow/
========================================================================
# Understanding business cashflow.
Cashflow is the money actually moving through a company's bank
account — in from customers, out to suppliers, staff and the
taxman. It is not the same as profit, and the difference is what
catches healthy companies out. This guide sets out cash in versus
cash out, why profit is not cash, works a simple illustrative
example, and shows where short company finance fits.
## Cash in versus cash out
Cashflow is the timing of money moving through the bank account, not the value of the business it represents.
Every company runs on two streams. Cash comes in when a customer
actually pays — not when the sale is agreed, not when the invoice
is raised, but when the money lands. Cash goes out when the company
pays for the things it needs to trade: stock, wages, rent, fuel,
software, VAT and the rest. When more comes in than goes out over a
period, the balance rises. When more goes out than comes in, it
falls. That, in plain terms, is cashflow.
The trap is that these two streams rarely move in step. A company
usually has to pay for the work before it gets paid for the work.
Stock is bought weeks before it sells. Wages are due at the end of
the month whether or not the customer has paid. The order in which
money leaves and returns matters far more to day-to-day survival
than the totals over a year. A business can be heading for an
excellent year and still be unable to pay this Friday's wages.
## Why profit is not cash
Profit is recorded when you earn it. Cash exists only once you have been paid. The two run on different clocks.
Profit is an accounting measure. It records a sale the moment it is
made and a cost the moment it is incurred, regardless of whether
any money has changed hands. Cash is the literal balance in the
account. The two answer different questions: profit asks "is the
business worth doing?", cash asks "can the business pay its bills
this week?". A company needs a yes to both, and a yes to one does
not guarantee a yes to the other.
Several everyday things drive a wedge between the two:
None of these is a sign of a badly run company. They are the normal
mechanics of trading. But they explain why a profitable business can
run short of cash, and why watching the profit-and-loss account
alone will not tell a director when money is about to run tight. The
[cash conversion cycle](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/)
guide puts a number of days on exactly this gap.
## A simple worked example
An illustrative trading company — figures invented to show the mechanics, not a real customer.
Take an incorporated supplier that wins a single order. It buys
£2,000 of stock up front, pays £600 in wages while fulfilling the
work, then invoices the customer £4,000 on 30-day terms. On paper
the job is plainly profitable. Follow the cash through the month,
though, and a different picture appears.
| Point in the month | Cash in | Cash out | Running balance |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Start — opening balance | — | — | £900 |
| Buy stock for the order | — | £2,000 | −£1,100 |
| Pay wages on the job | — | £600 | −£1,700 |
| Invoice raised (£4,000, 30-day terms) | — | — | −£1,700 |
| Customer pays, 30 days later | £4,000 | — | **£2,300** |
The job earns a healthy £1,400 of profit (£4,000 less £2,600 of
cost), and the company ends the month £1,400 better off than it
started. Yet for most of that month the account is roughly £1,700
in the red. The profit was never in doubt; the **cash was
missing for the four weeks between paying out and being paid**.
A company without an £1,700 buffer cannot take that order on those
terms — not because it is unprofitable, but because it cannot fund
the gap in the middle.
That gap is a defined, short, self-clearing shortfall: a known
amount, covering a known number of days, with money you can see
arriving at the end. You can size the version of it your own
company carries with the
[working-capital gap calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/working-capital-gap/),
and check how many weeks of cover your balance gives you with the
[cashflow runway calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/cashflow-runway/).
## Managing the gap before funding it
Most cashflow pressure can be eased without borrowing at all. Tighten the timing before you reach for finance.
Operational tightening should always come first, and it costs
nothing. But there is a floor: a trading business needs some stock
and offers some terms, so the gap rarely closes to zero. Past that
floor, a genuine timing shortfall can remain even after everything
has been done well.
## Where short company finance fits
For a defined, short timing gap with a clear repayment date, a small fixed-term facility is shaped to fit.
When the shortfall is the timing gap in the worked example — a
known sum, covering a known number of days, with money arriving at
the end to clear it — the shape of finance that matches is short
and fixed-term. You borrow the amount, cover the gap, and repay
when the receivable lands. That is what the Credicorp
[Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) is built for:
£50–£500 over 14–84 days, priced at 0.25% per day on the
outstanding principal, with a one-off £5 establishment fee and the
total cost capped at 100% of the principal. The borrower is the
company, never the director, and no personal guarantee is taken.
A bridge suits a one-off, time-limited gap. If the cashflow
pressure is instead a recurring rise and fall, a revolving facility
such as [Credicorp Flex](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/products/) may fit better; if
it is a single supplier bill you want to spread, Credicorp Slice
splits a £50–£2,000 bill into three or four instalments over up to
eight weeks for a 6% flat fee. Matching the shape of the finance to
the shape of the need is the whole subject of
[choosing the right business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/choosing-the-right-business-finance/).
What none of these is for is a permanent, structural cash deficit —
where the company spends more than it earns, month after month, with
no event that closes the gap. That is a profitability problem, and
borrowing only postpones it. The honest test before taking any
short finance is in
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/).
This lending sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, under
Article 60B of the FSMA RAO 2001 — see
[lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/) for
what that means in practice.
## Where to go next
[Size your working-capital gap →](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/working-capital-gap/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: what-affects-a-lending-decision — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/what-affects-a-lending-decision/
========================================================================
# What affects a lending decision.
When an incorporated business applies for short-term credit, a
handful of factors carry the weight — affordability read from the
bank statements, the company's own credit record, and its trading
track record. Just as telling is what a careful lender leaves out.
This guide sets out what moves a company lending decision, and
what is deliberately ignored.
## The company is what is assessed
The borrower is the body corporate, not the director. That single fact shapes everything the decision looks at.
In body-corporate lending the company borrows in its own name. The
director signs on the company's behalf, but the obligation sits
with the business, and on Credicorp's products no personal
guarantee is taken. It follows that the assessment is about the
company — can *this business* afford to repay *this
amount* over *this term* — not about the personal
finances of the person filling in the form.
That is why a Credicorp decision runs no personal credit check on
the director. It is also why the factors below are all
company-level: how cash actually moves through the business, how
the company has handled credit before, and how long it has been
trading. The line between the company and the individual is the
subject of [personal
guarantees explained](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/); this guide takes that line as given and
looks at what is weighed on the company side of it.
## Affordability comes first
The single most important factor: does the cash flowing through the business comfortably cover the repayments?
Affordability is the question a responsible lender cares about most,
and it is answered from real money moving through a real account.
The clearest evidence is the last few months of business bank
statements — typically six — shared by read-only Open Banking or
uploaded as PDFs. The point is not a single closing balance on one
day. It is the pattern: regular income, the size and rhythm of
outgoings, how often the account runs close to its limit, and
whether there is genuine headroom left once the new repayments are
added on top.
Open Banking is read-only. It shows the lender the transaction
history; it never permits any movement of money out of the account.
What that data is, and what it is not, is covered in
[Open Banking
for business finance](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/). A lender reading statements well is
looking for a few things in particular:
| What the statements show | Why it matters to the decision |
| --- | --- |
| Regular trading income | Money coming in on a predictable rhythm suggests the repayments can be met from ordinary takings, not a one-off. |
| Headroom after costs | What is left once wages, rent, suppliers and tax are paid is the cushion the new repayment has to sit inside. |
| Returned payments or charges | Bounced direct debits or frequent unauthorised overdraft fees point to a stretched account. |
| Existing commitments | Other loans, finance agreements or recurring obligations already drawing on the same cash. |
You can model the same arithmetic before you apply. The
[cashflow runway
calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/cashflow-runway/) shows how many weeks of cover the business holds,
and the [bridging-loan
cost calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) shows the repayment the statements would need
to absorb. Sizing the gap you are actually trying to fund is the
job of the [working-capital
gap calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/working-capital-gap/).
## Business credit, not the director's
The company's own credit record — held by business bureaux — is a second pillar of the decision.
A UK company has a credit file of its own, separate from any held
by its director as an individual. It is built and scored by
business bureaux such as Experian Business, Creditsafe and Equifax
Business, and it draws on filings at Companies House, county court
judgments against the company, and the way the business has paid
its trade suppliers. A clean, up-to-date file says the company
meets its obligations; a thin or troubled one is a flag to look
closer. What a company score is — and what it is not — is set out
in [company
credit files and bureaux](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/company-credit-files-and-bureaux/).
Two practical points follow. First, the file is the company's, so
the director's personal score does not enter a Credicorp decision.
Second, a company can improve its own standing over time — filing
on time, paying suppliers to terms, keeping the public record
accurate. The how of that is the whole of
[building
business creditworthiness](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/). A standard anti-money-laundering and
sanctions check on the company and its director sits alongside the
credit screen as a matter of basic compliance.
## Trading track record
How long the company has traded, and how it has handled credit before, both carry weight.
A business that has been trading for a while leaves more evidence to
read. Several months of statements show a settled pattern rather
than a hopeful forecast, and a longer record at Companies House
gives the bureaux more to score. This is why a minimum trading
period — six months on Credicorp's products — is part of who can
apply at all. A brand-new company is not shut out of finance
generally, but it is assessed differently, as
[borrowing as a new
company](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/borrowing-as-a-new-company/) explains.
For a returning borrower, the strongest signal of all is the
company's own history with the lender. A clean record of
repayments made on time is direct evidence that this business does
what it agreed to do, and it counts as a clear positive. Track
record is the one factor an applicant builds simply by borrowing
well and repaying as promised.
## What is deliberately ignored
A careful decision is defined as much by what it leaves out as by what it weighs.
Some things that might seem relevant are kept out of the decision
on purpose. They are either unfair, unreliable, or simply not
evidence of whether a company can repay:
Leaving these out is not a courtesy; it is what keeps the decision
anchored to the only question that matters — whether the cash
moving through the company can comfortably carry the repayments.
## People, not just algorithms
Straightforward cases can be decided automatically; the rest are read by a person, and an automated decision can always be reviewed by one.
Putting the factors together is part automatic, part human. A
straightforward application can be decided in minutes, so a
same-day outcome is common. Cases that look unusual — signs of
hardship, or a pattern that does not fit for a returning customer —
are routed to a person from the start. And where a decision is
made by automated means, the applicant has a right under
[UK
GDPR Article 22](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/section/14) to ask for human review: the original outcome
is set aside, the file is read afresh by a member of the credit
team, and a new written decision is given.
None of this assessment happens on this brand site. The decision is
the operator's, made over at credicorp.co.uk. The fullest account
of how it is reached is the operator's own underwriting note at
[credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
That a lender weighs affordability over a single score is the wider
point made in [affordability
over algorithms](https://credicorp.co.uk/news/affordability-over-algorithms/).
## What to have ready
Knowing what moves the decision tells you what to prepare before you apply.
If affordability, business credit and track record are the factors
that count, the way to put a clean application forward follows
directly. Have the last six months of business bank statements to
hand, or be ready to connect read-only Open Banking. Make sure the
company's filings at Companies House are up to date and its public
record is accurate. And size the borrowing to the gap you are
genuinely funding — a sum the statements can clearly carry, over a
term that matches when the money comes back. Borrowing only what
the business can comfortably repay is the heart of
[avoiding
over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/), and reading the offer you are given closely is
the heart of [reading
a business loan agreement](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/reading-a-business-loan-agreement/).
## Where to go next
[Read how Credicorp lends at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/)
========================================================================
# GUIDE: what-lenders-look-for-in-bank-statements — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/what-lenders-look-for-in-bank-statements/
========================================================================
# What lenders look for in your bank statements.
When an incorporated business applies for short-term credit,
the single clearest piece of evidence is its bank statements.
Six months of them tell a lender how money moves through the
company — what comes in, what goes out, and how steady it is.
This guide sets out what a reader is looking for, and how to
present the statements so they read well.
## Why bank statements carry the weight
Accounts describe the past in summary; statements show the present, line by line.
Filed accounts at Companies House are useful, but they are
historic and high-level — a snapshot taken once a year, often
months out of date by the time anyone reads it. A company
credit file, covered in
[company credit files and the business bureaux](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/company-credit-files-and-bureaux/),
adds a bureau's view of trade-payment behaviour. Bank
statements do something neither can: they show the actual
rhythm of the business, transaction by transaction, right up
to last week.
That is why a lender asks for the last six months. Six months
is long enough to show a seasonal swing, a late-paying
customer, or a month where everything went out before anything
came in — and short enough to reflect how the company trades
now. The statements can be shared two ways: as PDFs downloaded
from your business banking, or through read-only
[Open Banking](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/open-banking-for-business-finance/),
which lets the lender view the data without taking login
details or moving any money.
## The three things a reader looks for
Turnover stability, existing commitments, and returned payments. Each answers a different question about whether the company can comfortably carry the borrowing.
| What is read | The question it answers | A good signal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Turnover stability | Does money come in reliably, month after month? | Regular credits from trading, broadly consistent in size and timing. |
| Existing commitments | What is already going out before the new repayment? | Outgoings that leave clear headroom over the trading income. |
| Returned payments | Does the account meet its obligations as they fall due? | Few or no unpaid items, reversals or failed Direct Debits. |
None of these is read in isolation. A reader builds a single
picture from all three, then weighs it against the size and
term of the borrowing being asked for. A modest, short request
against a steady account is an easy read; a large request
against a volatile one needs more.
## Turnover stability — the income side
Not the headline figure, but how regular and how durable it is.
A reader is less interested in one big month than in whether
income recurs. Regular credits from named trading
customers — invoices settled, card-machine takings, platform
payouts — describe a business that earns. A single large credit
with no pattern around it raises a question rather than
answering one: where did it come from, and will it happen
again?
Seasonality is not a problem in itself, provided it is visible
and explainable. A business that earns in bursts and spends all
year is a recognised shape, covered in
[business finance for seasonal trade](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/business-finance-for-seasonal-trade/);
what matters is that the statements show the pattern clearly
enough for a reader to see the trough as well as the peak. What
does count against an application is income that is falling
month on month with no recovery, or trading credits that have
thinned out toward the end of the six months.
One practical note: a reader can tell genuine trading income
from money simply moving between the company's own accounts, or
from a director topping the account up. Those transfers are not
turnover, and dressing them up as such does not help — they are
easy to spot and undermine the rest of the picture.
## Existing commitments — the outgoing side
What the company is already paying out tells a reader how much room is left for one more repayment.
Statements reveal the regular outgoings a set of accounts
tends to smooth over: existing loan repayments, finance and
lease instalments, card settlements, rent, payroll, tax, and
recurring supplier Direct Debits. A reader adds these up to see
what the account already carries, then checks whether the
trading income comfortably covers it — with headroom to spare
for the new repayment being requested.
Other short-term loan repayments are read with particular
care. One existing facility, serviced cleanly, is ordinary. A
stack of them, especially several taken in quick succession,
can read as a company leaning on borrowing to meet borrowing —
one of the warning signs set out in
[avoiding over-borrowing](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/guides/avoiding-over-borrowing/).
The point of the affordability read is not to find a reason to
decline; it is to make sure the new repayment fits without
tipping the account into difficulty. You can pressure-test your
own headroom with the
[cashflow runway calculator](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/calculators/cashflow-runway/)
before you apply.
## Returned payments and the danger signs
A handful of items carry more weight than the rest of the page.
Some entries on a statement are read as direct evidence of
strain. A reader looks for:
None of these is automatically fatal. A single returned Direct
Debit six months ago, against an otherwise healthy account, is
noise. A run of them in the most recent weeks is a different
matter. What a reader weighs is the pattern and the recency:
isolated and old is forgivable, repeated and recent is not. If
the statements do show a difficult patch, it is far better to
say so in the application than to hope it goes unnoticed — a
reader who finds an unexplained problem assumes the worst,
while a reader given the context can judge it fairly.
## How to present your statements well
The figures are what they are, but how you supply them changes how quickly and fairly they read.
## Where the statements sit in the decision
One important input among several — and read by a person, not just a score.
Bank statements are the affordability backbone of an
application, but they are not the whole of it. At Credicorp
Limited the read on the statements sits alongside a business
credit check at the company bureaux, a standard
anti-money-laundering and sanctions check, and — for returning
borrowers — the company's own repayment history. There is no
personal credit check on the director. The full method is set
out in the operator's underwriting note at
[credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/).
Straightforward applications can be decided automatically
within minutes, but the statements are read with a person's
judgement on anything that looks unusual, and you keep the
right to ask for human review of an automated decision under
[UK GDPR Article 22](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/section/14).
Because the company is the borrower and no personal guarantee
is taken, the statements are read to gauge the company's
capacity to repay — not to test the director personally. This
is body-corporate lending, outside the FCA consumer-credit
regime, as explained in
[lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/).
## Where to go next
[Apply for a Business Bridging Loan at credicorp.co.uk →](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
========================================================================
# ARTICLES: Index — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/
========================================================================
# Brand and trade-mark milestones.
Reverse-chronological. Each piece is a primary-source write-up of a specific event — a trade-mark filing, a coexistence agreement, a publication in the Trade Marks Journal — with links back to the original public registers.
## [Late payment of commercial debts: your statutory rights, explained](/articles/the-late-payment-act-explained)
When a business customer pays late, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives you statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate plus fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100. An educational explainer of the rights and figures.
## [Choosing between Credicorp Flex and a Business Bridging Loan](/articles/choosing-between-flex-and-a-bridging-loan)
A fixed lump sum or a revolving line? The Credicorp Business Bridging Loan and Credicorp Flex compared side by side — how each is structured, when each fits, and a plain comparison table to help directors choose.
## [The cashflow gap, by industry: why funding needs differ by sector](/articles/the-cashflow-gap-by-industry)
A company's working-capital gap is shaped by its sector — how it gets paid, how it buys stock, how seasonal its trade is. Marking the new Creditcorp industry guides, this explains why the cashflow gap differs across retail, hospitality, construction, logistics and professional services — and what that means for the funding a business actually needs.
## [The Creditcorp brand transition: a dated, sourced record](/articles/the-creditcorp-brand-transition)
The authoritative corporate-record account of the Creditcorp brand transition — the registered Credicorp mark (UK00004156742), the pending Creditcorp mark (UK00004379570, CM Beyer Limited, published 15 May 2026), the 30 April 2026 coexistence agreement, both marks in active use within one group, and the operating lender continuing at credicorp.co.uk for now.
## [When not to borrow: signs a short-term loan is the wrong answer](/articles/when-not-to-borrow)
An honest, non-promotional look at the situations where a short-term loan will not help — structural shortfalls, no repayment source, borrowing to repay borrowing — and the cheaper or better options to reach for instead.
## [How a lender assesses whether a company can afford to repay](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability)
How a lender works out whether an incorporated business can afford to repay — bank statements, Open Banking, business credit and track record — and why people, not just algorithms, make the call, with a right to human review under UK GDPR Article 22.
## [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
Working capital finance and a term loan solve different problems. A plain-English comparison of the two — what each is for, where short-term working capital actually fits, and a simple test for matching the shape of the borrowing to the shape of the need.
## [A director’s loan vs the company borrowing in its own name](/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing)
A director’s loan and the company borrowing externally are not the same thing. The difference, the general tax and accounting flags to take to your accountant, and why external company credit can be the cleaner route.
## [The true cost of a short-term business loan, line by line](/articles/the-true-cost-of-a-short-term-loan)
Interest, fee, total — and a 100% cost cap. The true cost of a short-term business loan broken down line by line, and why a headline APR misleads on a loan that lasts weeks rather than years.
## [Understanding business credit scores: what a company score is and isn’t](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores)
A company credit score is not a director’s personal score. What a UK business score is, which bureaux produce them, what data feeds a company score, and how it differs from the score a director holds as an individual.
## [What counts as a “business purpose” when a company borrows](/articles/what-counts-as-a-business-purpose)
When a company borrows, the money must serve the business. Why the purpose matters, examples of qualifying business uses, and the company-as-borrower line that keeps the lending outside the consumer-credit regime.
## [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
Credicorp lends to UK incorporated businesses only — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. The company is the borrower, not a director or a sole trader. Why that perimeter exists, what a body corporate is in law, and what it means for who can and cannot apply.
## [DRS 29140 decided: creditcorp.co.uk transferred to Credicorp Limited](/articles/drs-29140-decision-creditcorp-co-uk-transferred)
A Nominet independent expert granted a summary decision in DRS 29140 — rights established, creditcorp.co.uk found to be an abusive registration. The domain has been transferred to Credicorp Limited. Decision dated 2 June 2026; transfer completed 17 June 2026.
## [Retentions, WIP and staged payments: the construction cashflow trap](/articles/construction-retentions-cashflow)
Construction firms can be busy and profitable on paper yet run out of cash. Retentions hold back a slice of every payment for a year or more, work-in-progress forces you to fund the build before you can bill it, and staged payments delay each bill once raised. How the trap works, why it bites incorporated contractors hardest, and where a short, no-personal-guarantee bridge fits.
## [Seasonal businesses and the working-capital cycle](/articles/seasonal-business-working-capital)
Hospitality, retail and agriculture earn in bursts but spend all year. How the seasonal working-capital cycle works, why the trough — not the peak — is the dangerous part, and where a short, company-level bridge fits or does not.
## [How short-term business finance is priced, in plain English](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced)
Short-term business credit is not priced like a mortgage or a multi-year SME term loan. This explainer walks through the real cost drivers — fixed origination work, the cost of money, default risk, term length and the regulatory perimeter — without quoting any specific rate. For live figures, ask the operator.
## [The UK SME funding landscape in 2026](/articles/uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026)
A map of how UK small businesses fund themselves in 2026 — banks, the alternative-finance market, cards and overdrafts, invoice and asset finance — and where a small, short-term, body-corporate-only lender like Credicorp Limited actually sits within it.
## [A borrower’s due-diligence checklist before taking finance](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist)
The borrower-side companion to verifying a lender: a four-part checklist a UK company can run on a prospective lender before signing — who you are dealing with, what you are actually signing, how the money behaves over the term, and how the relationship ends.
## [E-commerce and inventory finance: buying ahead of demand](/articles/ecommerce-inventory-finance)
Online retailers pay for stock weeks before the sales arrive. A sector explainer on the cash-conversion cycle behind inventory finance, why growth widens the gap, the pre-peak squeeze, and where small, short-term, body-corporate-only working capital from Credicorp Limited actually fits.
## [The Creditcorp group at a glance: who does what](/articles/creditcorp-group-at-a-glance)
A plain-English recap of the group structure: Credicorp Limited is the operating lender at credicorp.co.uk and holds the registered Credicorp mark; CM Beyer Limited holds the new Creditcorp brand and trade-mark application. Two UK companies, one shared sole director — and a simple rule for where to go.
## [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer for directors](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
A more detailed walk through Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001 and what it means in practice when your company borrows from a body-corporate-only lender — what protections do and do not apply, and how to evaluate an offer.
## [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
A personal guarantee turns a company debt into a personal debt. Credicorp does not take one. Here is what that means for directors, and how it relates to the body-corporate-only lending position.
## [How to verify a UK business lender in five minutes](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes)
A short, repeatable due-diligence routine for any UK business-credit offer — Companies House, UKIPO, FCA register, and the structural questions that matter. Worked on Credicorp Limited as the example.
## [Reading the coexistence agreement: a non-lawyer's guide](/articles/reading-the-coexistence-agreement)
A clause-group-by-clause-group tour of the Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement between Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited — what it does, why each section is there, and what it does not do.
## [Other Credicorp and Creditcorp companies on UK Companies House — and what makes ours different](/articles/other-credicorp-companies)
If you searched for "Credicorp" or "Creditcorp" and landed here, there are at least four other UK-registered companies with similar names. This piece lists them, links to each Companies House record, and explains how to tell which is ours.
## [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
The operator lists nine alternatives borrowers should check before applying for a Credicorp loan. This is the longer-form version of why each one is on the list, and what kind of borrower each is right for.
## [DRS 29140 update: no response received; case may go to an independent expert](/articles/drs-29140-no-response-received)
As of 26 May 2026 the registrant of creditcorp.co.uk had not responded to the Nominet DRS complaint. With no response, mediation is unavailable and the complaint can be referred to an independent expert. Procedure only; the case is ongoing.
## [Creditcorp wordmark published in Trade Marks Journal 2026/020](/articles/creditcorp-application-published)
The UK Intellectual Property Office published the CM Beyer Limited application for the new Creditcorp wordmark on 15 May 2026. The two-month opposition window closes around 15 July 2026.
## [Nominet DRS complaint filed over the creditcorp.co.uk domain](/articles/drs-complaint-filed-creditcorp-co-uk)
Credicorp Limited has asked Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service to transfer the creditcorp.co.uk domain (reference DRS 29140). A neutral, factual record of the filing and the procedure that follows.
## [Credicorp signs mutual coexistence agreement with sister company CM Beyer, clearing path for new Creditcorp wordmark](/articles/coexistence-agreement)
Two related UK companies under common directorship confirm full cross-licensing of the Credicorp and Creditcorp trade marks; brand refresh under way.
Active operator news lives separately on the operator site at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) (the operator runs a newsroom of its own).
========================================================================
# ARTICLE: alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first
========================================================================
# The alternatives we recommend you check before applying
The operator's own product page at [credicorp.co.uk/business-loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/) lists nine alternatives a director should consider before applying for a Credicorp loan. The reasoning is plain: Credicorp's products are useful for a specific job — a small, short, urgent business-credit need with no personal guarantee — and for most other needs, there is a cheaper option. This piece is the longer-form version of why each one is on the list.
## 1. A business overdraft
A pre-arranged overdraft on a business current account. Typically priced at **6–15% a year** (per the operator's own framing). If your company has one set up — or your bank will set one up — an overdraft is almost always cheaper than a Credicorp loan for any short-term cash-flow gap. The trade-off: most UK high-street banks don't offer business overdrafts to very small or very new companies, and the application is slower than a Credicorp application.
## 2. A business credit card
Revolving credit on a card account. Typically priced at **12–25% a year** if you pay in full each month or pay only the minimum on a part-amortising balance. Useful for inventory purchases, supplier deposits and trade with major-brand counterparties. Not useful when you need cash in the business bank account.
## 3. Invoice finance
Selling (factoring) or borrowing against (invoice discounting) unpaid invoices. The lender typically advances **70–90% of the invoice within a day**, collects the invoice from the buyer, and pays the rest minus a fee on receipt. Good for businesses with large invoices to creditworthy buyers and a slow payment cycle. Not useful if you don't yet have unpaid invoices to use as collateral.
## 4. Asset finance
Financing against business assets — equipment, vans, machinery. Two main flavours: hire-purchase (you own at the end) and finance lease (you don't). Useful for capital purchases. Not useful for working capital.
## 5. A grant
Non-repayable money. UK government and devolved-government grant schemes change frequently; the [gov.uk Business Finance Support Finder](https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support) is the canonical place to start. Eligibility is usually narrow (sector, region, R&D, decarbonisation, etc.), but if you are eligible, a grant beats every other form of finance.
## 6. A Start Up Loan
A British Business Bank scheme for new companies (typically under three years old). Personal loan to the founder, fixed rate, repayable over 1–5 years. Up to £25,000. Available via partners such as [startuploans.co.uk](https://www.startuploans.co.uk/). Good for early-stage businesses where the funding need is larger than Credicorp can do and the founder is willing to borrow personally. Note: a Start Up Loan is a *personal* loan, not a body-corporate loan; the founder is on the agreement.
## 7. A larger SME loan from a mainstream lender
If you need £5,000 or more, the operator recommends checking mainstream UK SME lenders first. The three the operator names by example are:
- [iwoca](https://www.iwoca.co.uk/) — up to £1m; terms 1–5 years; representative APR around 49%; UK Ltd and LLP borrowers; FCA-registered for payment services (not for consumer credit).
- [Cubefunder](https://www.cubefunder.com/) — small-business loans up to ~£100,000; short to mid terms.
- [Funding Circle](https://www.fundingcircle.com/uk/) — up to £500,000; 6 months to 6 years; marketplace lender backed by institutional capital.
Larger SME loans almost always require a personal guarantee, especially under £100,000. That's a real cost to weigh up — see our [explainer on personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees).
## 8. A director's loan
You lend money from your own savings into the company. Properly documented (date, amount, interest rate if any, repayment terms), it's a clean and cheap way to fund a short-term gap if you have the personal savings to spare. The HMRC rules for director's loans are specific — interest, benefit-in-kind treatment if interest-free, the s.455 corporation-tax charge if the loan goes the other way (company to director) and isn't repaid within nine months. Worth a quick conversation with the company's accountant.
## 9. Asking a customer to pay early
Sometimes the cheapest move of all. A polite "we have a cash-flow gap this week, would early settlement of invoice N save us both time" with a small discount on offer (1–2% off for paying ten days early) is a faster solve than any lender, and the cost (the discount) is usually less than a short-term loan would charge.
## When Credicorp is the right answer
The honest answer from the operator's own product page is: "You need a small amount in the company account in the next few hours, you can repay within a few weeks, and you do not want a personal guarantee on your home. If that is you, we are built to move quickly. If it is not, almost any option above will cost you less."
In other words: a Credicorp loan is right for the specific intersection of (small, short, urgent, no PG). Everything else has a cheaper route.
## Related
- [Products at Credicorp Limited](/products/)
- [Operator's business-loan page (with the same alternatives list)](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
- [Operator's product comparison (Loan, Flex and Slice)](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Resources — SME credit references](/resources/)
========================================================================
# ARTICLE: borrower-due-diligence-checklist — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist
========================================================================
# A borrower’s due-diligence checklist before taking finance
Most of what is written about due diligence in business lending is written from the lender’s side: how a lender checks a borrower, what underwriting looks at, which boxes get ticked before money goes out. A [companion piece on this site](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes) covers the fast version of the reverse — how to confirm a lender is who it says it is. This is the longer, borrower-side checklist: the questions a UK company’s director or finance lead should be able to answer about a prospective lender *before* signing, not after the first repayment goes wrong.
It is structured as four groups, because that is roughly the order in which problems show up: who you are dealing with, what you are actually signing, how the money behaves over the term, and how the relationship ends. None of this is legal advice. It is the shape of a sensible internal review.
## 1. Who you are dealing with
Identity first. Before the commercial terms matter at all, you want to know the legal entity on the other side of the contract is real, traceable, and the same entity that will appear on the agreement.
- **Find the registered company.** A UK lender should give you a company name and number you can look up on [Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/). Confirm it is active, not dissolved or in liquidation, and that the name on the website matches the name that will be on the loan agreement. A trading name that does not resolve to a registered entity is a reason to slow down.
- **Check who owns and runs it.** The officers and persons-with-significant-control filings tell you who is behind the business. Recent incorporation is not in itself a problem — plenty of legitimate lenders are young — but it is a fact to weigh alongside everything else.
- **Match the brand to the entity.** Group structures are normal. Where a brand and an operating company differ, the lender should be able to explain the relationship plainly. This site exists partly to do exactly that for the Creditcorp family — the [companies page](/companies/) sets out which entity does what, and the operating lender is [Credicorp Limited](/companies/credicorp-limited/).
- **Confirm the regulatory position, and why.** Whether a lender is FCA-authorised depends on what it lends and to whom. Lending to incorporated businesses can sit outside the consumer-credit regime by design — see our [lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/). The point is not “authorised good, unauthorised bad”; it is that the lender should be able to state its position and the reason for it.
## 2. What you are actually signing
The headline number on a finance offer is rarely the whole price, and the agreement — not the marketing page — is what binds you. Read the document you will sign, in full, before you sign it.
- **Who is the borrower?** For a business loan to an incorporated company, the borrower should be the company. If the paperwork quietly makes a director a co-borrower, that is a materially different deal — you are no longer borrowing behind the limited-liability shield.
- **Is there a personal guarantee?** A personal guarantee turns a company debt into a personal one. Many lenders require one; some do not. Know which you are being asked to sign and what it would expose. We set out the reasoning in [why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees).
- **What is the total cost, expressed in money?** Ask for the all-in cost of the facility as a cash figure for a representative scenario, not only a rate. Fees, charges and any caps should be visible before signing, not discovered on the first statement.
- **What protections actually apply?** Outside the consumer-credit regime, some statutory protections do not attach to a business borrower. Our [longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime) walks through which do and do not — useful for setting realistic expectations rather than assuming consumer-style cover.
## 3. How the money behaves over the term
A loan is not a single event; it is a relationship that runs for the length of the term. Two facilities with the same headline price can behave very differently month to month. Diligence here is about understanding the mechanics before you are inside them.
- **How does cost accrue?** Fixed for the term, or per interval? On a revolving facility, charges may accrue per drawing or per period. Ask the lender to show you a worked example over the actual term you expect to use, not a best-case snapshot.
- **What happens if you repay early?** Some facilities reward early repayment; some carry an early-repayment charge. Either can be reasonable — but you should know which applies before you plan around it.
- **What does a missed or late payment trigger?** Know the default interest, charges and the timeline before you ever need them. A lender that explains its arrears process up front, including any hardship or flexibility options, is giving you information you can use.
- **How will you be contacted, and can you change it?** Communication cadence and channels are part of the product. Check what you are opting into and what control you keep over it.
## 4. How the relationship ends
The last group is the one borrowers think about least and regret most: what the exit looks like, in both the good and the bad case.
- **Settlement on completion.** When the company has repaid, what closes the account, and what confirmation do you get? A clean settlement statement is worth asking about at the start.
- **Recovery on default.** If the company cannot pay, what is the lender’s recovery route? Against company assets only, or — where a personal guarantee exists — against an individual too? This is where group one (who you are dealing with) and group two (what you signed) meet.
- **Complaints and escalation.** Know how to raise a concern and where it goes if you are not satisfied. The route may differ from the consumer Financial Ombudsman path; our [glossary](/glossary/) defines the relevant terms.
- **Data, after the loan.** Ask what happens to your company’s data and any open-banking access once the facility ends. A lender should be able to answer plainly.
## Run it on us
The best test of a checklist is to point it at the lender you are reading it on. Credicorp Limited is a registered UK company (16093826) you can verify on Companies House; it lends to incorporated UK businesses, not to individuals or sole traders; the company is the borrower and there is no personal guarantee; the regulatory position and the reason for it are [set out in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/); and the operator publishes a list of [alternatives it recommends you check first](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first). You do not have to take any of that on trust — that is the whole point of running the checklist.
When you are ready to look at the actual products and pricing, those live on the operating lender’s site: [what Credicorp offers](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/) and [how it lends](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-we-lend/). Company, legal and trade-mark detail stays here on the group site.
## Related
- [How to verify a UK business lender in five minutes](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Operator: what we offer](https://credicorp.co.uk/what-we-offer/)
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# ARTICLE: choosing-between-flex-and-a-bridging-loan — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/choosing-between-flex-and-a-bridging-loan
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# Choosing between Credicorp Flex and a Business Bridging Loan
Two of Credicorp Limited’s products solve adjacent problems in different shapes. The Business Bridging Loan is a fixed sum, taken in one go and repaid over a set short term. Credicorp Flex is a revolving line you draw against as you need it. Both are for incorporated UK businesses, both are small and short-dated by design, and both come with no personal guarantee. The choice between them is not about which is better — it is about which shape fits the need. This piece compares the two side by side so a director can decide.
## The Business Bridging Loan: a fixed sum, once
The bridging loan is the classic one-off. The company borrows a fixed amount — £50 to £500 — over a fixed term of 14 to 84 days, at 0.25% per day on the principal, with a one-time £5 fee. You know on day one exactly what you owe and when. It suits a single, defined need with a clear repayment date: a confirmed order to fund, a supplier bill to settle, a specific gap to bridge that closes when a named payment lands. You take it, use it, repay it, and you are done. There is no standing line left open afterward.
## Credicorp Flex: a line you draw against
Flex is the revolving alternative. Rather than a single lump sum, the company has a limit — £50 to £500 — and draws against it as the need arises. Interest is 0.25% per day on the drawn balance only, so you pay for what you have actually taken, not the whole limit. There is a £5 fee on the first drawdown, and the facility runs on a 14-day cycle with a minimum repayment each cycle of 10% of the drawn balance or £20, whichever is greater. It suits a recurring or unpredictable pattern — a series of small gaps over time rather than one defined one — where having a line to dip into beats arranging a fresh loan each time.
## Side by side
| | Business Bridging Loan | Credicorp Flex |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shape | Fixed lump sum, taken once | Revolving line, drawn as needed |
| Amount | £50–£500 | £50–£500 limit |
| Interest | 0.25%/day on principal | 0.25%/day on drawn balance |
| Fee | £5 one-time | £5 on first drawdown |
| Term / cycle | 14–84 days, fixed | 14-day cycle, revolving |
| Minimum repayment | Per the fixed term | 10% of drawn or £20 per cycle, whichever is greater |
| Cost cap | 100% of principal | 100% of principal |
| Personal guarantee | None | None |
| Best for | One defined gap, known repayment date | Recurring, unpredictable small gaps |
Both share the same hard ceiling: the total cost of credit is capped at 100% of the principal, so the company never repays more than double what it borrowed. Neither takes a [personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), so the company is the borrower in both cases — consistent with the [incorporated-only lending model](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending).
## Which fits — a short way to decide
The deciding question is the shape of the need, not the amount. Ask: *is this one defined gap, or a pattern of small ones?* If you can name a single sum and a single repayment date — fund this order, settle this bill, bridge to this invoice — the fixed-sum bridging loan is the clean fit. If instead you face a run of small, hard-to-predict gaps over weeks, and the cost of arranging a fresh loan each time outweighs the convenience, a line you can draw against is the better shape, and you only pay interest on what you draw. The [working-capital-versus-term-loan piece](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan) covers the same matching logic at the level of finance families.
## The honest summary
A Business Bridging Loan is a fixed sum for one defined gap; Credicorp Flex is a revolving line for a pattern of small ones. Both are small, short-dated, capped at 100% of principal, and free of personal guarantees. The right choice follows from the shape of the need — one sum and one repayment date points to the bridge, a recurring series of small draws points to Flex. For the full product detail, eligibility and a three-way comparison that adds Credicorp Slice, the operator’s pages are the place to confirm before applying.
## Related
- [Products at Credicorp Limited — the bridging loan, Flex and Slice](/products/)
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [The true cost of a short-term business loan, line by line](/articles/the-true-cost-of-a-short-term-loan)
- [Compare the products side by side (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/)
- [Apply or see live pricing at Credicorp Limited (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: coexistence-agreement — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/coexistence-agreement
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# Credicorp signs mutual coexistence agreement with sister company CM Beyer, clearing path for new Creditcorp wordmark
Two related UK companies under common directorship have today signed a written agreement governing the parallel use of their respective trade marks.
**Credicorp Limited** (Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)), which holds the registered **Credicorp** wordmark ([UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742), Classes 36 and 45, registered 23 May 2025), and **CM Beyer Limited** (Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)), applicant for the new **Creditcorp** wordmark ([UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570), Classes 35 and 36, filed 28 April 2026), have entered into a mutual coexistence, consent and licensing agreement.
## What the agreement does
The agreement records the consent of each company to the other's trade mark, sets out how the two marks may be used in parallel, and identifies a single UK IPO representative for both parties. The two companies are under common directorship — they share a single sole director — and the agreement reflects the established operating reality that the two marks belong to one corporate group.
Key facts:
- **Title:** Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement
- **Parties:** Credicorp Limited (owner of Credicorp) and CM Beyer Limited (applicant for Creditcorp)
- **Signed:** 30 April 2026
- **Governing law:** English law
- **UK IPO representative for both parties:** Trama Legal s.r.o., 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom, identified in clause 16.2 of the agreement
[Download the agreement (PDF) →](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
## What changes for customers and partners
Nothing changes operationally. Credicorp Limited continues to operate as the UK business lender at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/), with the same products, the same agreements, and the same direct-lender model. The agreement is a brand and intellectual-property step, not a service change.
The new Creditcorp wordmark is the public face of the wider **Creditcorp Group** brand identity at creditcorpgroup.co.uk. The existing Credicorp wordmark continues exactly as before.
## Application Published — pending registration
The Creditcorp application was filed with the UK Intellectual Property Office on 28 April 2026 — two days before the coexistence agreement was signed — and was published in Trade Marks Journal 2026/020 on 15 May 2026. The two-month opposition window closes around **15 July 2026** (extendable to around 15 August 2026 by a TM7A). After the window closes without opposition, the IPO proceeds to registration.
Until that happens, the brand site and the operator site refer to Creditcorp as **"filed"** or **"pending registration"**, not "registered".
## Verifiable sources
- [Credicorp Limited at Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)
- [CM Beyer Limited at Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)
- [Credicorp trade mark UK00004156742 at UKIPO](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742)
- [Creditcorp trade mark UK00004379570 at UKIPO](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570)
- [The coexistence agreement (PDF)](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
[Read the full trade-marks page →](/trade-marks/)
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# ARTICLE: companies-house-filing-and-deadlines — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/companies-house-filing-and-deadlines
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# Companies House filing deadlines every director should know
Running a company brings a handful of filing obligations to Companies House that do not go away and do not move just because the business is busy. Miss them and the costs are real: automatic penalties, a public mark on the company’s record, and in the worst case the company being struck off. Hit them cleanly and you build something quietly valuable — a tidy public record that lenders and counterparties read as a sign of a well-run business. This is a plain-English run through the main deadlines and why they matter. It is general information; for your company’s specific dates and duties, check the record and take your own professional advice.
## Annual accounts
Every company must prepare and file annual accounts. The filing deadline runs from the company’s accounting reference date — the end of its financial year. For an established private company, accounts are generally due at Companies House within nine months of that year-end. A brand-new company’s first set runs on a longer clock, because its first accounting period is usually longer than a year. The format depends on the size of the company: smaller companies can often file simpler accounts, while larger ones file in full. Your accountant will know which regime applies.
Accounts are also filed with HMRC as part of the company’s tax return, on a separate timetable. The two are related but not the same deadline, and it is easy to satisfy one and forget the other. Keeping a single calendar of every obligation — Companies House and HMRC — is the simplest way to avoid a slip.
## The confirmation statement
Separately from accounts, every company must file a **confirmation statement** at least once a year. This is the filing that confirms the information on the public register is still correct: registered office, directors, share capital, shareholders and the persons with significant control. It does not restate the company’s finances; it confirms the company’s details. If nothing has changed you confirm that; if something has, you update it. There is a window after the statement’s review date in which to file, and the obligation recurs every year whether or not anything has moved.
## The consequences of filing late
Late accounts trigger an **automatic civil penalty** that rises with the length of the delay, and the penalty doubles if accounts are filed late two years running. The penalty is on the company, it is not discretionary, and pleading that the business was busy does not remove it. Persistent failure to file is more serious still: it can lead to the registrar striking the company off the register and to action against the directors. A director who repeatedly fails to file is not meeting a basic statutory duty.
Beyond the penalty, there is a reputational cost. A late-filing marker, an overdue accounts flag, or a company in “proposal to strike off” status all sit on the public record for anyone to see. That includes anyone deciding whether to extend credit, supply on terms, or do business at all.
## Why a clean filing record helps your credit standing
Here is the part that connects directly to borrowing. When a lender or a credit bureau assesses a company, the Companies House record is one of the first things they look at. Up-to-date accounts, an on-time confirmation statement, and no overdue or strike-off markers all read as signs of a business that is in control of its affairs. The opposite — overdue accounts, a lapsed confirmation statement — reads as risk, regardless of how the business is actually trading.
A clean record is one of the cheapest things a company can do to improve how it is seen by anyone extending credit. Our guide to [building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/) puts on-time filing near the top of the list for exactly this reason, and our explainer on [business credit scores](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores) shows how filing data feeds the score a company carries. When Credicorp assesses an incorporated borrower, the public record is part of the picture — another reason [we lend to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending): the borrower is verifiable on a public register in a way a sole trader is not.
## A simple routine that keeps you clear
Most filing trouble comes from dates being forgotten, not from anything hard. Three habits prevent almost all of it. First, put the accounts deadline, the confirmation-statement date and the HMRC dates in one shared calendar with reminders well ahead of each. Second, keep the registered office and the PSC details current as they change, rather than fixing everything in a panic at confirmation time. Third, file early — the deadline is a limit, not a target, and filing with weeks to spare leaves room for the inevitable query. None of this needs a finance team; it needs a calendar and a habit.
## The honest summary
The two recurring Companies House obligations every director should hold in mind are the annual accounts and the confirmation statement, each on its own clock. Filing late brings automatic, rising penalties and a public mark on the record; persistent failure can cost the company its place on the register. A clean filing history, by contrast, is a quiet asset — it tells lenders, suppliers and counterparties that the company is well run, and it feeds directly into how creditworthy the business looks. The dates are knowable and the routine is simple. For your company’s exact deadlines, check the record and take your own professional advice.
## Related
- [Guide: building business creditworthiness](/guides/building-business-creditworthiness/)
- [Understanding business credit scores](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores)
- [The PSC register explained: who controls a company](/articles/the-psc-register-explained)
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: construction-retentions-cashflow — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/construction-retentions-cashflow
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# Retentions, WIP and staged payments: the construction cashflow trap
Construction is one of the few sectors where a company can be fully booked, profitable on paper, and still unable to make payroll. The reason is structural, not managerial. The way construction work is priced, certified and paid for builds a long, predictable gap between doing the work and being paid for it — and three mechanisms in particular do most of the damage: **retentions**, **work in progress**, and **staged payments**. This is how the trap is laid, why it bites incorporated contractors and subcontractors hardest, and where short-term business credit does and does not help.
## Retentions: money you have earned but cannot touch
A retention is a slice of each payment — commonly around 3–5% — that the client or main contractor holds back as security against defects. Half is typically released at practical completion; the other half only after the defects-liability period ends, which can be twelve months or longer after you have left site. The work is done. The money is earned. It is simply not yours to spend yet.
On a single small job the retained sum is a rounding error. Across a full order book it is not. A subcontractor running several contracts at once can have a meaningful share of a year's margin sitting in other people's bank accounts, drip- released over eighteen months, some of it contested at the end, some of it never recovered because the holder of the retention has itself become insolvent. Retention money is the most profitable revenue you will wait longest to see — and the revenue most likely to evaporate.
## Work in progress: the cost you carry before you invoice
Work in progress (WIP) is everything you have already spent on a job that you have not yet been able to bill. Materials bought and fixed. Wages paid to the gang on site. Plant hire running by the week. Under most construction contracts you cannot invoice for that work until it has been measured and certified — and certification runs on the client's calendar, not yours.
So the firm funds the build out of its own pocket first. Suppliers want paying on thirty-day terms. The PAYE bill and pension contributions fall due monthly regardless of whether a single valuation has been certified. The further ahead of your billing your spending runs, the larger the hole — and growth makes it worse, because winning a bigger job means carrying a bigger WIP balance before the first payment ever arrives. This is the precise mechanism behind the grim industry truism that contractors go bust on the way up, not the way down.
## Staged payments: the gap between value earned and cash received
Most construction contracts pay in stages: interim valuations at set intervals, a payment-due date, then a final payment date some days after that. Even when everyone behaves and the Construction Act timetable is followed, weeks pass between doing the work and seeing the cash. When the chain misbehaves — a valuation disputed, a pay-less notice served, a main contractor stretching its own suppliers — the gap widens further, and it widens furthest at the bottom of the chain, where the smaller subcontractors sit.
Stack the three mechanisms together and the shape of the trap is clear. Retentions hold back a slice of everything for a year or more. WIP forces you to fund the build before you can bill it. Staged payments delay each bill once it is finally raised. A firm can be winning work, delivering it well, and showing a healthy profit and loss — while its bank balance tells a story of chronic, structural shortage.
## Why incorporated contractors feel it most
A limited company carries fixed obligations that do not wait for a certificate. PAYE and pension contributions are due monthly. VAT, even under the domestic reverse charge, still has to be administered and reconciled. Corporation tax falls due on profits the company may not yet have collected in cash. Plant and finance instalments run on their own schedule. None of those creditors care that valuation four has not been certified.
This is exactly the territory a short, sharp business facility is built for: not to fund a loss, but to bridge a timing gap that you can already see on the certificate. The company is the borrower — not the director personally — and at Credicorp there is [no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), which matters in a sector where directors are routinely asked to put their homes on the line for a cashflow gap that is the contract’s fault, not theirs. Because this is lending to an incorporated business and not to a consumer, it sits [outside the consumer-credit regime](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime); our [lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/) sets out exactly what that does and does not mean.
## Using credit without papering over a real problem
Short-term credit is a bridge, not a cure. It earns its place when the cash is genuinely coming — a certified valuation, a retention with a known release date, an agreed final account — and you simply need to cover wages, materials or the PAYE bill until it lands. It is the wrong tool for a job that is loss-making, a client who is not going to pay, or a retention that is being disputed on its merits. Borrowing against money that may never arrive only deepens the hole.
The disciplined approach is to price the timing gap before you need it: know your retention release dates, track WIP against your billing, and forecast the certification calendar so a short bridge is a planned decision rather than a panic on the 25th. The most resilient construction firms are not the ones that never have a cashflow gap — that gap is baked into the sector — they are the ones that see it coming and have a plan to cross it. If a Credicorp facility is part of that plan, the operator’s [construction industry page](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/construction/) sets out eligibility and pricing, and you can [start an application](https://credicorp.co.uk/apply/) when the timing gap is the only thing standing between earned revenue and cash in the account.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Construction lending on the operator site](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/construction/)
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# ARTICLE: creditcorp-application-published — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/creditcorp-application-published
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# Creditcorp wordmark published in Trade Marks Journal 2026/020
The UK Intellectual Property Office today published the **CM Beyer Limited** application for the new **Creditcorp** wordmark in **Trade Marks Journal 2026/020**.
The application — number [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570), filed 28 April 2026 in Classes 35 and 36 — has been moved by the IPO to the **"Application Published"** stage. This means the IPO has accepted the application as meeting the formal requirements for registration, and has put it before the public for the two-month opposition window.
## What "Application Published" means
The two-month opposition window opens on the date of first publication — **15 May 2026**. During the window, any party that believes the application conflicts with its own prior rights can file an opposition with the IPO.
The window can be extended once, to three months, by a notice of threatened opposition (form TM7A) filed within the first two months. So:
- **15 July 2026** — earliest possible date the window closes without a TM7A.
- **15 August 2026** — latest possible date if a TM7A is filed in the first two months.
If the window closes without an opposition being filed (or any opposition is unsuccessful), the IPO proceeds to register the mark and issue a registration certificate.
## How Creditcorp coexists with Credicorp
The existing **Credicorp** wordmark ([UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742), Classes 36 and 45) is owned by Credicorp Limited and is registered. CM Beyer Limited is the applicant for the new mark.
The two companies — Credicorp Limited (Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)) and CM Beyer Limited (Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)) — are under common directorship and operate the coexistence of the two marks under a written agreement signed 30 April 2026, two days before the Creditcorp application was filed. Trama Legal s.r.o. is identified as the parties' UK IPO representative in clause 16.2 of that agreement.
[Read the full coexistence-agreement article →](/articles/coexistence-agreement)
## Until registration completes
Until the IPO issues a registration certificate for Creditcorp, copy on the Creditcorp Group brand site and on the operator's customer site refers to the mark as **"filed"** or **"pending registration"**, not "registered". The existing Credicorp mark continues exactly as before — registered, renewable on 6 February 2035.
## Verifiable sources
- [Creditcorp at UKIPO — UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570)
- [Credicorp at UKIPO — UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742)
- [CM Beyer Limited at Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)
- [Credicorp Limited at Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)
- [The coexistence agreement (PDF)](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
- [Trade marks page on this site](/trade-marks/)
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# ARTICLE: creditcorp-group-at-a-glance — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/creditcorp-group-at-a-glance
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# The Creditcorp group at a glance: who does what
If you have arrived here from a loan agreement, a trade-mark notice, or a search for “Credicorp” or “Creditcorp”, the structure can look more complicated than it is. There are two UK companies, one operating brand you already know, and one new brand being introduced. This is the short, factual recap of who does what — written so a director, a journalist, or a curious customer can get the whole picture in a couple of minutes.
## Two companies, one director, one group
The Creditcorp group is made up of two UK private companies under common directorship — the two share a single sole director. Neither is a subsidiary of the other in any operating sense; they are sister companies that divide one job in two. One company lends. The other holds the brand and the new trade mark. Keeping those two functions in separate legal persons is deliberate: the lending book and the brand estate have different risks, different counterparties, and different reasons to exist.
- **Credicorp Limited** — Companies House 16093826, incorporated 21 November 2024. The *operating lender*. It writes the loans, holds the customer relationships, and trades at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/). It also holds the registered *Credicorp* trade mark.
- **CM Beyer Limited** — Companies House 17009212, incorporated 3 February 2026. The *brand and trade-mark holder*. It is the applicant for the new *Creditcorp* wordmark and the publisher of this group site. It does not lend, hold customer accounts, or take applications.
You can verify both on the public register: see our [companies index](/companies/), or go straight to the [Credicorp Limited](/companies/credicorp-limited/) and [CM Beyer Limited](/companies/cm-beyer-limited/) profile pages, each of which links out to its Companies House record.
## Credicorp Limited lends — everything you actually do happens here
Credicorp Limited is the operating company, and it is the only one of the two that touches money. Every product, application, account, statement and payment lives on the operator site at credicorp.co.uk. If you are a borrower, this is the company you have a contract with.
The lending model is narrow and specific, and worth stating plainly because it shapes everything else. Credicorp is an exempt *business* lender to *incorporated* UK businesses only — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. The company is the borrower, not the director and not a sole trader. There is no personal guarantee. Because the borrower is a body corporate rather than an individual, the lending sits outside the FCA’s consumer-credit regime — this is not consumer credit. We explain that perimeter in full on the [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) page and in the longer-form [incorporated-only explainer](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending).
What sits on the operator side, not here:
- Applying for a loan or facility — [business loans](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/) and [apply](https://credicorp.co.uk/apply/).
- The three products — the bridging loan, [Credicorp Flex](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-credit-facility/) and [Credicorp Slice](https://credicorp.co.uk/credicorp-slice/).
- The customer portal, statements, payments and hardship support.
- Underwriting, affordability checks and the lending decision.
## CM Beyer Limited holds the brand and the marks
CM Beyer Limited is the brand-stewardship company. It exists to hold and protect the group’s brand estate and to publish this site. It is named after the group’s holding arrangement rather than after any product, which is why the company name does not say “Credicorp” on the tin.
Two trade marks sit across the group, and the split mirrors the company split:
- **Credicorp** — UK00004156742, registered 23 May 2025, Classes 36 and 45. Held by **Credicorp Limited**, the operating lender.
- **Creditcorp** — UK00004379570, application published 15 May 2026, Classes 35 and 36. Filed by **CM Beyer Limited**. The two-month opposition window closes around 15 July 2026.
The two marks are licensed to coexist. On 30 April 2026 the two companies signed a Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement, which cross-licenses the marks so both can be used in active trade within one group. We walk through that document, clause group by clause group, in [reading the coexistence agreement](/articles/reading-the-coexistence-agreement), and the corporate-record account of the whole transition is in [the Creditcorp brand transition](/articles/the-creditcorp-brand-transition). The full picture, with the register links, lives on the [trade marks](/trade-marks/) page.
## So which name is which, and where does it point?
Both spellings are correct; they are distinguished by role and domain, not by being right or wrong. *Credicorp* is the operating lender and its mark, live today at credicorp.co.uk. *Creditcorp* is the newer group brand, held by CM Beyer Limited, which this site introduces. The operating lender continues to trade as Credicorp at credicorp.co.uk for now; if that ever changes for customers, the operator says it will tell them directly first.
A simple rule of thumb for where to go:
- **Want to borrow, apply, pay, or manage an account?** That is the operator — [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).
- **Want the company facts, the trade-mark detail, or the legal record?** That stays here on the group site — [companies](/companies/), [trade marks](/trade-marks/), [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/).
For transparency, there is also a related Australian company, Credicorp Pty Limited (ACN 679 428 605). It is mentioned in our records for completeness and is a separate entity from the two UK companies described above. Several unrelated UK companies share similar names too — we list and disambiguate them in [other Credicorp and Creditcorp companies](/articles/other-credicorp-companies).
## Why split it this way
Holding the brand apart from the lending book is ordinary, prudent structure. It keeps the trade-mark estate from being entangled with the operating risks of a lender, gives the group a clean place to develop the new Creditcorp identity, and makes the public record easy to read: one company to look at if your question is about a loan, one company to look at if your question is about a name. Nothing about the split changes a single customer’s account or agreement — those all remain with Credicorp Limited at the operator site.
## Related
- [Companies — the two UK entities, with Companies House links](/companies/)
- [Trade marks — Credicorp (registered) and Creditcorp (pending)](/trade-marks/)
- [The Creditcorp brand transition: a dated, sourced record](/articles/the-creditcorp-brand-transition)
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [About Credicorp Limited — the operating lender](https://credicorp.co.uk/about-us/)
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# ARTICLE: directors-duties-and-borrowing — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/directors-duties-and-borrowing
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# A director’s duties when the company takes on debt
When a company borrows, it is the directors who make the decision — and they make it as directors, not as private individuals. That distinction carries a set of legal duties. The Companies Act 2006 codifies the general duties a director owes to the company, and several of them bear directly on a borrowing decision: the duty to act within powers, to promote the success of the company, and to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence. This piece sets out how those general duties apply when debt is on the table. It is general information, not legal advice; for a specific decision, take advice that looks at your company’s circumstances.
## The general duties, in outline
The Companies Act 2006 sets out the general duties of directors. In broad terms a director must act within their powers; promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole; exercise independent judgement; exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence; avoid conflicts of interest; not accept benefits from third parties; and declare any interest in a proposed transaction. These duties are owed to the company itself. They apply to everyday decisions, and a decision to take on debt is squarely one of them.
## Act within powers
A director must act in accordance with the company’s constitution and only exercise powers for the purposes for which they are conferred. For borrowing, this means checking that the company actually has the power to borrow and to grant whatever the lender asks for, and that the directors have the authority to commit the company to it. Most modern companies have wide powers, but the articles can contain limits, and some decisions may need board approval recorded properly or, in some cases, shareholder involvement. Signing first and checking later is the wrong order.
## Promote the success of the company
The duty to promote the success of the company asks a director to act in the way they consider, in good faith, most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole — while having regard to a list of wider factors such as the likely long-term consequences, the interests of employees, relationships with suppliers and customers, and the company’s reputation. Applied to borrowing, the question is not simply “can we get the money?” but “is taking on this debt, on these terms, the right thing for the company?” A short, well-matched facility that bridges a genuine gap can clearly serve the company’s success; borrowing that papers over a structural problem may not.
## Exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence
This duty sets the standard expected of the decision-making itself. A director must exercise the care, skill and diligence that would be exercised by a reasonably diligent person with both the general knowledge and experience reasonably expected of a director, and the actual knowledge and experience that the particular director has. In practice that means doing the work: understanding what the company is signing, reading the cost in pounds rather than guessing at it, checking the company can afford the repayments out of realistic cashflow, and considering the alternatives. Our [borrower’s due-diligence checklist](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist) and the [finance calculators](/calculators/) are there to support exactly that kind of careful work before a commitment is made.
## When the company is in difficulty
The general duties are framed around the company’s members, but it is widely understood that, as a company approaches insolvency, directors must have proper regard to the interests of its creditors. The closer a company is to financial distress, the more weight that consideration carries. This is a point where general reading stops being enough: if a company is struggling to meet its debts, the duties around continuing to trade and taking on further obligations become genuinely consequential, and a director should take professional advice promptly rather than pressing on. Our piece on [what happens if a company can’t repay](/articles/what-happens-if-a-company-cannot-repay) covers the practical side of talking to a lender early.
## How this connects to who the borrower is
These duties exist because the company is a separate legal person and the director acts on its behalf. When an incorporated business borrows from Credicorp, the agreement is with the company; a director signs in that capacity, not personally, and Credicorp [takes no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees). That keeps the borrower-status clean: the company is the borrower, the director is the steward of the decision, and the lending sits [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/lending-and-regulation/) under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order precisely because the borrower is a body corporate. Discharging your duties well — deciding within your powers, in good faith, with care — is how you make sure a company decision stays a company decision.
## The honest summary
A borrowing decision is a directors’ decision, governed by the general duties in the Companies Act 2006. Act within the company’s powers; take the decision in good faith and for the company’s benefit, with the wider consequences in mind; and do the work a reasonably diligent director would do before committing. Where the company is in financial difficulty, the interests of creditors come sharply into view and advice should follow quickly. None of this is meant to make borrowing frightening — it is meant to make it considered. For any specific decision, take advice that looks at your own company.
## Related
- [A borrower’s due-diligence checklist before taking finance](/articles/borrower-due-diligence-checklist)
- [What happens if a company can’t repay a business loan](/articles/what-happens-if-a-company-cannot-repay)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Business finance calculators](/calculators/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing
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# A director’s loan vs the company borrowing in its own name
When a company is short of cash, a director has two broad routes to fill the gap: put their own money in — a director’s loan — or have the company borrow externally in its own name. They look similar from the outside, because in both cases money arrives in the company account. They are not the same thing, and the difference has consequences for tax, accounting and the cleanliness of the company’s position. This piece sets out the distinction in plain terms. It is general information, not advice: the specifics turn on your company’s circumstances, and the right person to ask is your own accountant.
## The two routes, side by side
**A director’s loan** is money that moves between the director and the company personally. It runs through the *director’s loan account* — the running record of what the company owes the director, or the director owes the company. When a director lends their own cash to the company, the company owes them back; when a director takes money out that is not salary, dividend or a legitimate expense, they owe the company. Either way it is a personal-to-company transaction, and the director is on both sides of it.
**The company borrowing in its own name** is an external facility: the company is the borrower, a third-party lender is the creditor, and the director is not personally a party to the debt at all. The money is the company’s liability, repaid from the company’s account, and recorded as company borrowing. Nothing flows through the director’s personal finances unless a separate arrangement — such as a personal guarantee — is bolted on.
## The tax and accounting flags — in general terms
Here is where the routes genuinely diverge, and where you should involve your accountant rather than rely on a web page. A director’s loan account carries tax and reporting consequences that external borrowing simply does not. As general flags, not advice:
- **An overdrawn director’s loan account can trigger a company tax charge.** If a director owes the company money and it is not repaid within a set period after the company’s year end, a charge can fall due. The detail, the rate and the timing are matters for your accountant.
- **It can create a benefit-in-kind.** A loan from the company to a director above a threshold, at a low or nil interest rate, can be treated as a taxable benefit, with reporting obligations attached.
- **It has to be recorded and disclosed.** The director’s loan account is a real ledger that the company’s accounts must reflect, and balances can be disclosable. It is not informal cash that sits outside the books.
- **External company borrowing is, by contrast, straightforward to account for.** It is a company liability with interest as a company cost. There is no director’s-loan-account machinery to manage, because the director is not in the transaction.
None of this is a reason to avoid a director’s loan — they are a perfectly normal feature of running a company, and sometimes the obvious answer. The point is only that they carry moving parts that external borrowing does not, and those parts have to be handled correctly. **Take your own accountant’s advice before relying on any of this for a real decision.**
## Why external company credit can be cleaner
Set the tax detail aside and there is a structural argument for the company borrowing in its own name when the need is genuinely the company’s. It keeps the two sets of finances apart. The company’s cash need is met by company borrowing, recorded as company borrowing, repaid from company income — and the director’s personal balance sheet is left out of it. That separation is the whole point of incorporating in the first place: the company is a [separate legal person](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending), and external credit lets it act like one.
It is cleaner in a second sense too, when the lender does not take a personal guarantee. Credicorp [does not take one](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), so a company facility stays a company liability rather than quietly becoming a personal one. That keeps the line between the director and the company intact — the opposite of a director’s loan, which is by definition a personal-to-company entanglement. For directors weighing the trade-off, the operator’s [guide to personal guarantees](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/) explains why that separation is worth protecting.
## Which one fits — a short way to think about it
Two honest questions sort most cases. First: *whose money is this really?* If a director is genuinely putting their own capital into the business, that is a director’s loan and should be recorded as one. If the company needs outside funding to bridge a trading gap, external company borrowing is the natural shape, and it must be for a [genuine business purpose](/articles/what-counts-as-a-business-purpose). Second: *do you want the director’s personal finances in this or out of it?* A director’s loan puts them in. A no-guarantee company facility keeps them out.
## The honest summary
A director’s loan is a personal-to-company transaction with tax and accounting machinery attached; the company borrowing in its own name is an external liability that keeps the director out of the debt. Both are legitimate, and the right choice depends on whose money it is and whether you want the two balance sheets entangled or apart. Where the need is the company’s, external credit — especially without a personal guarantee — tends to be the cleaner route. But the tax and accounting specifics are not ours to give: take them to your own accountant before you act.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [What counts as a “business purpose” when a company borrows](/articles/what-counts-as-a-business-purpose)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Guide: personal guarantees explained (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: drs-29140-decision-creditcorp-co-uk-transferred — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/drs-29140-decision-creditcorp-co-uk-transferred
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# DRS 29140 decided: creditcorp.co.uk transferred to Credicorp Limited
**DRS 29140**, the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service complaint concerning the `creditcorp.co.uk` domain, has been decided. An independent expert granted a summary decision in favour of **Credicorp Limited**, and the domain has now been transferred to the company. This page records the outcome and links to the source documents.
## The decision
With no response filed by the registrant, the complaint was referred to an independent expert for a summary decision under the [DRS Policy](https://www.nominet.uk/domains/uk-domain-disputes/) (see the earlier [no-response update](/articles/drs-29140-no-response-received)). The expert found, to the required standard, that:
- **Rights:** the complainant has rights in a name or mark identical or similar to the domain — *established*.
- **Abusive registration:** the domain `creditcorp.co.uk` is an abusive registration in the hands of the respondent — *established*.
- **Other factors:** no other factors made a summary decision unconscionable in the circumstances.
The expert granted the complainant's application for a summary decision and, in accordance with section 12 of the Policy, directed that the domain be transferred to the complainant. The decision is dated **2 June 2026**.
## The transfer
On **17 June 2026**, Nominet confirmed that the registration of `creditcorp.co.uk` had been transferred to Credicorp Limited as a result of the expert decision, and that the DRS case file was closed. `creditcorp.co.uk` now sits within the group alongside the operator domain [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).
## Which domain this is — and what changes
For the avoidance of doubt: `creditcorp.co.uk` is the domain that was in dispute. It is a separate name from this brand site, which runs on `creditcorpgroup.co.uk` and `creditcorp.uk`, and from the operating lender's customer site [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/). Nothing about where customers go changes: active services remain on [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/). The outcome simply brings the previously third-party-held `creditcorp.co.uk` name under the group's control.
## Sources
- Nominet DRS 29140 — summary decision of the independent expert, dated 2 June 2026.
- [Nominet — UK domain disputes (DRS), policy and procedure](https://www.nominet.uk/domains/uk-domain-disputes/)
- [DRS 29140 — the original filing record](/articles/drs-complaint-filed-creditcorp-co-uk)
- [DRS 29140 — no response received](/articles/drs-29140-no-response-received)
- [Group timeline](/timeline/)
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# ARTICLE: drs-29140-no-response-received — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/drs-29140-no-response-received
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# DRS 29140 update: no response received
A procedural update on **DRS 29140**, the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service complaint concerning the `creditcorp.co.uk` domain (see the [filing record](/articles/drs-complaint-filed-creditcorp-co-uk)). As of **26 May 2026**, the registrant had not filed a response by the deadline.
## What "no response" means under the DRS
Nominet's process offers free mediation only where the registrant responds. With no response by the deadline, mediation is not available. The complainant then has the option to pay a fee for an **independent expert** to review the complaint and decide it against the published [DRS Policy](https://www.nominet.uk/domains/uk-domain-disputes/):
- **Summary decision** — £200 + VAT; the expert confirms whether rights and abusive registration are made out.
- **Full decision** — £750 + VAT; the expert sets out the contentions, the accepted facts, the reasoning and the decision.
A decision under the DRS applies to the registrant whether or not they responded. All Nominet decisions are published on Nominet's website once issued.
## Status
**Update (17 June 2026):** this case has since been decided. An independent expert granted a summary decision in favour of Credicorp Limited, and `creditcorp.co.uk` has been transferred to the company. [Read the decision write-up →](/articles/drs-29140-decision-creditcorp-co-uk-transferred)
This page records procedure only; we did not comment on the merits while the case was open. The outcome is now recorded on the [decision page](/articles/drs-29140-decision-creditcorp-co-uk-transferred) and the [group timeline](/timeline/).
## Sources
- [Nominet — UK domain disputes (DRS), policy and procedure](https://www.nominet.uk/domains/uk-domain-disputes/)
- [DRS 29140 — the original filing record](/articles/drs-complaint-filed-creditcorp-co-uk)
- [Group timeline](/timeline/)
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# ARTICLE: drs-complaint-filed-creditcorp-co-uk — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/drs-complaint-filed-creditcorp-co-uk
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# Nominet DRS complaint filed over the creditcorp.co.uk domain
A complaint has been filed with **Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service (DRS)** concerning the domain name `creditcorp.co.uk`. The case reference is **DRS 29140**. This is a factual record of the filing and the procedure that follows; the case is ongoing.
## What was filed
- **Service:** Nominet Dispute Resolution Service (DRS), the standard process for `.uk` domain disputes.
- **Reference:** DRS 29140.
- **Domain in dispute:** `creditcorp.co.uk`.
- **Complainant:** Credicorp Limited (Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)), proprietor of the registered **Credicorp** trade mark ([UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742)).
- **Outcome requested:** transfer of the domain to the complainant.
- **Notified:** 30 April 2026, with a response window for the registrant.
## Which domain this is about
To avoid confusion: `creditcorp.co.uk` is **not** this website, and not the operator's customer site. This brand site runs on `creditcorpgroup.co.uk` and `creditcorp.uk`; the operating lender's customer site is [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/). DRS 29140 concerns the separate `creditcorp.co.uk` domain only.
## What happens next
Under the DRS, the registrant is given a window to respond to the complaint. If a response is filed, Nominet offers free mediation. If the parties do not settle, or no response is filed, the complainant may pay a fee to have an independent expert decide the case against the published [DRS Policy](https://www.nominet.uk/domains/uk-domain-disputes/). We will record the procedural outcome here as it happens, without commenting on the merits while the case is open.
## Sources
- [Nominet — UK domain disputes (DRS)](https://www.nominet.uk/domains/uk-domain-disputes/)
- [Credicorp trade mark at the UK IPO — UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742)
- [Credicorp Limited at Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)
- [Group timeline](/timeline/) · [DRS 29140 — no response](/articles/drs-29140-no-response-received) · [DRS 29140 — decided, domain transferred](/articles/drs-29140-decision-creditcorp-co-uk-transferred)
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# ARTICLE: ecommerce-inventory-finance — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/ecommerce-inventory-finance
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# E-commerce and inventory finance: buying ahead of demand
Almost every e-commerce business has the same structural problem: it pays for stock before it sells it, often weeks before. A supplier wants a deposit on the purchase order and the balance on shipment. The container then sits on the water, clears customs, lands in a warehouse, and only *after* all of that does the revenue start arriving — one order at a time, net of the marketplace fee and the card fee. The gap between paying out and being paid is where inventory finance lives.
This is a sector piece, not a product pitch. It explains the cash-flow mechanics behind buying ahead of demand, where a small, short-term, body-corporate-only facility actually fits, and how an online retailer should think about sizing and timing the borrowing. It does not quote rates or terms — for live figures the operator is the place to ask.
## The cash-conversion cycle, in retail terms
The number that matters for an inventory-led business is the cash-conversion cycle: how many days your money is tied up in stock and unpaid sales before it comes back as cash. Roughly, it is the time stock sits before it sells, plus the time customers (or marketplaces) take to pay you, minus the time your suppliers give you to pay them.
For a pure e-commerce seller the customer pays at checkout, so the receivables side is short. The pressure is almost entirely on the inventory side. A 60-day lead time from a manufacturer, plus 30–45 days of stock on the shelf before it sells through, can mean three months of capital locked up in goods before a single sale lands. If the supplier wants payment up front, that whole period is funded out of the company's own cash.
The healthier that cycle, the less external finance you need. The way to shorten it is rarely glamorous — negotiate supplier terms, order in tighter batches, kill slow-moving SKUs — but there is a floor below which a growing business simply cannot self-fund the next purchase order. That floor is where short-term finance does real work.
## Why growth makes the gap worse, not better
It is counter-intuitive, but a profitable, fast-growing online store is often more cash-stretched than a flat one. Each reorder is larger than the last. You are buying the next, bigger batch out of the proceeds of the smaller batch that came before it — and the proceeds always arrive too late and too thin to cover the next order in full. Growth pulls cash *out* of the business even while the profit and loss looks strong.
This is the classic reason an otherwise sound retailer reaches for working capital: not to cover losses, but to bridge the timing gap so the next purchase order can go in on schedule. The distinction matters. Finance used to buy stock that will predictably sell is a different proposition from finance used to plug a hole. The first is a timing tool; the second is a warning sign.
## Seasonality and the pre-peak squeeze
Most online retail has a peak — the fourth-quarter gift season, a summer surge, a back-to-school window, a single product launch. The cruel arithmetic of a peak is that the stock has to be paid for at the trough. To sell through November and December, the orders go in around August and September, and the supplier expects paying long before the peak revenue arrives.
A business that under-buys ahead of its peak leaves margin on the table and risks going out of stock at the worst possible moment. A business that over-buys ties up cash in goods that discount down in January. Short, well-timed finance lets a retailer commit to the right inventory level for the peak without betting the whole bank balance on the forecast — and then repay as the peak sales convert to cash. The key is that the borrowing is matched to a specific, time-boxed purchase, not left open-endedly.
## Where a small, short-term facility fits
Credicorp Limited — the operating lender in this group — lends small, short-term, body-corporate-only working capital. It is not the answer for every inventory need. A large container order financed over many months is a job for invoice or asset finance, a trade-finance line, or a longer SME term loan. A small top-up to get a specific reorder over the line, repaid as that batch sells through, is exactly the shape this product fits.
Two features matter for an e-commerce borrower in particular:
- **The company is the borrower.** Credicorp lends to UK incorporated businesses — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs — with no personal guarantee. The director is not personally on the hook for a stock purchase the company made. We explain the reasoning in [why we do not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees).
- **It sits outside the consumer-credit regime.** Because the borrower is a body corporate, the lending falls outside the FCA's consumer-credit rules — see [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/). That changes which protections apply, which is worth understanding before you borrow as a company rather than as an individual.
The trade-off is the one common to all short-term credit: small limits and short terms mean the price reflects the speed and the risk. It is a bridge across a timing gap, not a cheap long-term funding line. Sized and timed well — against a reorder you are confident will sell — it does a specific job. Used to fund stock that may not move, it just moves the problem forward.
## A simple test before you borrow against stock
Three questions separate a sensible inventory advance from a risky one:
- **Will this specific stock sell, and when?** Past sell-through on the same or similar SKUs is the best evidence. If you cannot point to it, you are forecasting, not financing.
- **Does the repayment line up with the sales?** The term should be matched to how long the batch realistically takes to convert to cash — with headroom, not on the optimistic case.
- **Is the cost covered by the margin on the goods?** The finance cost is only worth it if the inventory it buys earns more than the borrowing costs. For a thin-margin category, the maths gets tight quickly.
If all three answers are clean, short-term finance is doing what it is for: letting a viable business buy ahead of demand it can see coming. If any answer is shaky, the honest move is to buy less stock, not borrow more.
## Related
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [How short-term business finance is priced, in plain English](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [E-commerce sector page at Credicorp Limited](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/ecommerce/)
- [Apply or see the operator product page](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: funding-a-vat-or-tax-bill — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/funding-a-vat-or-tax-bill
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# Funding a VAT or tax bill without raiding working capital
A VAT or tax bill is the most predictable shock a company faces. You know it is coming, you know roughly what it will be, and yet it still lands as a lump that the current account feels. The trouble is not that the bill is a surprise — it is that it bunches a quarter’s or a year’s liability into one date, often just as other outgoings fall due. This piece looks at why tax bills strain cashflow, the realistic options for meeting one, and where a small, short bridge fits without raiding the working capital the business needs to keep trading. It is general information, not tax advice; speak to your accountant about your own position.
## Why tax bills bunch up cashflow
The problem is timing, not affordability. A VAT-registered company collects VAT on its sales across a quarter and then pays it over in a single payment after the period ends. If that money has been treated as part of day-to-day cash — spent on stock, wages or a supplier — the bill arrives and the cash to meet it is tied up elsewhere. Corporation tax does the same on an annual rhythm: a year’s profit produces one bill due months after the year-end. The liability is real and was always coming; what catches companies out is that it crystallises on a date that may not line up with when the cash is actually in the bank.
The honest framing is that much of a VAT bill was never the company’s money — it was collected on HMRC’s behalf. Treating it as such, and not spending it, is the cleanest defence. But cash is fungible and trading is lumpy, so even well-run companies sometimes reach a tax date with the money committed elsewhere.
## Option one: save ahead
The most robust approach needs no finance at all: set the tax aside as it arises. Some companies run a separate account and sweep the VAT element of each sale, plus an estimate for corporation tax, into it — so the bill is already funded when it lands. It takes discipline and it ties up cash that could be working elsewhere, but it removes the scramble entirely. Where a company can do this, it should; finance is for the gap that saving ahead has not closed, not a substitute for it. Our [cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/) can help you see how much headroom the business actually has to set aside.
## Option two: HMRC Time to Pay
If a company genuinely cannot pay a tax bill in full by the due date, HMRC operates a **Time to Pay** arrangement — an agreed plan to spread the liability over a period. It is not automatic and it is not a right; it is an arrangement you ask HMRC for, ideally before the deadline rather than after, and it is most readily agreed where the company engages early and has a realistic plan. Interest generally applies, but a Time to Pay arrangement can be a sensible first port of call for a tax liability specifically, because it deals directly with the creditor that the money is owed to. Your accountant can advise whether it fits and help you approach HMRC.
## Option three: short company finance
Where saving ahead has fallen short and Time to Pay is not the right fit — perhaps the company can comfortably clear the bill within a few weeks once a known receipt lands — a small, short bridge can cover the gap. The point is to use external finance for the tax bill so the company’s own working capital stays where it is needed: paying suppliers, running payroll, keeping the business trading. Borrowing to meet a tax date, then repaying out of an invoice you can already name, is a textbook short-term, defined-end use — exactly the shape we describe in [working capital vs a term loan](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan).
This is where a Credicorp facility can sit. The Business Bridging Loan is small and short by design — £50 to £500, over 14 to 84 days, at 0.25% per day, with a one-time £5 fee and a 100% cost cap — and Credicorp Flex offers a revolving line for a company that wants to draw, repay and redraw as cycles repeat. The amounts are modest, so this is a tool for a small, defined gap, not for funding the bill of a large company; size the borrowing to the gap, not the other way round. The company is the borrower, there is [no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), and the lending sits [outside the consumer-credit regime](/lending-and-regulation/) under Article 60B because the borrower is a body corporate.
## A simple way to decide
Two questions sort most of it. First: *could this have been saved for, and can it be saved for next time?* If yes, the real fix is the saving discipline, and any finance is a bridge to get you there. Second: *can the company name where the money to repay comes from, and when?* If there is a clear receipt on a near horizon, a short bridge is reasonable; if there is not, the gap may be structural and borrowing will not solve it — a point we make plainly in [when not to borrow](/articles/when-not-to-borrow). For a tax liability specifically, talking to HMRC about Time to Pay is often worth doing before reaching for finance at all.
## The honest summary
Tax bills strain cashflow because they bunch a period’s liability into one date, not because they are unaffordable in the round. The strongest defence is to set the money aside as it arises. Where that has fallen short, HMRC’s Time to Pay deals directly with the creditor, and a small, short bridge can cover a defined gap so the company’s working capital is not raided to meet a tax date. Match the tool to the gap, name your repayment source, and take your own tax advice on the specifics.
## Related
- [Cashflow runway calculator](/calculators/cashflow-runway/)
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [When not to borrow: signs a short-term loan is the wrong answer](/articles/when-not-to-borrow)
- [Products at Credicorp Limited — the bridging loan and Flex](/products/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: how-business-credit-differs-from-consumer-credit — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/how-business-credit-differs-from-consumer-credit
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# How business credit differs from consumer credit
Business credit and consumer credit look similar from the outside — money advanced now, repaid over time with a cost attached — but in law they sit in different worlds. The line between them is not about the size of the loan or the name over the door; it is about *who the borrower is*. Get that distinction right and a lot of confusion clears, including why a body-corporate-only lender like Credicorp says it sits outside the consumer-credit regime. This piece walks the regulatory line, explains what protections do and do not apply, and shows why the distinction matters when your company borrows. It is general information, not legal advice; take your own advice on your situation.
## The line is the borrower
Consumer credit is, in essence, credit to **individuals** — natural persons borrowing in a personal capacity. The regime that protects consumers exists precisely because an individual borrower is often in a weaker position than a lender, and the law steps in to balance that. Business credit, by contrast, is credit to a business. Where the borrower is a body corporate — a limited company, an LLP or a PLC — the loan is a transaction between two organisations, and the consumer-protection machinery built for individuals does not apply.
In the UK, the regulated activity of lending under **Article 60B** of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 is concerned with credit agreements where the borrower is an individual (and certain small partnerships). Lending to a body corporate falls outside that. That is the precise, technical reason Credicorp can say its lending sits [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/lending-and-regulation/): the borrower is always a company, never an individual. It is a statement about the perimeter of a regime, not a claim to be authorised, registered or regulated by the FCA — which it is not, and does not need to be, for this kind of lending.
## What protections do not apply
Being outside the consumer-credit regime means the specific consumer-credit protections do not attach to the loan. A company borrower does not get the consumer-credit cooling-off rights, the consumer-credit form-and-content rules, or access to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the way an individual consumer does. It is important to be plain about this rather than imply protections that are not there. A director should go in understanding that a business loan is a commercial contract between organisations, read on those terms.
## What protections do apply
Outside the consumer-credit regime is not outside the law. A business loan is still a contract, governed by ordinary contract law and the general law that applies to any commercial dealing. Companies handling personal data are still subject to UK data protection law, including the rules on automated decisions that give a right to human review — which is why a Credicorp decision is reviewable by a person, as we set out in [how a lender assesses affordability](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability). And nothing stops a lender holding itself to high standards voluntarily. The honest position is that the protections come from a different place than they would for a consumer — contract, data law, and the lender’s own conduct — not from the consumer-credit rulebook.
## Why this is a feature, not a gap
It would be easy to read “outside the consumer-credit regime” as a corner cut. It is not. The regime is built for a problem that does not arise here: protecting an individual borrowing for personal use. A company borrowing for its trade is a different situation, and the structural choices Credicorp makes are aimed squarely at keeping it that way. Lending only to incorporated businesses means the borrower is the company, not the director. Taking [no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees) means a company debt does not quietly become a personal one. And a hard [100% cost cap](/guides/cost-caps-explained/) bounds the cost regardless. These are protections by design, matched to a business borrower, rather than borrowed wholesale from a regime built for someone else.
## How to apply the distinction
For a director, the practical takeaways are short. Know that you are signing a commercial contract, not a consumer one, and read it as such — the cost in pounds, the term, what happens on late payment, how it ends. Do not assume consumer-credit protections are in play, and be wary of any business lender that implies the FCA consumer-credit regime when it does not apply. And use the public record to verify who you are dealing with, as our [five-minute verification routine](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes) sets out. Clear-eyed beats reassured-but-wrong every time.
## The honest summary
Business credit and consumer credit divide on the borrower, not the product. Consumer credit protects individuals; business credit to a body corporate sits outside that regime under Article 60B because the borrower is a company, not a person. That means the consumer-credit protections do not apply — a point to be plain about — while ordinary contract law, data law and a lender’s own conduct still do. Credicorp’s structural choices are designed for exactly this kind of borrower. Read a business loan as the commercial contract it is, and take your own advice on the specifics.
## Related
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [Guide: cost caps explained](/guides/cost-caps-explained/)
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# ARTICLE: how-lenders-assess-affordability — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability
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# How a lender assesses whether a company can afford to repay
Affordability is the question every responsible lending decision turns on: can this company comfortably repay this amount, over this term, out of the cash it actually generates? It is a different question from “will the loan be approved” — it is the work that sits underneath the answer. This piece sets out how that assessment is done for an incorporated business: the data a lender reads, the track record it weighs, the role people play alongside the algorithms, and the right you have under UK data-protection law to a human looking at the decision.
## The data a lender reads
A company affordability assessment is built from a handful of sources, each answering a different part of the question.
- **Bank statements.** The company’s account is the single most honest record of how money actually moves — income in, costs out, the rhythm of the trading month and how tight or comfortable the balance runs. It shows behaviour, not just position.
- **Open Banking.** With the company’s consent, Open Banking lets a lender read recent transaction data directly and securely, rather than relying on documents that may be weeks old. It is read-access to the same information, faster and harder to misstate. The operator explains what is and is not read in its note on [how Open Banking is used](https://credicorp.co.uk/news/open-banking-how-we-use-it/).
- **Business credit data.** The company’s bureau profile and public record — filed accounts, payment behaviour, any adverse markers — give an outside view of how the company meets its obligations. How that score is built is covered in [understanding business credit scores](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores).
- **Track record.** How long the company has traded, whether its income is steady or lumpy, and whether it has handled obligations before all shade the picture. A thin file on a young company is read in context, not as a failure.
## From data to a view: what affordability really tests
The inputs feed one judgement: does the company generate enough cash, reliably enough, to meet the repayments without being pushed into difficulty? That is not the same as “does it have the money today”. It is about whether the repayments sit comfortably within the company’s normal cash flow over the term — with room for the lumps and gaps that real trading brings. A loan that the company could only repay if everything goes perfectly is not affordable; one that fits inside its ordinary rhythm is. The [true cost of the loan](/articles/the-true-cost-of-a-short-term-loan), line by line, is part of that test: the repayment has to be sized to the cash, not the other way round.
## People, not just algorithms
Models are good at sorting and flagging, and they do a lot of the first-pass work — checking the company exists, reading the statements, surfacing the patterns. But a model is a starting point, not the final word. Real trading is messy: a one-off large payment, a seasonal dip, a recent change of customer mix can all look like risk to an algorithm and turn out to be perfectly explicable. That is why the operator’s position is that decisions are reviewed by people, not settled by a score alone — the approach it describes as [affordability over algorithms](https://credicorp.co.uk/news/affordability-over-algorithms/). A person can read context an algorithm cannot, and can say yes to a company a crude model would reject, or no to one it would wave through.
## Your right to human review — Article 22
This is not only good practice; it connects to a right in UK data-protection law. Under Article 22 of the UK GDPR, an individual has the right not to be subject to a decision based *solely* on automated processing where it produces legal or similarly significant effects — and, where automated decision-making is used, to obtain human intervention, to express their point of view and to contest the decision. In plain terms: a meaningful decision should not be made by a machine on its own with no human able to look at it. A lending process that keeps people in the loop is consistent with that right rather than working around it. The operator sets out how this works in practice, including automated-decision review, on its [technology page](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/).
## What this means for an applicant
For a director, the practical upshot is straightforward. The cleaner and more current the company’s data, the more accurately a lender can assess it — which is an argument for up-to-date filings, tidy bank conduct and, where offered, Open Banking access that lets the lender see the real position rather than guess at it. It also means an affordability decision is not a black box you have no recourse to: you can ask how it was reached and ask for a person to review it. A lender that assesses honestly is doing it to lend what the company can repay — which is in the borrower’s interest as much as the lender’s.
## The honest summary
A company affordability assessment reads bank statements, Open Banking data, business credit and track record to answer one question: can the company comfortably repay from the cash it generates? The data does the spadework, but people make the call — and UK GDPR Article 22 gives you the right to human involvement in a decision that significantly affects you. For the borrower, good data and an honest assessment point the same way: a loan sized to what the company can actually afford.
## Related
- [Understanding business credit scores](/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores)
- [The true cost of a short-term business loan, line by line](/articles/the-true-cost-of-a-short-term-loan)
- [When not to borrow: signs a short-term loan is the wrong answer](/articles/when-not-to-borrow)
- [Our technology, including automated-decision review (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/our-technology/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced
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# How short-term business finance is priced, in plain English
“Why does short-term business credit cost what it costs?” is a fair question, and it is asked far more often than it is answered clearly. The honest answer is that a small, fast, short-duration loan is priced on a completely different basis from a mortgage or a multi-year SME term loan — and once you see the cost drivers, the headline numbers stop looking arbitrary. This piece walks through those drivers in plain English. It deliberately quotes *no* specific rate, fee or APR: live figures change, they depend on the product and the borrower, and the only authoritative source for them is the operating lender. What this page gives you is the shape of the question, so the number you are quoted is one you can actually read.
## Why “APR” is the wrong first question
APR — annual percentage rate — was designed to compare loans of broadly similar length. It annualises the total cost of credit so a borrower can line up one year-long loan against another. Apply that same machinery to a loan that lasts a few weeks and the annualised figure balloons, because a modest, fixed cost spread over a fraction of a year projects to a very large number when you stretch it to twelve months. That does not mean the credit is “expensive” in cash terms — it means APR is the wrong lens for a short instrument. For short-duration finance, the figures that actually tell you what you will pay are the **total cost of credit** (the cash amount over the principal) and the **total repayable**. Start there.
## The cost drivers, one at a time
Strip a short-term business facility back to its parts and the price is built from a small number of recurring components. None of them is a secret; they are the same levers every responsible lender works with.
- **Fixed origination and servicing work.** Verifying the company at Companies House, running a business credit check, assessing affordability from bank statements, setting up the facility, collecting repayments and handling the account — much of this costs roughly the same whether the loan is small or large, short or long. On a short, small loan that fixed work is a larger share of the total, which is the single biggest reason short credit looks proportionally dearer than a big term loan.
- **The cost of money itself.** A lender funds loans from somewhere, and that funding has a price that moves with the wider rate environment. When base rates rise, the lender’s own cost of capital rises, and that feeds through into pricing.
- **Expected default risk.** Some loans are not repaid in full. Pricing has to cover the expected losses across the whole book, not just the loan in front of you. The more an underwriting model can narrow that uncertainty — through verification and affordability checks — the more precisely risk can be priced rather than padded.
- **Term length.** Time is a cost and a risk in its own right: the longer a lender’s money is out, the more can change. Short terms cut that exposure, which is part of why short facilities are structured the way they are.
- **The structural perimeter.** Where a lender chooses to operate — which borrowers, which products, which protections — shapes its cost base, and that flows into price too.
## How the lending model changes the maths
Pricing does not float free of the product. The structure of the facility itself moves several of the drivers above. The Creditcorp Group operator, Credicorp Limited, lends only to **incorporated UK businesses** — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. The *company* is the borrower, not the director, and there is [no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees). That single design choice changes the risk picture: the lender’s recovery on default is company-level only, with no second pocket to dip into, so the underwriting and the pricing have to carry that risk on their own. Lending to body-corporate borrowers rather than individuals also places the facility [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime), which is a different regulatory cost base from consumer lending — explained on our [lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/). Different perimeter, different cost structure, different price. It is not better or worse in the abstract; it is a different instrument for a different borrower.
## Reading an offer like a director, not a headline
When a quote lands, the useful questions are practical ones, and a lender that prices honestly will answer all of them without flinching:
- What is the **total amount repayable**, in pounds, by the end of the term?
- What is the **total cost of credit** — the cash above the principal — and is it capped?
- Are there **any fees** beyond that figure, and what triggers them (late payment, early settlement, arrears)?
- What happens if the company **repays early** — does the cost fall, and by how much?
- What happens if the company **misses a payment** — what is the charge, and how does the lender handle hardship?
Those five answers tell you more than any single annualised percentage. They turn an abstract rate into a concrete decision: this much money, for this long, costing this much, under these conditions. If a lender cannot give you all five in plain terms, that itself is information.
## Where to get the actual numbers
This is a group corporate and insight site — we explain how pricing works, but we do not set or quote it. Live figures for any specific product, including the total cost of credit and any caps, sit with the operating lender. If you want a real quote for a real loan, that is the place to go: the operator can run the eligibility and affordability checks and show you the exact total repayable for your company, with no guesswork from us in between. Before you apply, it is also worth reading the operator’s own list of [alternatives to check first](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first) — sometimes a business overdraft, card or invoice finance is the cheaper fit, and an honest lender will say so.
## Related
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Apply or see live pricing at Credicorp Limited (the operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: incorporated-only-business-lending — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending
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# Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only
Credicorp lends to UK **incorporated** businesses only — limited companies (Ltd), limited liability partnerships (LLP) and public limited companies (PLC). It does not lend to sole traders, to ordinary partnerships, or to individuals. The borrower on every agreement is the company itself, as a legal person in its own right. This piece explains what that perimeter is, why it is drawn where it is, and what it means for who can apply.
## What “incorporated” means
Incorporation is the act of registering a business at Companies House so that it becomes a *body corporate* — a legal person separate from the people who own and run it. Under [section 16 of the Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/16), a company on registration becomes “a body corporate capable of exercising all the functions of an incorporated company”. It can own property, sign contracts, sue and be sued, and — the part that matters here — borrow money in its own name.
A sole trader is the opposite case. There is no separate legal person: the business *is* the individual. When a sole trader borrows, the individual borrows. The same is true of an ordinary (unincorporated) partnership, where the partners are personally the borrowers. An LLP is the bridge between the two — it has members rather than shareholders, but it is incorporated and is a body corporate, which is why it sits inside the Credicorp perimeter and an ordinary partnership does not.
## The company is the borrower — not the director
This is the load-bearing point. When an incorporated business takes a Credicorp loan, the agreement is between Credicorp Limited and the company. A director signs, but they sign *on the company’s behalf*, the way a director signs any company contract. They are not a party to the loan in a personal capacity, and Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee — so there is no parallel contract pulling the director’s own assets into the deal either.
That keeps the borrower-status honest. The credit decision is made on the company: its trading, its bank statements, its Companies House record. Repayment comes from the company’s account. If the company defaults, recovery is at the company level. The director’s personal finances are not the security and not the fallback.
## Why the perimeter is drawn here
Lending to incorporated businesses only is a deliberate structural choice, not an administrative convenience. Three reasons sit behind it.
- **It keeps the lending outside the consumer-credit regime.** The Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer-credit rules are built to protect *individuals*. When the borrower is a body corporate rather than an individual, the loan falls outside that regime — the regulated activity of credit-broking and consumer lending under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order is about lending to natural persons. Lending only to companies, LLPs and PLCs makes the perimeter clean. See [our lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/) for the longer treatment.
- **It gives a verifiable borrower.** An incorporated business has a public record: a company number, filed accounts, registered office, directors and persons of significant control, all on Companies House. That is a far stronger basis for underwriting than an individual’s self-description, and it makes the borrower’s identity and standing checkable by anyone, including the borrower.
- **It matches the product to the customer.** Short-term working-capital credit is a business tool — bridging a supplier payment, a VAT bill, a payroll run, a stock order. It is meant to be used by a trading company for company purposes. Restricting it to incorporated businesses keeps it in that lane and away from personal borrowing, which is a different product with different protections.
## Who can apply — and who cannot
The eligibility line follows directly from the model. A UK private limited company, an LLP or a PLC that is actively trading and registered at Companies House is the intended applicant. The application is made in the company’s name, using the company’s number and the company’s bank account.
- **Eligible:** UK Ltd companies, LLPs and PLCs — incorporated, trading, registered at Companies House.
- **Not eligible:** sole traders — there is no separate legal person to be the borrower.
- **Not eligible:** ordinary (unincorporated) partnerships — the partners would be the borrowers personally.
- **Not eligible:** individuals and consumers — this is not consumer credit and is not offered to people in a personal capacity.
If you trade as a sole trader and you want this kind of credit from Credicorp, the route is to incorporate first — to form a limited company and trade through it. That is a genuine decision with tax, administrative and liability consequences of its own, and it is worth taking advice on; it is not a form-filling step.
## What it does not mean
Incorporated-only lending is not a loophole and it is not a way to lend to individuals through a corporate front. Because there is no personal guarantee, Credicorp cannot quietly reach the director’s assets the way a guaranteed loan would. The company is the borrower in form *and* in substance. The trade-off is that this is a tighter product than a director-guaranteed loan: the lender’s recovery is company-level only, which is reflected in modest limits and short terms rather than in reaching past the company.
It also does not change the protections that genuinely apply. A company borrower does not get the FCA consumer-credit protections — but it was never inside that regime to begin with, and Credicorp is on the record about which protections do and do not apply rather than implying ones that do not.
## How to check this for yourself
The whole model is verifiable. The operator is a UK incorporated company itself — Credicorp Limited, company number 16093826 — and you can read its record, its product terms and its eligibility criteria directly. Our [five-minute verification routine](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes) walks through exactly how to confirm a UK business lender, using Credicorp as the worked example. For the kinds of incorporated businesses that typically borrow, the operator’s [industries pages](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/) set out sector-by-sector context.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Apply — operator business-loan page](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: limited-company-vs-llp-vs-plc — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/limited-company-vs-llp-vs-plc
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# 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/)
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# ARTICLE: other-credicorp-companies — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/other-credicorp-companies
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# Other Credicorp and Creditcorp companies on UK Companies House — and what makes ours different
If you searched for "Credicorp" or "Creditcorp" or "Credit Corp" and landed on this brand site, you are in the right place — but it is worth knowing that several unrelated UK companies share variations of the name. This piece lists them, links each to its Companies House record, and explains how to tell which is ours.
## Ours
The two UK companies in the Creditcorp Group:
- **Credicorp Limited** — UK private limited company, Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826). Incorporated 21 November 2024. The operating lender; runs credicorp.co.uk; holds the registered [Credicorp trade mark](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742).
- **CM Beyer Limited** — UK private limited company, Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212). Incorporated 3 February 2026. Brand-stewardship entity; publishes this site; applicant for the [Creditcorp trade mark](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570).
Both companies are under common directorship under common directorship and share a registered office at Suite 53c, Unimix House, NW10 7TR.
## Other UK-registered companies with similar names
Surfaced during the Phase 1 research for this brand site. None of these are part of the Creditcorp Group; they are listed here purely so anyone doing due diligence can tell them apart. Three of the four are dissolved — only Credico Limited remains active, and it is a different name.
| Company | No. | Status | Relationship to us |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Credicorp Limited | 16093826 | Active | **This is us** — the operating lender |
| CM Beyer Limited | 17009212 | Active | **This is us** — the brand/trade-mark company |
| Creditcorp Limited | 05210186 | Dissolved 2011 | Unrelated; pre-dates us by 20 years |
| Credicorp Capital UK Limited | 08843022 | Dissolved 2024 | Unrelated; Peruvian Credicorp group |
| Credit Corp Limited | 08249508 | Dissolved 2014 | Unrelated |
| Credico Limited | 05539154 | Active | Unrelated; different name |
### Creditcorp LIMITED — Companies House 05210186
- [Companies House overview](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05210186)
- UK private limited company, incorporated 19 August 2004. **Dissolved on 6 December 2011** — no longer trading.
- **Not part of the Creditcorp Group.** Pre-dates our company by twenty years and has been off the register since 2011.
- If you searched for "Creditcorp Limited" and landed here, the older 05210186 company is a different (and dissolved) entity. The new Creditcorp *wordmark* (UK00004379570) is held by our CM Beyer Limited (17009212), not by 05210186.
### CREDICORP CAPITAL UK LIMITED — Companies House 08843022
- [Companies House overview](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08843022)
- Incorporated 13 January 2014; **dissolved on 16 January 2024**. Associated with **Credicorp Capital** — the investment-banking arm of the Peruvian financial-services group Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE: BAP). Unrelated to the UK Creditcorp Group.
- The Peruvian Credicorp owns Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) and various other Latin-American financial businesses.
- Easy to tell apart: the Peruvian group's UK arm is called "Credicorp **Capital** UK Limited"; our operating company is "Credicorp Limited" without "Capital".
### CREDIT CORP LIMITED — Companies House 08249508
- [Companies House overview](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08249508)
- UK private limited company, name written as *Credit Corp* (with a space). Incorporated 11 October 2012; **dissolved on 20 May 2014**.
- Not connected to the Creditcorp Group.
- Worth noting because there is also an unrelated Australian listed group called *Credit Corp Group* (ASX: CCP) — debt-recovery focus. The Australian listed group is not us, and the UK 08249508 company is not the Australian group either.
### CREDICO LIMITED — Companies House 05539154
- [Companies House overview](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05539154)
- Different name (Credico, not Credicorp), but appears in name-search results when "Credicorp" is typed because of substring matching. Incorporated 17 August 2005; **still active** — the only other company on this list that is.
- Unrelated to the Creditcorp Group.
## And the brands beyond the UK
credicorp.co.uk is the operator's site, and the operator differentiates itself from a small list of unrelated brands. The ones that come up most often:
- **Credicorp Ltd.** (Peru) — the BCP-owning Peruvian financial-services holding company; [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credicorp); NYSE ticker BAP. Not us.
- **Credit Corp Group** (Australia) — ASX ticker CCP; debt-recovery company. Not us.
- **Credicorp Nigeria** — a Nigerian fintech / loan brand. Not us.
- Various **Credicorp Capital** branded entities in Latin America — subsidiaries of the Peruvian Credicorp Ltd. Not us.
## How to tell which company you're dealing with
- **Check the Companies House number.** Ours are **16093826** (Credicorp Limited) and **17009212** (CM Beyer Limited). Anything else, even with a similar name, is not part of this group.
- **Check the website.** Our customer-facing site is [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) and our brand site is creditcorpgroup.co.uk (with creditcorp.uk as the mirror). If you are on a different domain, even one with "credicorp" in the URL, double-check.
- **Check the UKIPO record** if a trade-mark question is involved. Our marks are [UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742) (Credicorp) and [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570) (Creditcorp). The owner on the UKIPO record must be one of our two UK companies.
- **Check the director.** Both UK companies in our group have the same sole director (common directorship). Most of the look-alike companies have completely different officer records.
## Why this matters
Lender impersonation is a real fraud pattern in UK short-term credit. A bad actor can set up a domain that looks like a legitimate lender's, copy the legitimate lender's site, and harvest applications. The way to defend against this as a borrower is to trust the Companies House number and the registered company name, not the website's branding.
For Credicorp specifically: any loan agreement that doesn't show "Credicorp Limited, Companies House **16093826**" as the lender is not from this group.
## Related
- [How to verify a UK business lender in five minutes](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes)
- [Credicorp Limited — full profile](/companies/credicorp-limited/)
- [CM Beyer Limited — full profile](/companies/cm-beyer-limited/)
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# ARTICLE: outside-the-consumer-credit-regime — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime
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# Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer for directors
Most UK consumer-credit rules exist to protect individuals borrowing in their own name. When a UK limited company or LLP borrows from Credicorp, the rules being protected against simply don't apply — not because Credicorp has slipped through a loophole, but because Parliament drew the perimeter in a specific place. This piece walks through where the perimeter sits, why it sits there, and what it means in practice for a company director evaluating a short-term loan offer.
It is the companion piece to [/lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/) — same statute, more depth.
## 1. The starting point: Article 60B
The article that does the work is [Article 60B](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 — SI 2001/544, an order made under FSMA. It says, in 60B(1):
"Specified" means "regulated by the FCA". So if you make a regulated credit agreement, you need FCA authorisation. Lend without it and you commit an offence under FSMA s.23.
## 2. The "regulated credit agreement" gate
Article 60B(3) gives the definition. A "credit agreement" means:
Two limbs in the borrower side: **individual** or **relevant recipient of credit**. If your borrower is neither, you are not making a "credit agreement" within Article 60B — and therefore not carrying on a regulated activity.
## 3. The exclusions: Article 60L
[Article 60L](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60L) is the definitions article. It says:
"Individual" isn't redefined; it carries its ordinary natural-person meaning.
Two things follow. First, a UK private limited company is a [body corporate](/glossary/#letter-b) under section 16 of the Companies Act 2006, which means it has its own separate legal personality. It is not an "individual". Second, the "relevant recipient of credit" carve-in is for small mixed partnerships and unincorporated groups; it *explicitly excludes* bodies corporate. A limited company falls in neither limb.
Same for an LLP — an LLP is also a body corporate under section 1 of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000.
## 4. Result: outside, not exempt
Articles 60C through 60H of the same Order define *exempt* credit agreements — agreements that meet the Article 60B definition but are exempted by something specific (a high-net-worth carve-out, a low-cost short-term carve-out, etc.).
Body-corporate lending is not one of those. It is not exempted; it is never a credit agreement within Article 60B in the first place. The borrower's status — body corporate, not individual — means it falls outside the perimeter entirely.
That sounds like a small distinction, but it matters for how the lending should be described. "Exempt under Article 60B" implies the regime applies and we are carved out. The honest description is *outside* the regime — Parliament wrote the gate, the borrower's status fails to open it, the whole regime is silent.
## 5. What that means for the borrower, in practice
Four practical consequences:
- **No FCA authorisation is required for the lender.** Credicorp Limited is not on the [FCA register](https://register.fca.org.uk/) for consumer-credit lending, and does not need to be.
- **The Financial Ombudsman Service does not cover the loan.** FOS jurisdiction follows the regulated-activities perimeter. No regulated activity, no FOS jurisdiction. The complaints route for a Credicorp business loan is the operator's internal process at [credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints](https://credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/), and ultimately the courts.
- **The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not cover the loan.** FSCS coverage is for failures of authorised firms.
- **The Consumer Credit Act 1974 does not apply.** CCA covers borrowers who are individuals (and small non-corporate partnerships). A limited company falls outside it.
## 6. So what protections remain?
Plenty — just none of them statutory:
- The **loan agreement itself.** A signed contract under English law is enforceable in the ordinary courts.
- The lender's **internal complaints process**, which the operator publishes at credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/.
- The lender's **responsible-lending policy**, at credicorp.co.uk/legal/responsible-lending/.
- The lender's **vulnerability framework**, at credicorp.co.uk/vulnerability/.
- The lender's **14-day right to withdraw**, voluntarily offered on every loan agreement.
- The **civil courts of England and Wales** for any unresolved dispute.
And the operator's transparency commitments — modern- slavery statement and quarterly figures, both [voluntary](https://credicorp.co.uk/transparency/) — are themselves a kind of self-imposed accountability.
## 7. Questions to ask before borrowing from any body-corporate-only lender
None of these are specific to Credicorp:
- **Is the lender a real UK company?** Check Companies House; verify the company number; look for charges, insolvency, restoration notices, and the registered office.
- **Is there a personal guarantee?** If yes, you are personally on the hook even though the borrower is "the company". See our [explainer on personal guarantees](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees).
- **What is the total cost of credit on the maximum scenario?** Daily-interest products in particular need a worked example of the largest loan and the longest term.
- **What is the complaints route, given the FOS does not apply?** A real internal process plus a clear court route is the right answer; "trust us" is not.
- **What happens if my company struggles to repay?** The lender's vulnerability/hardship policy should be publishable, not improvisational.
- **Are the credit-reference reports business-only?** Reporting an unincorporated person's behaviour on a business loan to consumer credit files is a category error that you don't want.
## Verifiable sources
- [Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60B)
- [Article 60L FSMA RAO 2001](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/544/article/60L)
- [Section 21 FSMA 2000](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/8/section/21) — financial promotions
- [Section 23 FSMA 2000](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/8/section/23) — offence of carrying on regulated activity unauthorised
- [Companies Act 2006 s.16](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/16)
- [LLP Act 2000 s.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/12/section/1)
- [Consumer Credit Act 1974](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39)
- [FCA register](https://register.fca.org.uk/)
- [Brand-site /lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: reading-the-coexistence-agreement — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/reading-the-coexistence-agreement
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# Reading the coexistence agreement: a non-lawyer's guide
The [Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf) between Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited was signed on 30 April 2026. It is the document that lets two related UK companies own two related UK trade marks without tripping over each other. This piece walks through what it actually does, section by section, in non-lawyer English.
This is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for reading the agreement. It is a reading guide.
## What a coexistence agreement is
A trade-mark coexistence agreement is a contract between two parties who each own (or want to own) a trade mark, and whose marks could in principle be confused with each other. Each party agrees that the other's mark exists and may be used in defined ways; neither party challenges the other's mark; and they agree on rules for how the two marks coexist in practice.
Coexistence agreements are common when two companies have overlapping names or look-alike marks but distinct products, distinct geographies, or distinct ownership. Two related companies under common directorship is an unusually clean case — both parties want exactly the same outcome, so the agreement mostly memorialises what they were already going to do.
## The parties (recitals)
The opening recitals identify who is signing:
- **Credicorp Limited** — Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826) — owner of the registered **Credicorp** mark, [UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742).
- **CM Beyer Limited** — Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212) — applicant for the new **Creditcorp** mark, [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570).
Both are UK private limited companies registered in England and Wales, under common directorship.
## The grant of consent
The core operative paragraph. Each party expressly consents to the other's mark existing, being used, and being registered. In trade-mark practice, formal written consent from a prior-rights owner is one of the cleanest ways for a later applicant to clear an examiner's relative-grounds objection (where the IPO is worried that the new mark might conflict with an existing one).
Mutual consent here is reciprocal: both directions, both marks, both companies. Neither company will object to the other's mark at the IPO, in court, or anywhere else.
## The licence (back and forth)
A coexistence agreement between related parties often also includes a cross-licence — permission for each party to use the other's mark in specific ways, usually to support group-wide brand use. The "Licensing" word in this agreement's title signals that this is in there.
In practice, the cross-licensing means that:
- Credicorp can refer to its sister company's Creditcorp mark in its own materials (e.g. credicorp.co.uk can say "part of the Creditcorp Group").
- CM Beyer can refer to Credicorp's Credicorp mark in its own materials (e.g. this brand site can describe the registered Credicorp wordmark).
- Neither party is granting the other the right to operate the other's mark as its own — ownership stays where it is.
## The "no-conflict" undertakings
A standard pair of promises in any coexistence deal:
- **Non-opposition.** Each party agrees not to oppose the other's trade-mark applications.
- **Non-invalidation.** Each party agrees not to apply to invalidate or revoke the other's registered marks.
These commitments matter because UK trade marks are perpetually challengeable in principle — anyone can file an invalidation action at any point if they think a mark shouldn't have been granted. The agreement removes that risk between the two parties.
## Field-of-use boundaries
Coexistence agreements typically set out where each mark applies. For two related UK companies in financial / business services, the natural carve-out runs along the Nice classes the marks are filed in:
- **Credicorp** sits in Class 36 (financial services) and Class 45 (legal services).
- **Creditcorp** sits in Class 35 (advertising / business administration) and Class 36 (financial services).
Class 36 overlaps. That overlap is the reason a written agreement matters — the agreement covers how the two companies will share that field. For the rest, each mark has its own non-overlapping classes.
## Quality control
A licensing agreement that's effectively a quality-control arrangement is needed to keep both marks "in use" in the right way. Marks that aren't used can be revoked for non-use after five years; marks used by an uncontrolled licensee can drift in meaning. This agreement records the quality-control standards both companies apply.
## Representation (clause 16.2)
The clause specifically called out elsewhere on the brand site — clause 16.2 identifies the UK IPO representative for both parties as **Trama Legal s.r.o.** (86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom).
Having a single IPO representative across both marks simplifies practical filings (renewals, address changes, classification adjustments) and gives any third party a single contact point for trade-mark queries.
## Governing law and jurisdiction
The agreement is governed by **English law**. Any dispute under it goes to the courts of England and Wales. Standard for UK companies dealing with UK trade marks.
## Term and termination
Most coexistence agreements continue for as long as both marks exist. The agreement does not have a fixed expiry date; it ends if both marks lapse, or by mutual written consent of the parties, or in defined breach scenarios.
## What the agreement deliberately does *not* do
It does not:
- **Merge the two companies.** Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited remain separate UK legal entities with separate Companies House records.
- **Bind any third party.** A coexistence agreement is between the two signatories. It doesn't stop unrelated third parties from challenging either mark in their own name — that's a separate matter.
- **Affect the borrower / operator relationship.** Customer loan agreements with Credicorp Limited are unaffected. The borrower's counterparty is Credicorp; the agreement is about trade marks.
- **Override Article 60B or the FCA perimeter.** The lending regulatory position is set by FSMA and the RAO 2001, not by a private contract.
## Why it was signed when it was
The agreement is dated **30 April 2026** — two days after CM Beyer Limited filed the Creditcorp application at UKIPO (28 April 2026). The sequence is the normal one: you file the new mark, then you put the coexistence in writing before publication, so that when the IPO publishes the application (15 May 2026 in this case) the consent of the prior-rights holder is already documented if questions arise.
## The PDF itself
The full signed agreement is downloadable — we publish it because we'd rather have it auditable than referenced from a distance:
[Download the coexistence agreement (PDF) →](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
## Related
- [Trade marks — full page](/trade-marks/)
- [Trama Legal s.r.o. — UK IPO representative](/trama-legal/)
- [Coexistence agreement — news story (30 April 2026)](/articles/coexistence-agreement)
- [Creditcorp published in Journal 2026/020 (15 May 2026)](/articles/creditcorp-application-published)
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# ARTICLE: seasonal-business-working-capital — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/seasonal-business-working-capital
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# Seasonal businesses and the working-capital cycle
Some businesses earn evenly across the year. Many do not. A seaside hotel, a garden centre, an arable farm, a fireworks importer, a costume shop — each takes the bulk of its annual revenue in a concentrated window and then lives off that window for the rest of the year. The accounting word for the money that carries a business between earning windows is *working capital*, and for a seasonal business the working-capital cycle is the single most important thing to understand about its own finances.
This is an educational piece in the group’s voice — no product pitch, no rates or terms. It explains how the cycle works in the three sectors that feel it most — hospitality, retail and agriculture — and where a short, company-level bridge does and does not fit.
## What the working-capital cycle actually is
Working capital is the cash a business needs to fund the gap between paying for things and being paid for them. You buy stock, pay staff, pay rent and pay suppliers *before* the customer pays you. The longer and larger that gap, the more working capital the business has to carry. In a steady business the gap is roughly constant. In a seasonal business it breathes: it shrinks to almost nothing at the peak and stretches alarmingly wide in the trough.
The mistake that sinks seasonal businesses is judging their health by the peak. A hotel that is full in August and a farm with a strong September harvest both *feel* profitable — and on an annual basis they may genuinely be. But profit measured over twelve months says nothing about whether there is cash in the account in February. Solvency is an annual question; liquidity is a weekly one, and the trough is where liquidity goes to die.
## Hospitality: the cost base does not take the winter off
A coastal hotel, a holiday park, a wedding venue or a beach café can do half its annual turnover in a handful of summer weeks. The problem is that the cost base is far flatter than the revenue. Rent or mortgage interest runs all twelve months. A core team has to be retained over winter or it cannot be rehired in spring. Insurance, business rates, utilities standing charges and maintenance all continue. And the heaviest spend of all — restocking, refurbishing and hiring *ahead of* the season — lands in the spring, weeks before the first paying guest arrives.
So the cash low point is not the quiet winter. It is usually the pre-season ramp: the moment a venue has spent on next season’s readiness but has not yet sold any of it. That is the classic seasonal working-capital gap — short, predictable and self-liquidating, because the very season it funds is what repays it.
## Retail: stock bought now, sold (you hope) later
Retail’s seasonality is stock-shaped. A gift shop, a toy retailer or a garden centre commits real cash to inventory weeks or months before the selling season — and the golden-quarter retailer who misjudges the order has the worst of both worlds: cash gone into stock, and stock that did not move. Even a well-judged order creates a financing gap, because the supplier wants paying long before the customer does.
Retailers carry a second, quieter cost *post*-peak: January brings returns, clearance markdowns and the bills for everything bought in November. A business can have a record December and still face its tightest cash week six weeks later. Mapping that — the payment troughs, not just the revenue peaks — is the most useful planning a seasonal retailer can do.
## Agriculture: one harvest, twelve months of outgoings
Agriculture is the purest version of the cycle. An arable farm may convert a year of inputs — seed, fertiliser, fuel, labour, machinery — into a single harvest payment. Livestock and horticulture have their own rhythms, but the shape is the same: outgoings are continuous and largely front-loaded, income is lumpy and back-loaded, and the weather can move the payday by weeks. Subsidy timing, grain-store decisions and the choice of whether to sell at harvest or hold for a better price all stretch the gap further.
Farms have traditionally bridged this with overdrafts and merchant credit, and those remain the right first tools. But the structural point is identical to hospitality and retail: the spend that creates next year’s income happens long before that income arrives, and something has to carry the difference.
## How to manage the trough before you borrow for it
Borrowing is the last lever, not the first. Before any external finance, a seasonal business should:
- **Build a 13-week rolling cash-flow forecast.** Not a profit forecast — a week-by-week cash one. It will show you the exact trough date and depth, which is the only number that matters.
- **Reserve from the peak.** The discipline of ring-fencing a slice of peak takings to fund the trough is unglamorous and decisive. The peak is supposed to feed the trough; spending it all in-season is the original sin of seasonal trading.
- **Negotiate supplier and rent terms around the cycle.** A supplier paid promptly in-season may grant longer terms pre-season. Seasonal rent or rates arrangements exist in some sectors.
- **Smooth what can be smoothed.** Annualised staffing, equipment leasing instead of buying, and deposit-taking from customers all flatten the curve.
Only once the trough is mapped and the cheaper levers are pulled does external working-capital finance become a sensible question — and then the question is which kind.
## Where a short company-level bridge fits
A predictable, self-liquidating, pre-season gap is exactly the shape that short-term finance is built for. The right tools for most seasonal businesses are a business overdraft, a business credit card, invoice or trade finance, or merchant credit — and the operator is [on the record recommending those first](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/). A short company bridge sits at the smaller end: a modest, fixed-cost amount to cover a specific gap that the coming season will clearly repay.
Two structural points matter for the seasonal borrower. First, the borrower is the *company*. Credicorp lends to incorporated UK businesses — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs — and the loan sits on the company’s books, not the director’s. There is [no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), so a bad season does not become a personal debt. Second, because the borrower is a body corporate rather than an individual, the lending sits [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime) — see also our [lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/). That is a different set of protections, and a seasonal director should understand it before borrowing.
The honest caveat is the one that applies to all short-term credit: match the term to the cycle. A bridge that funds a pre-season ramp should be repaid by the season it funds, not rolled into the next trough. Used that way, a short company-level bridge smooths one predictable gap. Used to paper over a structural shortfall — a business that does not actually earn enough across the year — it makes the next trough deeper. The 13-week forecast is what tells you which situation you are in.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: a longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [Products at Credicorp Limited](/products/)
- [Operator industries page: hospitality](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/hospitality/)
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# ARTICLE: the-cashflow-gap-by-industry — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/the-cashflow-gap-by-industry
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# The cashflow gap, by industry: why funding needs differ by sector
Two companies can have the same turnover, the same margin and the same headcount, and still have completely different funding needs. The reason is almost never the headline numbers. It is the **timing** — the gap between when a business pays for the things it needs to trade and when it actually gets paid for the trade itself. That gap is what people mean, loosely, when they talk about "cashflow", and its size and shape are largely decided by the sector a company operates in.
To mark the launch of the new [Creditcorp industry guides](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/) — sector-by-sector walk-throughs of how UK businesses fund short-term working capital — this piece steps back to the question underneath them: why does the cashflow gap differ so much by industry, and what does that mean for the kind of funding a company actually needs?
## What the working-capital gap actually is
The working-capital gap (sometimes called the cash conversion cycle) is the number of days a company's money is tied up before it comes back. In plain terms it is three things added and subtracted:
- **How long stock sits** before it is sold — days of inventory.
- **How long customers take to pay** after they are invoiced — debtor days.
- **How long the company takes to pay its own suppliers** — creditor days, which works the other way and shortens the gap.
A business that holds stock for weeks, invoices on 60-day terms and pays its own suppliers on delivery has a long, expensive gap. A business that holds no stock, takes card payment at the point of sale and pays suppliers monthly has almost no gap at all. Same accounts, very different lived experience of cash. The sector decides where on that spectrum a company sits before it has done anything clever or careless.
## Where the gap comes from, sector by sector
The same mechanism produces very different pressures depending on how a sector buys, holds and gets paid:
- **Retail and e-commerce.** The pressure is stock, and it is seasonal. Inventory has to be bought — and often paid for — weeks ahead of the demand that justifies it. A shop that needs its shelves full for a peak trading period commits cash long before the customers arrive. The gap is short once goods sell, but it is front-loaded and lumpy.
- **Hospitality and leisure.** Takings are largely same-day and card-based, so debtor days are low. The strain is seasonality and fixed cost: rent, staff and stock continue through quiet weeks while revenue dips. The gap here is less about waiting to be paid and more about bridging the trough between busy periods.
- **Construction and trades.** The classic long gap. Materials and labour are paid for up front, the work is staged, and payment can arrive weeks or months later — sometimes with retentions held back further still. A profitable contractor can run completely out of cash mid-project simply because the money is downstream of the spend.
- **Logistics and wholesale.** Thin margins on high volume, with fuel, fleet and bulk stock paid for before customer invoices clear. Small timing slips get amplified because there is little margin cushion to absorb them.
- **Professional and creative services.** Little or no stock, so the gap is almost entirely debtor days. The work is delivered, the invoice goes out on terms, and the firm carries staff costs in the meantime. A single large client paying late can open a gap that no amount of stock management would ever have created.
None of this is a failing. It is the structure of the trade. A construction firm with a long gap is not worse run than a cafe with a short one — it is doing a different job with a different cash shape. The mistake is treating every business as if it had the same shape, and reaching for the same funding for all of them.
## Why the shape of the gap changes the right funding
Once you see the gap as having a shape — how big, how predictable, how often it recurs — the funding question gets clearer:
- **A short, repeating gap** — the cafe bridging a quiet fortnight, the retailer topping up before a known peak — suits small, short-term funding that is drawn and cleared quickly, not a multi-year facility.
- **A gap tied to specific invoices** — the services firm or wholesaler waiting on named debtors — can suit invoice finance, where the funding tracks the receivable.
- **A gap tied to a single asset or project** — a vehicle, a piece of plant, a staged build — often suits asset or project finance that matches the term of the thing being funded.
Where the new industry guides come in is matching the sector's typical gap to the options that fit it, rather than defaulting to whatever finance happens to be nearest. The [retail guide](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/retail/), the [hospitality guide](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/hospitality/), the [construction guide](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/construction/) and the others each start from the cash shape of that trade.
## Where a Credicorp loan fits — and where it doesn't
Credicorp Limited, the operating lender, makes short-term loans to incorporated UK businesses — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs. The company is the borrower, not the director, and there is no personal guarantee. That shape suits one specific kind of gap: small, short and recurring, where a business needs to bridge days or weeks rather than fund a year of growth.
It is deliberately not the right tool for every gap. A long construction retention, a large invoice book or a major asset purchase points toward invoice finance, asset finance or a longer-term facility — and the operator says so plainly in [the alternatives it recommends you check first](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first). The honest version of "what funding do you need?" always starts with "what does your cashflow gap actually look like?" — and that, in turn, starts with your sector.
## Related
- [Creditcorp industry guides — funding by sector](https://credicorp.co.uk/industries/)
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Products at Credicorp Limited](/products/)
- [Apply — operator business-loans page](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: the-creditcorp-brand-transition — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/the-creditcorp-brand-transition
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# The Creditcorp brand transition: a dated, sourced record
This page is the corporate-record account of the **Creditcorp brand transition**: what has been filed, what has been registered, what has been agreed, and what is — and is not — in effect today. It is the detailed, dated, citation-backed counterpart to the plain-English explainer at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/)'s brand pages and to the accessible [“the name”](https://creditcorp.co.uk/the-name/) page on the brand front-door. If you want the short version, read those. If you are doing due diligence, read on — every claim below links to a primary source.
The direction of travel is that the consumer-facing identity is **emerging** from **Credicorp** toward **Creditcorp**. That transition is **under way, not complete**. The two marks are in active, parallel use within a single group, under a written agreement, and the operating lender continues to trade under the existing Credicorp name at credicorp.co.uk for now.
## At a glance
- **Existing mark — Credicorp:** [UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742), Registered, Classes 36 and 45, held by Credicorp Limited.
- **New mark — Creditcorp:** [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570), Application Published, Classes 35 and 36, applicant CM Beyer Limited.
- **Coexistence agreement:** signed **30 April 2026**, English law, between the two companies under common directorship.
- **Operating today:** the lender continues at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) under the Credicorp name.
## The existing Credicorp mark (registered)
The **Credicorp** wordmark — UK application/registration number [UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742) — is **registered**. It has an effective date of **6 February 2025** and was entered on the register on **23 May 2025**, in Classes 36 and 45. The proprietor is **Credicorp Limited** (Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)), the operating lender. This is the mark the customer-facing business trades under today.
## The new Creditcorp mark (pending registration)
The **Creditcorp** wordmark — UK application number [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570) — was filed on **28 April 2026** in Classes 35 and 36 by **CM Beyer Limited** (Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)). The UK Intellectual Property Office published the application on **15 May 2026** in **Trade Marks Journal 2026/020**, opening the two-month opposition window. On current dates that window closes around **15 July 2026** (extendable once, to three months, by a notice of threatened opposition filed in the first two months).
Until the IPO issues a registration certificate, the correct description of the Creditcorp mark is **“filed”** or **“pending registration”** — not “registered”. The dated account of the publication event is in a separate article:
[Creditcorp application published →](/articles/creditcorp-application-published)
## The 30 April 2026 coexistence agreement
The two companies — **Credicorp Limited** (Companies House [16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)) and **CM Beyer Limited** (Companies House [17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)) — are under common directorship and operate the coexistence of the two marks under a written **Mutual Trademark Coexistence, Consent and Licensing Agreement** signed **30 April 2026**, two days before the Creditcorp application was filed. The agreement is governed by English law. Trama Legal s.r.o. is identified as the parties' UK IPO representative in clause 16.2.
The agreement cross-licenses the marks between the two companies so that both **Credicorp** and **Creditcorp** can be used within the one group without conflict. A clause-group tour, and the full PDF, are available:
[Reading the coexistence agreement →](/articles/reading-the-coexistence-agreement) [The agreement (PDF) →](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
## Both marks, one group, in active use
This is the point most relevant to a due-diligence reader: the transition is **not** a single company swapping one name for another. It is two related UK companies, under common directorship, holding two marks that are both in active use:
- **Credicorp** — registered, held by the operating lender, used on the live customer site today.
- **Creditcorp** — pending registration, applicant CM Beyer Limited, used on the brand front-door and corporate-record sites as the emerging identity.
The coexistence agreement is what makes that parallel use orderly rather than adversarial. For the disambiguation of unrelated same-name companies on the register, see the separate disambiguation article.
[Other Credicorp / Creditcorp companies →](/articles/other-credicorp-companies)
## What is in effect today
The operating lender **continues at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) under the Credicorp name for now**. The Creditcorp identity is the direction of travel, surfaced on the brand front-door and in any teasers, but the two businesses remain **separate for the time being**. Nothing on this page should be read as “the rebrand is done” — it is an emerging transition, recorded here as it happens.
Whether body-corporate lending sits inside or outside the FCA consumer-credit regime is a separate question, covered on the lending-and-regulation page.
## Related pages on this site
- [Trade marks](/trade-marks/) — both marks and the coexistence agreement, in summary.
- [Companies](/companies/) — profiles of Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited.
- [Lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) — the regulatory position of the operating lender.
- [Timeline](/timeline/) — every dated event in chronological order.
## Verifiable sources
- [Credicorp at UKIPO — UK00004156742 (registered)](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742)
- [Creditcorp at UKIPO — UK00004379570 (pending)](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570)
- [Credicorp Limited at Companies House — 16093826](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)
- [CM Beyer Limited at Companies House — 17009212](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17009212)
- [The coexistence agreement (PDF)](/docs/coexistence-agreement.pdf)
- [The operating lender — credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/)
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# ARTICLE: the-late-payment-act-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/the-late-payment-act-explained
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# Late payment of commercial debts: your statutory rights, explained
When a business customer pays you late, you are not at their mercy. A piece of UK legislation — the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 — gives a business a statutory right to claim interest and fixed compensation on a commercial debt that is paid late, whether or not the contract mentions it. Many companies never use it, often because they do not know it exists. This is an educational explainer of what the Act gives you and the figures that go with it. It is general information, not legal advice; for a specific dispute, take proper advice.
## What the Act covers
The Act applies to commercial debts — money owed between businesses for goods or services supplied in the course of business. It does not cover consumer debts; this is a business-to-business protection. Where it applies, it implies a right into the contract: if the customer does not pay by the agreed date, or by the default period the Act sets where no date is agreed, the debt is late and the statutory entitlements switch on automatically. You do not need a clause in your terms to rely on it — the right is statutory.
## Statutory interest: 8% above the base rate
The headline entitlement is interest on the overdue amount. Under the Act, statutory interest runs at **8% above the Bank of England base rate**. So the rate you can claim moves with the base rate: if base rate is, say, 4%, the statutory interest rate is 12%; if base rate changes, the figure you apply changes with it. The interest accrues on the unpaid sum from the day the debt becomes late until it is paid. It is simple interest on the debt, calculated day by day across the period it is overdue — a real, claimable cost the late payer has imposed on your business.
## Fixed compensation: a sum for each late debt
On top of the interest, the Act entitles you to a fixed sum of compensation for each qualifying late debt, to cover the cost and inconvenience of chasing it. The amount depends on the size of the debt:
- **£40** where the debt is under £1,000.
- **£70** where the debt is £1,000 or more but under £10,000.
- **£100** where the debt is £10,000 or more.
This is a flat entitlement per late debt, not per day, and it sits in addition to the statutory interest rather than instead of it. Where the reasonable cost of recovering the debt exceeds the fixed sum, the Act allows you to claim the difference as well. Small as the fixed figures are individually, across a run of late-paying customers they add up, and they make the point to a customer that late payment is not cost-free.
## A worked figure
A made-up example, to show the mechanics — illustrative only, not a real customer. Suppose a company is owed £6,000 on an invoice that is paid 30 days late, and the Bank of England base rate is 4%, so the statutory rate is 12%. Interest at 12% a year on £6,000 is £720 a year, which is roughly £1.97 a day; over 30 days that is about £59 in statutory interest. The debt is between £1,000 and £10,000, so the fixed compensation is £70. The company could therefore claim around £129 on top of the £6,000 — the interest plus the fixed sum. The arithmetic is simple once you have the base rate and the dates; the point is that the entitlement is concrete, not notional.
## How this fits the cashflow picture
The Act matters because late payment is one of the most common causes of a working-capital squeeze: you have done the work, the money is owed, and it simply has not arrived. Knowing your statutory rights is part of managing that — it gives you a basis to chase, a figure to put on the cost, and a lever in the conversation. It does not make the cash arrive sooner on its own, which is why a company facing a gap between work done and money in sometimes still needs to bridge it. That is the territory of [working-capital finance](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan), and the cashflow mechanics behind it are covered in the operator’s guide to [the cash-conversion cycle](https://credicorp.co.uk/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/). The two work together: assert your statutory rights on the late debt, and bridge the gap if the timing demands it.
## Putting a number on it
Because the interest depends on the base rate, the debt size and the number of days, it is worth working out the actual figure rather than guessing. The operator publishes a [late-payment interest calculator](https://credicorp.co.uk/calculators/late-payment-interest/) that applies the 8%-above-base-rate interest and the fixed compensation band for you, so you can see what a specific late debt entitles you to claim. Used alongside a clear, polite reminder to the customer, it turns a vague grievance into a precise, defensible figure.
## The honest summary
The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives a UK business a statutory right, on a late commercial debt, to interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate and to fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt — with reasonable recovery costs above that where they apply. It is automatic, it does not need a contract clause, and it puts a real number on the cost of being paid late. Know it, calculate it, and use it. It is general information rather than legal advice, so take proper advice on any specific dispute.
## Related
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [When not to borrow: signs a short-term loan is the wrong answer](/articles/when-not-to-borrow)
- [Late-payment interest calculator (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/calculators/late-payment-interest/)
- [Guide: the cash-conversion cycle (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/guides/the-cash-conversion-cycle/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: the-psc-register-explained — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/the-psc-register-explained
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# The PSC register explained: who controls a company
A company can be owned and controlled by people whose names do not appear as directors. The **PSC register** — the register of people with significant control — exists to surface those people, so that the real human beings behind a company are a matter of public record. For a director it is a filing obligation; for a lender, a supplier or anyone doing due diligence, it is one of the first places to look. This piece explains what a person with significant control is, why counterparties check the register, and how to keep yours accurate. It is general information, not advice; check your own position and take professional advice where the ownership is complex.
## What “significant control” means
Most UK companies must identify and record their persons with significant control. Broadly, a PSC is an individual who meets one or more set conditions over the company. The familiar ones are holding, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares; holding more than 25% of the voting rights; or holding the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board. There are further tests for someone who otherwise exercises significant influence or control, including over a trust or firm that itself meets one of the conditions.
The thresholds are bands, not a single line. The register records which condition a person meets and, for shareholdings and voting rights, which band they fall into — more than 25% up to 50%, more than 50% up to 75%, or 75% and above. The aim is not to publish a precise percentage but to show the level of control, so a reader can see at a glance whether one person controls the company or control is shared.
## Why this exists
The PSC regime is part of a wider push for corporate transparency: making it harder to hide the real ownership of a company behind layers of nominees or other companies. By putting beneficial owners on a public register at Companies House, the rules let anyone — counterparties, regulators, journalists, the public — see who ultimately stands behind a business. It sits alongside the confirmation statement and the directors’ register as part of the company’s public identity.
## Why lenders and counterparties check it
When a lender, supplier or buyer assesses a company, they want to know who they are really dealing with — not just who signs, but who controls. The PSC register answers that. It supports know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering checks, it shows whether control sits with one person or is widely held, and it lets a reader cross-check what a company says about itself against the public record. A mismatch — a company that talks about one owner while the register names another, or a register that is blank or out of date — is a flag worth pausing on.
This is exactly the kind of verifiability that comes with an incorporated borrower. A UK company carries a public record — company number, directors, accounts and PSCs — that a sole trader simply does not. That is one of the reasons Credicorp [lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending): the borrower’s identity and control are checkable on a public register. Our [five-minute verification routine](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes) uses the same public sources in the other direction — to check a lender — and the PSC register is part of the toolkit either way.
## How to keep yours accurate
Keeping the register right is an ongoing duty, not a once-a-year task. A company must take reasonable steps to find out who its PSCs are, keep its own PSC register up to date, and notify Companies House of changes — someone becoming or ceasing to be a PSC, or a change in the nature of their control — within the time limits. The annual confirmation statement is then the moment to confirm the position is still correct, but it does not replace the duty to update changes as they happen.
Practical discipline helps. When shares move, when voting arrangements change, or when a new shareholder crosses 25%, update the register at that point rather than waiting. Where a company is owned by another company or through a trust, the chain of control can be involved, and that is a sensible point to take advice so the register reflects the substance, not just the surface.
## The honest summary
The PSC register names the individuals who ultimately own or control a company, recorded against set conditions and control bands at Companies House. It exists for transparency, and lenders and counterparties read it to know who they are really dealing with. Keeping it accurate is a continuing duty: find your PSCs, record them, and notify changes promptly, then confirm the position each year. A clear, current PSC register is part of what makes an incorporated company a verifiable counterparty — and verifiability is exactly what a lender values. For complex ownership, take your own professional advice.
## Related
- [Companies House filing deadlines every director should know](/articles/companies-house-filing-and-deadlines)
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [How to verify a UK business lender in five minutes](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes)
- [Ltd, LLP or PLC: the body-corporate borrowers Credicorp lends to](/articles/limited-company-vs-llp-vs-plc)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: the-true-cost-of-a-short-term-loan — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/the-true-cost-of-a-short-term-loan
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# The true cost of a short-term business loan, line by line
The honest way to judge a short-term business loan is to add it up in pounds. Not the headline rate, not the APR — the actual cash: what you borrow, what it costs, and what you hand back at the end. On a short loan that exercise is more revealing than any annualised percentage, because the percentage machinery was built for loans that last years, and a short-term facility lasts weeks. This piece breaks the cost down line by line, explains the 100% cost cap that sits over it, and shows why the headline APR is the wrong number to anchor on.
## The three lines that make up the cost
Strip a short-term business loan back and there are only three things to total: the principal you receive, the interest charged over the term, and any fee. The principal is not a cost — it is your money, returned. The cost is the interest plus the fee, and the **total repayable** is principal plus those two. That is the whole picture, and a lender that prices honestly will set it out in exactly those terms.
Take the Credicorp Business Bridging Loan as the worked structure. It lends £50 to £500, over 14 to 84 days, at 0.25% per day on the principal, with a one-time fee of £5. So a company that borrows £300 over 30 days pays interest of 0.25% of £300 a day — that is 75p a day — which over 30 days is £22.50, plus the £5 fee, for a total cost of credit of £27.50 and a total repayable of £327.50. Three lines, added up, in pounds. No annualisation, no guesswork.
## Interest versus fee — and why both are named
Interest and a fee are different things, and a clear loan names both rather than blending them into a single rate. The interest is the time cost: it accrues per day on the principal, so the shorter you hold the money, the less interest you pay. The fee is a fixed, one-time charge for setting the facility up — it does not move with time. Keeping them separate is what lets a borrower see the effect of repaying early: on a per-day interest structure, settling sooner cuts the interest line, while the fee is what it is. A blended headline rate hides that; two named lines show it. The operator’s guide to [flat fees versus APR](/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/) goes further into why a flat, stated cost reads more honestly on a short term than an annualised one.
## The 100% cost cap
Over the per-day interest and the fee sits a hard ceiling: the total cost of credit is capped at 100% of the principal. In plain terms, whatever happens, the company never repays more than double what it borrowed. Borrow £300 and the most the loan can ever cost in interest and fees combined is £300 — the total repayable can never exceed £600, even in the worst case. The cap is not a marketing line; it is a structural limit on the cost, and it applies across the product range. It is the reason a short-term loan cannot quietly compound into something unrecognisable: there is a number it cannot pass.
## Why the headline APR misleads on a short term
APR — annual percentage rate — answers a specific question: what does this cost expressed as a yearly rate? That is a sensible question for a loan that lasts a year or more, because it lets you line up one against another. Apply the same machinery to a loan that lasts 30 days and the figure balloons, because a modest cash cost gets projected as if you would keep paying it, month after month, for a whole year — which on a short-term facility you simply do not. The annualised number can look alarming while the actual cash cost is small and defined.
Go back to the worked example: a £300 loan over 30 days costing £27.50. That is a real, knowable number. Annualise it and you get a percentage that says far more about the arithmetic of stretching 30 days to 365 than about what the company actually pays. On short terms, the figures that tell the truth are the **total cost of credit** in pounds and the **total repayable** in pounds. APR is the wrong lens — not because anyone is hiding anything, but because the lens itself distorts at this duration.
## Total it yourself before you borrow
Because the structure is just three lines, you can total any short-term loan in a minute, and you should. The operator publishes a [bridging-loan cost calculator](/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/) that does the per-day interest and the fee for you and shows the total repayable for a given amount and term — so the figure you are weighing is the real one, in pounds, for your company. When a quote lands, the useful questions are concrete: what is the total repayable, what is the total cost of credit, is it capped, and what changes if the company repays early or misses a payment? Those answers tell you more than any single percentage.
## The honest summary
The true cost of a short-term business loan is interest plus fee, added to the principal to give the total repayable — best read in pounds, not percentages. A 100% cost cap means the cost can never exceed the amount borrowed, so the worst case is bounded. And a headline APR, useful as it is for long loans, misleads on a few-week facility by annualising a cost you never carry for a year. Total it yourself, ask for the cash figures, and judge the loan on what it actually costs.
## Related
- [How short-term business finance is priced, in plain English](/articles/how-short-term-business-finance-is-priced)
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [Guide: flat fees vs APR (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/guides/flat-fees-vs-apr/)
- [Bridging-loan cost calculator (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/calculators/bridging-loan-cost/)
- [Products at Credicorp Limited — what the bridging loan is for](/products/)
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# ARTICLE: uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026 — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/uk-sme-funding-landscape-2026
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# The UK SME funding landscape in 2026
"Business finance" sounds like one market. It is not. A UK company looking for funding in 2026 is choosing among at least half a dozen distinct products, supplied by very different kinds of provider, priced on very different logic, and aimed at very different needs. This piece is a map — a plain context note on how the parts fit together, and where a small, short-term, body-corporate-only lender such as [Credicorp Limited](https://credicorp.co.uk/) actually sits within the whole.
It is editorial, not promotional. We do not quote rates here, and the shape of the market changes; treat this as the lie-of-the-land rather than a price list.
## The bank tier: still the centre of gravity
High-street banks remain the default first stop for most established UK businesses, and for good reason. Term loans, business overdrafts, commercial mortgages and revolving facilities from a mainstream bank are usually the cheapest credit a company can get, because the bank funds itself cheaply and prices off a long, data-rich relationship with the customer.
The catch is the same as it has always been: time, trading history and security. Bank underwriting rewards a track record — years of filed accounts, a settled relationship, often a debenture or other security, frequently a personal guarantee from the directors. That makes the bank tier a poor fit for a young company, for a business that needs a decision this week rather than this quarter, or for a small, one-off cash need that is simply too minor for a bank to bother underwriting.
## The alternative-finance tier: built for the gap
Around the banks sits a now-mature alternative-finance market — specialist online SME lenders, marketplace and platform lenders, merchant-cash-advance providers and the rest. Names such as iwoca, Funding Circle and similar operators built the category by lending to the businesses the banks found awkward: newer, smaller, faster-moving, or simply in a hurry.
The trade is straightforward. These lenders accept more risk and move faster than a bank, and they charge more for it. They lean on open-banking data and automated underwriting rather than a decades-long relationship, so a decision can land in hours or days. Loan sizes and terms vary enormously across the tier, from a few thousand pounds of working capital to six-figure growth facilities repaid over years. Most still ask for a personal guarantee.
## The product-specific tier: cards, overdrafts, invoice and asset finance
A large share of UK business funding is not a "loan" at all but a product built around a specific cash-flow shape:
- **Business credit cards and overdrafts** — flexible, revolving, good for small recurring gaps, available from the company's own bank.
- **Invoice finance** — borrowing against unpaid invoices, which suits a business that sells on credit terms and is waiting to be paid.
- **Asset finance and leasing** — funding a specific machine, vehicle or piece of equipment, secured on the asset itself.
- **Grants and government-backed schemes** — where a business qualifies, often the cheapest money of all, but slow and conditional.
These are not competitors so much as different tools. A haulier funds a lorry with asset finance, smooths customer payment terms with invoice finance, and might still want a small unsecured buffer for the unexpected. The point of a funding map is that a well-run company usually holds several of these at once.
## Where the short-term, small-ticket lender sits
At the far end of the map — small ticket, short duration, fast — sits a narrow band that most of the tiers above do not serve well. A company needs a modest sum for a few weeks: a supplier wants paying before a customer pays them, a VAT bill lands early, a piece of stock has to be bought now to be sold next month. The amount is too small for a bank to underwrite and too short-dated for a multi-year platform loan.
This is the band [Credicorp Limited](https://credicorp.co.uk/) operates in, and the operating model is deliberately tight:
- **Incorporated borrowers only.** The borrower is a UK limited company, LLP or PLC — a body corporate. The company is the borrower, not the director.
- **No personal guarantee.** There is no parallel deed turning the company's debt into the director's debt. We explain the reasoning in a [separate piece](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees).
- **Small and short by design.** The product is built for modest, short-duration working-capital needs, not for growth capital or long-term funding.
- **Outside the consumer-credit regime.** Because the borrower is a body corporate rather than an individual, the lending sits outside the FCA's consumer-credit perimeter — see [lending and regulation](/lending-and-regulation/) and the [longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime).
It is a small corner of a large market, and it is honest about that. Short-term credit is more expensive per pound than a bank term loan, for the same reason fast, small, unsecured lending is everywhere: the risk and the cost of serving it are higher. The right comparison is not "is this cheaper than a bank loan" — it usually is not — but "is this the right tool for a small, time-sensitive, company-level cash need."
## Reading the map before you borrow
The practical takeaway for a director is to place the need on the map before placing it with a lender. Large and long points toward a bank or a platform lender. Tied to invoices or a specific asset points toward invoice or asset finance. Small, short and urgent — and the company, not the director, carries it — points toward the short-term tier.
Whichever tier fits, the verification routine is the same. Check who you are dealing with on Companies House, confirm the regulatory position, and read the cost as a total, not a headline. Our [five-minute lender-verification routine](/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes) works on any provider in any tier, and the operator publishes its own [list of alternatives to check first](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/) — because the best funding decision is sometimes a different product entirely.
## Related
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Operator product page](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: understanding-business-credit-scores — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/understanding-business-credit-scores
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# Understanding business credit scores: what a company score is and isn’t
A director who has only ever dealt with a personal credit file tends to assume a company score works the same way. It does not. A business credit score describes the *company* as a separate legal person — a different subject, drawn from different data, held by different agencies, and governed by a different set of rules. Getting the distinction straight matters, because a lender that assesses an incorporated business looks first at the company’s profile, not the director’s. This piece sets out what a UK business credit score is, where it comes from, what feeds it, and how it differs from the score you hold as an individual.
## What a company credit score actually is
A business credit score is a number — and usually a band, such as low, medium or high risk — that a credit reference agency attaches to a registered company to summarise how likely it is to pay its obligations on time. It is an opinion, not a fact: each agency builds its own model, so the same company can carry a different score at each bureau on the same day. The score is a snapshot of the company’s standing as a body corporate, the kind of separate legal person an incorporated business becomes on registration. It is the company being assessed, which is exactly why a lender that [lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending) can rely on it as a meaningful signal.
## Who produces business scores in the UK
Company scores in the UK are produced by commercial credit reference agencies — business bureaux — rather than by any arm of government. The best-known names operate alongside the official public record at [Companies House](https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company), but they are not the same thing. Companies House holds the statutory record: incorporation, registered office, directors, persons of significant control and filed accounts. A business bureau takes that public data and layers commercial information on top — trade-payment behaviour, county court judgments, group structure and more — then runs it through a scoring model. The public register tells you a company exists and who runs it; the bureau forms a view on whether it pays.
## What feeds a company score
Each agency weights things differently, but the inputs to a UK business score are broadly consistent. The main ones are:
- **Filed accounts.** Turnover, profitability, net worth and the balance-sheet position, taken from accounts filed at Companies House. A company that files full, timely accounts gives a model more to work with than one that files the bare minimum late.
- **Payment behaviour to suppliers.** Trade-payment data — how promptly the company settles its supplier invoices — is among the most predictive inputs a bureau holds, because how a business pays today is a good guide to how it will pay tomorrow.
- **Public adverse data.** County court judgments, defaults and any insolvency markers weigh heavily, because they are direct evidence of obligations not met.
- **Age and stability.** How long the company has traded, whether the registered office and directors are stable, and whether filings are up to date all feed the picture. A newly incorporated company with no history is not a bad score so much as a thin one.
- **Industry and group context.** The sector the company trades in, and its position in any group of companies, can shade the score up or down.
The common thread is that all of this is the *company’s* own footprint. None of it is the director’s salary, mortgage or personal card history.
## How it differs from a director’s personal score
This is the point that catches people out. A personal credit score, held by a consumer credit reference agency, describes an individual: their borrowing, repayment history and the accounts in their own name. A business score describes the company. The two are separate files about separate legal persons, and a strong personal score does not lift a thin company file, nor does a weak personal file automatically sink a healthy trading company.
There are real-world points where the two touch — a personal guarantee, for instance, deliberately ropes a director’s own finances into a company debt, which is one reason Credicorp [does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees). But the existence of those crossover points is exactly why the distinction matters. When the company is the borrower and there is no guarantee, the company’s profile is what carries the decision. For a fuller treatment of why the [guarantee is the bridge between the two files](/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/), the operator’s guide is the place to look.
## Why this matters when a company borrows
A lender that assesses an incorporated business properly starts with the company: its accounts, its bank statements, its Companies House record and its bureau score. The score is one input among several, not the whole decision — a thin file on a young company is read in context, not treated as a failure. What the score is *not* is a verdict on the director as a person. Understanding that keeps directors from drawing the wrong conclusion when a company file looks different from the personal one they are used to.
It also points to something a director can act on. Because the score is built from the company’s own behaviour, the company can improve it: file full accounts on time, keep the public record current, and pay suppliers promptly. None of that is a trick; it is simply the company building the same kind of track record an individual builds on a personal file. For how that track record is weighed alongside everything else, [how a lender assesses affordability](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability) covers the wider assessment.
## The honest summary
A business credit score is the company’s score, not the director’s. It is produced by commercial bureaux, built from filed accounts, payment behaviour and the public record, and read as one signal in a broader assessment. It is not a personal credit score wearing a corporate badge, and it should not be confused with one. For directors of incorporated businesses, knowing the difference is the start of managing the file that a lender will actually look at.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [How a lender assesses whether a company can afford to repay](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability)
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [Guide: personal guarantees explained (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/verify-a-uk-business-lender-in-five-minutes
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# How to verify a UK business lender in five minutes
A short, repeatable routine for checking that a UK business lender is who it says it is. Useful for any director weighing up a credit offer, and a fair test to run on Credicorp itself. We have linked every step to a primary source.
## The five-minute routine
- **Companies House — the company is real.** Find the lender's company number on their site (usually footer), then open their [Companies House record](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/). Check: status (Active, not Dissolved or Liquidation), incorporation date (not "today, 30 minutes ago"), registered office (not a virtual-office address you can't trace), accounts and confirmation-statement filing history (not overdue), and registered charges.
- **Companies House — the people are real.** Open the "Officers" tab. Check: who is on the board, when they were appointed, country of residence, and whether the same person directs unrelated companies that have been struck off (a small but real red flag).
- **FCA register — what the lender is (and isn't) authorised for.** The [FCA register](https://register.fca.org.uk/) is searchable by company name and number. For a body-corporate-only lender like Credicorp, you should expect *no* regulated-activity permission for consumer credit (that's the point). For a lender that claims to be "FCA-authorised", you should expect a Firm Reference Number and a list of specific permissions matching the claim.
- **UKIPO — the brand is real.** If the lender has a registered trade mark, look it up on the [UKIPO register](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/). Confirm the owner matches the company you just verified at Companies House. (Mismatches are a flag, though not always sinister — brand-protection groups exist for legitimate reasons.)
- **Structural questions — the offer is honest.** Read the product page itself. Look for: a clearly stated maximum loan amount, a clearly stated maximum term, a worked example of the largest borrow, a stated APR (or an explicit explanation of why APR doesn't apply), the personal-guarantee position, the complaints process, and the lender's own statement of its regulatory perimeter.
## Worked example: Credicorp Limited
Running the routine on Credicorp Limited itself, with sources:
### 1. Companies House — the company is real
- [Credicorp Limited — Companies House overview](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826)
- Status: Active
- Incorporated: 21 November 2024
- Registered office: Suite 53c, Unimix House, Abbey Road, London NW10 7TR (operator records; CH currently still shows the prior office — the AD01 is pending)
- Accounts: first accounts not yet due
- Charges: 0 registered
### 2. Companies House — the people are real
- [Credicorp Limited — Companies House officers](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16093826/officers)
- Sole director: appointed 21 November 2024 (date of incorporation) — see the officer record on Companies House
- Same director also leads CM Beyer Limited (17009212) — the sister UK company that holds the new Creditcorp application
- No resignations on file
### 3. FCA register
- [register.fca.org.uk](https://register.fca.org.uk/) — search by "Credicorp Limited" or by company number 16093826
- Expected result: **no record** — Credicorp does not hold FCA permissions for consumer-credit lending and does not need to
- Why that's correct — see [/lending-and-regulation/](/lending-and-regulation/) and the [longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
### 4. UKIPO
- **Credicorp** — [UK00004156742](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004156742), registered to Credicorp Limited, Classes 36 and 45, registered 23 May 2025
- **Creditcorp** — [UK00004379570](https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004379570), applicant CM Beyer Limited, Classes 35 and 36, currently Application Published
- Both companies are under common directorship; both share a registered office
### 5. Structural questions
- **Maximum loan amount:** £500 (both products)
- **Maximum term:** 84 days on the Business Bridging Loan; ongoing on Credicorp Flex with 14-day cycles
- **Worked example of largest borrow:** on the product page, £500 over 84 days at 0.25%/day = £105 interest + £5 fee = £610 to repay; ~137% APR
- **APR shown?** Yes, on the operator product page, with the caveat that APR is a consumer-credit comparison figure
- **Personal guarantee?** None — see [our explainer](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- **Complaints process?** Internal, at [credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints](https://credicorp.co.uk/feedback-and-complaints/), then courts (no FOS)
- **Regulatory statement?** Yes — the operator's footer says clearly that the lending is not a regulated credit agreement under Article 60B and the lender is not FCA-authorised
## What "fails" the test looks like
If a lender's record on Companies House shows any of the following, slow down:
- Status anything other than Active
- Incorporation date in the very recent past combined with a claim of an "established" lending operation
- Registered office at a virtual-office bulk-mail address with hundreds of companies using the same address
- Overdue accounts or confirmation statements
- A director who is a director of dozens of other companies that have been struck off
- Registered charges that look out of proportion to the lender's product set
If a lender claims to be "FCA-authorised" but you cannot find them on the FCA register by name or company number, that's a hard stop — either the claim is wrong, the name on their website doesn't match the legal entity (look for the FRN on their site and search by FRN), or something is misrepresented.
## Why this is worth doing
Five minutes of Companies House plus UKIPO plus the FCA register filters out a meaningful fraction of dubious lender offers. It also helps with legitimate lenders by separating "I trust the brand" from "I can name the actual company that will hold the agreement". The two are different and the second is the one that matters legally.
## Related
- [Resources — every primary source linked from this site](/resources/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Credicorp Limited profile](/companies/credicorp-limited/)
- [CM Beyer Limited profile](/companies/cm-beyer-limited/)
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# ARTICLE: what-counts-as-a-business-purpose — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/what-counts-as-a-business-purpose
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# What counts as a “business purpose” when a company borrows
“Business purpose” is one of those phrases that sounds like box-ticking and turns out to be load-bearing. When an incorporated business borrows, the money has to be for the business — to fund what the company does, not what the people behind it want personally. That single requirement is doing real work: it is part of what keeps the lending where it belongs, on the company side of the line and outside the consumer-credit regime. This piece explains why the purpose matters, what kinds of use qualify, and where the line falls between company borrowing and personal borrowing.
## Why the purpose matters at all
Lending to a company for a business purpose and lending to a person for a personal purpose are two different activities, with two different sets of rules around them. The consumer-credit regime exists to protect *individuals* borrowing for personal, domestic or household reasons. Lending to a body corporate for the purposes of its business sits outside that regime — the framing set out on our [lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/), under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order. The business-purpose requirement is therefore not a formality. It is one of the things that keeps the borrowing honestly characterised as company finance rather than dressed-up consumer credit.
There is a practical reason too. A lender that funds a company is underwriting the company’s ability to generate cash and repay from trading. If the money is going to something that has nothing to do with the company’s trade, the repayment story falls apart — the loan is no longer self-explaining, and the assessment the lender ran no longer fits what the money is actually doing.
## Examples of qualifying business uses
Most genuine uses are obvious once you ask the simple question: does this serve the company’s trade? A short, illustrative set of the kind that clearly qualify — these are general examples, not an offer or a promise to fund any particular one:
- **Stock and materials.** Buying inventory for a confirmed order, or materials a contractor needs before it can bill for the work. The classic working-capital use: cash out now, cash in when the company gets paid.
- **Supplier payments.** Settling a supplier bill on time, or taking an early-settlement discount where the maths works because the borrowing is brief.
- **Payroll and recurring bills.** Bridging a timing mismatch where wages, rent or a VAT bill fall due before the month’s receivables land.
- **Equipment and tools.** Funding the kit the company trades with, from a delivery van to workshop machinery.
- **A short, ring-fenced opportunity.** A one-time bulk buy, a marketing push tied to a launch, or any defined commercial move with a clear payback.
Each of these is recognisably the company spending on the company’s own activity. The [working-capital-versus-term-loan distinction](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan) sorts which shape of finance fits which of these, but all of them pass the threshold question first: they serve the business.
## The company-as-borrower line
Behind the business-purpose test sits a sharper structural point: the borrower is the company, not the director. Credicorp lends to [incorporated UK businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending) — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs — so the agreement is between the lender and the company as a legal person in its own right. A director signs on the company’s behalf, the way a director signs any company contract, not as a borrower in a personal capacity.
That is why “for the business” and “by the business” go together. The money is borrowed by the company and spent on the company’s trade. It does not pass through to fund a director’s personal outgoings, and it is not a route to personal credit through a corporate front. A director who wants to take money out of the company for their own use is in different territory entirely — that is the subject of [a director’s loan versus the company borrowing in its own name](/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing), and it is a question for the company’s accountant, not for a business lender.
## Where the line gets tested
The edge cases are the useful ones to think through. A sole director who buys a laptop the company uses for trading is funding a business purpose; the same director borrowing through the company to buy a family car is not, however the paperwork is dressed. The question is never whose name is on the loan alone — it is whether the money serves the company’s trade. When the answer is genuinely yes, the business-purpose requirement is met. When the honest answer is no, no amount of routing it through the company changes what it is.
A lender that takes this seriously will ask what the money is for, and the answer is part of the assessment, not a hurdle to clear and forget. That is consistent with [how a company’s ability to repay is assessed](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability): the purpose and the repayment source are two halves of the same question.
## The honest summary
A business purpose is money the company borrows to fund its own trade — stock, suppliers, payroll, equipment, a defined opportunity. The requirement matters because it keeps the lending characterised correctly: company finance for a company, not consumer credit in disguise. The borrower is the company, the spending is the company’s, and the line between that and personal borrowing is one the company’s own director should keep clean. When the money serves the trade, the purpose is a business one — and that is the question worth asking before any other.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only](/articles/incorporated-only-business-lending)
- [A director’s loan vs the company borrowing in its own name](/articles/directors-loan-vs-company-borrowing)
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Operator product page — what the loan is for](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: what-happens-if-a-company-cannot-repay — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/what-happens-if-a-company-cannot-repay
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# What happens if a company can’t repay a business loan
Most articles about borrowing stop at the point the money arrives. This one starts where the harder question lives: what actually happens if a company cannot repay? It is an uncomfortable subject, and avoiding it is exactly the wrong instinct — the single most useful thing a director can do when repayment looks doubtful is to face it early. This piece sets out the realistic process, plainly and without spin: what a lender typically does, why talking to them sooner is better than later, what Credicorp’s no-personal-guarantee position means in this situation, and where to turn for help. It is general information, not advice; if your company is in difficulty, take professional advice promptly.
## The realistic process
A missed payment does not trigger anything dramatic on day one. Typically there is a missed-payment notice, contact from the lender, and an attempt to understand what has gone wrong. Interest or charges may apply under the agreement, within whatever cost cap the product carries. If the difficulty continues, the lender will look to agree a way forward — a revised arrangement, a short pause, a repayment plan — and only if cooperation breaks down entirely does formal recovery action against the company become the route. The process is a sequence, not a cliff edge, and the early steps are about communication far more than enforcement.
Two things shape how it unfolds. The first is whether the borrowing is secured. Where a lender holds a charge or a [debenture](/articles/what-is-a-debenture-and-floating-charge), recovery can run against the charged assets. The second is whether there is a personal guarantee, which determines whether anyone’s *personal* assets are exposed. Both points turn on what was signed at the outset, which is one reason reading the agreement carefully before borrowing matters so much.
## Why talking to the lender early helps
The instinct under financial pressure is to go quiet — to hope the next receipt lands before anyone notices. It rarely helps. A lender that hears from a director early, with an honest picture and a realistic plan, has options to work with: a short extension, a revised schedule, a temporary reduction. A lender that hears nothing has fewer. Early contact is not an admission of failure; it is the responsible move, and it almost always widens the range of outcomes available. The same is true of a tax liability, which is why HMRC’s Time to Pay rewards companies that engage before the deadline rather than after, as we cover in [funding a VAT or tax bill](/articles/funding-a-vat-or-tax-bill).
## Why Credicorp takes no personal guarantee
Here is where Credicorp’s model changes the stakes. Because Credicorp [takes no personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), a company that cannot repay is a company-level problem — it does not automatically become a claim on the director’s home or savings. The borrower is the company, recovery is at the company level, and there is no parallel personal contract pulling the director’s own assets into the deal. That is a deliberate feature: it keeps a short company cash gap from turning into a personal one. It is also why the products are small and short — the lender is relying on the company’s own trading, not on a director’s house, so the amounts are sized accordingly.
This does not mean a company can walk away from a debt with no consequence. The company still owes what it borrowed, the obligation is real, and a default has consequences for the company — including its credit standing. But the line between the company and the individual stays intact, which is the whole point of borrowing as a body corporate.
## Where hardship help sits
If a company is genuinely struggling, support exists and using it early is sensible. On the operator side, Credicorp publishes routes for [help with payments](https://credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments/) and [extra support where life is harder than usual](https://credicorp.co.uk/vulnerability/), and contact details for reaching the operator sit at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/). Beyond the lender, free and independent business-debt advice is available, and a company facing real distress should take professional advice on its options — including the directors’ duties that come into sharper focus as a company approaches insolvency, which we touch on in [a director’s duties when the company takes on debt](/articles/directors-duties-and-borrowing). The earlier that advice is taken, the more can usually be done.
## The honest summary
If a company cannot repay, the process is a sequence — notice, contact, an attempt to agree a way forward — not an immediate cliff edge, and it is shaped by whether the borrowing is secured and whether there is a personal guarantee. The single best move is to talk to the lender early and honestly; it widens the options every time. With Credicorp, the absence of a personal guarantee keeps a company difficulty from becoming a personal one, though the company still owes the debt. Where there is genuine hardship, help is available and worth using early. This is the honest picture, and facing it sooner is always better than later.
## Related
- [Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees)
- [When not to borrow: signs a short-term loan is the wrong answer](/articles/when-not-to-borrow)
- [A director’s duties when the company takes on debt](/articles/directors-duties-and-borrowing)
- [Operator: help with payments](https://credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments/)
- [Operator: contact Credicorp](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/)
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# ARTICLE: what-is-a-debenture-and-floating-charge — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/what-is-a-debenture-and-floating-charge
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# Debentures and floating charges: how secured business lending works
If your company has ever borrowed from a bank, you may have been asked to grant a *debenture*. The word sounds archaic and the document is dense, but the idea behind it is simple: it is how a lender takes security over a company so that, if the loan is not repaid, the lender has a claim on the company’s assets ahead of ordinary creditors. This piece explains what a debenture is, how a fixed charge differs from a floating one, how these are registered at Companies House, and why Credicorp’s lending deliberately works the other way — unsecured, with no personal guarantee. It is general information, not advice; take your own professional advice on any document put in front of your company.
## What a debenture actually is
A debenture is a written agreement under which a company grants a lender security over its assets to back a debt. In everyday use, the term covers the whole instrument: the loan obligation, the charges that secure it, and the lender’s rights if the company defaults. The key word is **security**. An unsecured loan is just a promise to repay; a secured loan attaches that promise to specific property, so the lender can look to the asset rather than queue with everyone else if things go wrong. A debenture is the vehicle that creates that attachment over a company’s assets.
Because a company is a body corporate — a legal person in its own right — it can own property and grant charges over that property in its own name. A debenture is therefore a company-level instrument. It is granted by the company, signed on the company’s behalf, and bites on the company’s assets. That is a separate question from whether a director has also been asked to give a *personal* guarantee, which is a different document doing a different job.
## Fixed charges versus floating charges
Inside most debentures sit two kinds of charge, and the difference between them matters a great deal in a default.
A **fixed charge** attaches to a specific, identifiable asset — a particular property, a named piece of plant, sometimes book debts. While the charge is in place the company cannot freely sell or deal with that asset without the lender’s consent. Because the lender has locked onto a defined thing, a fixed charge ranks highly: the charge-holder generally has first claim on that asset’s proceeds.
A **floating charge** hovers over a shifting class of assets — typically stock, raw materials, cash and other things that come and go in the ordinary course of trade. The company can keep buying, selling and using those assets as normal, because the charge “floats” above the pool rather than fixing on any one item. On a default or insolvency, the charge *crystallises*: it drops down and fixes on whatever is in the pool at that moment. A floating charge is more flexible for the company day to day, but it ranks below fixed charges and below certain preferential claims when the money is shared out.
## Registration at Companies House
A charge created by a company over its assets generally has to be registered at Companies House within 21 days of being created. This is set out in the charge-registration provisions of the Companies Act 2006. The point of registration is transparency: once a charge is on the register, anyone — a supplier, a prospective lender, a buyer — can see that the company’s assets are already encumbered and by whom.
The consequence of *not* registering in time is severe: an unregistered charge that should have been registered is generally void against a liquidator, administrator and other creditors, even though the underlying debt remains payable. In plain terms, the lender can lose the very security it bargained for. That is why a company’s charges history at Companies House is something both lenders and counterparties read closely — it tells you who, if anyone, already has a claim over the business. Our companion guide to [secured versus unsecured business borrowing](/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/) walks through how to read that picture.
## Why secured lending is structured this way
Security exists to reduce a lender’s risk, and reduced risk usually buys a borrower a larger sum, a longer term, or a finer rate. For a substantial, longer-lived borrowing — buying premises, funding an acquisition — a debenture can be a perfectly sensible structure: the company pledges assets that outlast the loan, and the cost reflects the lower risk. The trade-off is real, though. A debenture constrains what the company can do with charged assets, it is visible on the public register, and on default the lender can enforce against those assets — potentially appointing an administrator over the company. It is a serious commitment, and one to weigh with your accountant or solicitor before signing.
## Where Credicorp sits — unsecured, no personal guarantee
Credicorp’s short-term products are deliberately on the other side of this line. The Business Bridging Loan, Credicorp Flex and Credicorp Slice are **unsecured**: there is no debenture, no fixed or floating charge over the company’s assets, and nothing registered against the company at Companies House for these facilities. And Credicorp [does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees) either, so the director’s own assets are not pulled in through a side agreement. That combination is a feature of the model: the amounts are small and the terms short precisely *because* the lender is not taking security and is relying on the company’s own trading to repay.
This also fits the regulatory shape of the lending. The borrower is always the company — a UK limited company, LLP or PLC — never the director as an individual, which is why the lending sits [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/lending-and-regulation/) under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order. No security and no guarantee keeps a short company cash gap from quietly becoming a charge on the business or a claim on a director’s home.
## The honest summary
A debenture is how a lender takes security over a company; inside it, a fixed charge locks onto named assets while a floating charge hovers over the shifting pool of stock and cash until it crystallises. Charges must be registered at Companies House within 21 days, and an unregistered charge can be void against other creditors. Secured lending is a reasonable structure for large, long-lived borrowing — but it is a real commitment, visible on the public register, and worth proper advice. Where a need is small and short, Credicorp’s unsecured, no-personal-guarantee approach is the deliberate alternative: no charge, nothing on the register, and the company — not the director — on the hook.
## Related
- [Guide: secured versus unsecured business borrowing](/guides/secured-vs-unsecured-business-borrowing/)
- [Guide: personal guarantees explained](/guides/personal-guarantees-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 — unsecured by design](/products/)
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# ARTICLE: when-not-to-borrow — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/when-not-to-borrow
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# When not to borrow: signs a short-term loan is the wrong answer
Most writing about business finance is about when to borrow. This one is about when not to. A short-term loan is a useful tool for a specific job — bridging a brief, defined cash gap — and like any tool it is the wrong choice for jobs it was not built for. Used in the wrong situation it does not solve the problem; it adds a cost on top of it. This piece is deliberately non-promotional. It sets out the signs that borrowing is the wrong answer, and points to the cheaper or better options that usually are the right one.
## When the shortfall is structural, not a timing gap
The clearest sign to stop is when the gap is not a gap at all. If a company is short of cash every month, at this trading level, regardless of timing, that is not a working-capital cycle — it is a structural shortfall. Short-term finance can paper over one month, but the gap reopens the next, and borrowing again to fill it pays short-term pricing on a permanent problem. The cause is under-capitalisation or a margin that does not work, and neither is fixed by a loan. The honest move is to address the cause: re-price, cut cost, raise capital, or rethink the model. A bridge across a permanent gap just gets longer.
## When you cannot name the repayment source
A short-term loan repays itself out of something specific — an invoice that lands, an order that pays, a banking cycle that turns. If you cannot point to a date and a source for where the repayment comes from, the loan has no exit. “Trade will pick up” is not a repayment source; a confirmed invoice due on the 20th is. When the source is vague, the risk is that the company borrows to survive the month and arrives at the end of the term no better placed to repay than it was at the start. The discipline of naming the repayment source before borrowing is the single best filter there is.
## When you would be borrowing to repay other borrowing
Taking a new short-term loan to clear an existing debt — rolling one facility into another to buy time — is a warning sign, not a solution. Each roll adds cost and pushes the reckoning out without changing the underlying position. If the company is reaching for new credit to service old credit, the problem is the total debt load and the cash that has to feed it, and that is a conversation to have early and openly with existing creditors, not one to defer with another loan. If a Credicorp borrower is heading toward this, the operator’s [help-with-payments routes](https://credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments/) are the place to start, not a fresh facility.
## When a cheaper option is sitting right there
Sometimes borrowing is simply not the cheapest way to solve the problem, and a responsible lender will say so. Before taking a short-term loan, it is worth checking the alternatives that often cost less for the same job:
- **A business overdraft** for a small, very short-lived wobble — sometimes the simplest and cheapest cover.
- **Agreed supplier terms.** A supplier extending you a fortnight may cost nothing, where borrowing to pay them on time costs something.
- **Chasing your own receivables.** If customers owe you, collecting what is already yours beats borrowing against it.
- **Invoice or asset finance** where the need is recurring and tied to invoices or equipment rather than a one-off gap.
Credicorp is on the record pointing borrowers at [alternatives to check first](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first), because matching the solution to the need matters more than making a loan. If a cheaper option fits, take it.
## When the loan would not actually fix the problem
The last test is the bluntest: would the money change anything? If a short-term loan would let the company seize a confirmed, profitable opportunity it could not otherwise fund, it is doing real work. If it would only delay a decision the business needs to make anyway — about a loss-making line, an unaffordable cost base, or a customer that never pays — then it is buying time, not a fix, and time bought with interest is the most expensive kind. Borrowing should move the company forward, not postpone the moment it has to stop.
## The honest summary
A short-term loan is the right answer for a brief, defined gap with a named repayment source and a real purpose. It is the wrong answer when the shortfall is structural, when you cannot say where the repayment comes from, when you would be borrowing to repay other borrowing, when a cheaper option is available, or when the money would only delay a decision rather than enable one. Knowing when not to borrow is part of borrowing well — and a lender worth dealing with would rather you reached for the cheaper option than took a loan that does not help.
## Related
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need](/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan)
- [How a lender assesses whether a company can afford to repay](/articles/how-lenders-assess-affordability)
- [Help with payments (operator)](https://credicorp.co.uk/help-with-payments/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
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# ARTICLE: why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees
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# Why Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee
A personal guarantee is a separate contract that turns a company debt into a personal debt. Most UK short-term business lenders require one. Credicorp does not. This is the longer-form version of why — what a personal guarantee is, what it does, why most lenders want one, and the reasoning behind the operating policy.
## What a personal guarantee is
A personal guarantee (often called a "PG") is a contract between a lender and a director (or shareholder, or any individual) under which that individual promises to repay the company's debt if the company itself does not. It is a parallel contract to the loan: the company remains the borrower on the loan agreement, but the individual signs a separate deed of guarantee that the lender can call on if the company defaults.
Mechanically, it means the lender has two routes to recover money — from the company's assets, and from the guarantor's personal assets (savings, salary, eventually their home if the guarantee is unlimited and they cannot pay).
## Why most short-term lenders want one
Three reasons, in order of how often they are admitted publicly:
- **Risk-reduction.** A guarantor gives the lender a second pocket to dip into. That lowers the expected loss on default, which in principle should lower the price of credit.
- **Skin in the game.** A director who has personally guaranteed the loan thinks differently about default. The argument is that this is good for the lender (less default risk) *and* for the borrower (more disciplined use of the credit).
- **Veil-piercing without litigation.** The director-shareholder of a small UK company is, in practical reality, the same person as the company. Insisting on a PG short-circuits the corporate veil so the lender doesn't have to argue about it later.
All three are real reasons. None of them is in itself wrong. They just have a price.
## What a PG costs the director, beyond money
The price is asymmetric. A PG is cheap to give when the business is healthy and expensive at exactly the moment when the business is in trouble — which is precisely when the lender will want to enforce it.
- **It turns a company difficulty into a personal one.** Your bank account, savings, and (if the PG is unlimited) home equity become recovery options for a creditor of the company.
- **It bypasses the protection of limited liability.** The reason directors operate through a limited company is the limited-liability shield. A PG voluntarily switches it off for one specific creditor.
- **It complicates insolvency.** Even if the company goes into administration or liquidation in an orderly way, the PG-creditor can still come after the director afterwards.
- **It can change behaviour in unhelpful ways.** A director facing a PG call may keep funding a failing business with their own money to avoid the call — sometimes for longer than they should.
## Why Credicorp doesn't take one
Three reasons:
- **The product is small and short.** Loans of £50–£500 over 14–84 days, capped at 100% of principal in total cost. The lender does not need a second pocket to cover the maximum exposure on a single loan.
- **Body-corporate borrowing is the entire product thesis.** Credicorp lends to UK limited companies, LLPs and PLCs as a deliberate perimeter choice. Taking a PG would undo the body-corporate framing — the lender would effectively be lending to the director, just through a corporate front. That is not the product.
- **Underwriting carries the risk.** The operator's underwriting is on the company — Companies House verification, business credit check, affordability check on the bank statements. The lender takes the company-level credit decision on its own book; it does not need a director to backstop it.
## What that means in practice for a director
When you sign a Credicorp business-loan agreement, the signature is on the company's behalf. There is no parallel deed of guarantee. The company's bank account is the repayment route. If the company defaults, the operator's recovery is at the company level — against company assets, through company processes, ultimately via the courts against the company.
You as director are not personally liable for the loan. This is also true under [section 16 of the Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/16) — the company is a separate legal person with its own balance sheet — but the absence of a PG is what makes that "true in practice", not only "true in theory".
## How this fits with the regulatory position
Credicorp's lending sits outside the FCA's consumer-credit regime because the borrower is a body corporate, not an individual — see [our lending-and-regulation page](/lending-and-regulation/) and the [longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime). A personal guarantee would arguably make the relationship look like consumer credit through the back door: the company is the nominal borrower, but the individual is the real one. Not taking a PG keeps the borrower-status honest.
## What about Credicorp Flex?
Same answer. The revolving facility has the same product pricing, the same eligibility, and the same no-PG position. The borrower is the company; the director is not personally liable on any drawing.
## The trade-off, said out loud
There is one. Body-corporate-only lending without a personal guarantee is a tighter product than a director-guaranteed unsecured loan would be. Limits are small. Terms are short. The price reflects the risk that the company takes the loan, the company falters, and the lender's recovery options are company-level only.
If you need more credit than a Credicorp loan offers, or cheaper credit, the operator is on the record recommending [several alternatives](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/) — business overdraft, business credit card, invoice finance, asset finance, a longer-term SME loan from a mainstream lender like iwoca or Funding Circle. Those alternatives often require a PG. That is the trade-off.
## Related
- [Products at Credicorp Limited](/products/)
- [Lending and regulation — Article 60B in plain English](/lending-and-regulation/)
- [Outside the consumer-credit regime: longer-form explainer](/articles/outside-the-consumer-credit-regime)
- [Operator product page](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)
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# ARTICLE: working-capital-vs-term-loan — https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/articles/working-capital-vs-term-loan
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# Working capital vs a term loan: matching finance to the need
“How much do you want to borrow?” is the question every business-finance conversation starts with. It is the wrong question to start with. The first question is *what shape is the need* — because the two main families of business borrowing, working capital finance and a term loan, are built for two different shapes. Get the match wrong and you either pay interest on money you didn’t need for as long as you held it, or you run out of headroom halfway through a project. This is a plain-English comparison of the two, and an honest account of where short-term working capital actually fits.
## The two shapes, in one paragraph each
**A term loan** is a fixed sum, drawn in one go, repaid over a set period in scheduled instalments. You borrow £X today and you know on day one exactly what you owe, when each payment falls, and when the balance hits zero. It is the right instrument for a one-off, identifiable, longer-lived purpose: buying a van, fitting out a unit, acquiring a competitor’s book of business. The asset or the benefit outlasts the loan, and the repayments are spread across the years you enjoy it.
**Working capital finance** is money to bridge the gap between paying out and getting paid in. It is short-dated by nature, because the gap it fills is short. A restaurant that buys stock on Monday and banks the takings on Sunday has a working-capital cycle measured in days. A builder who buys materials up front and invoices on completion has one measured in weeks. The finance is sized to the cycle, used, and cleared — then, if the cycle repeats, used again.
## Why the distinction matters more than the headline rate
Businesses fixate on the advertised rate and ignore the structure. The structure is usually where the money is won or lost. Consider a £10,000 need that genuinely lasts three weeks — a one-off stock buy for a confirmed order that pays in 21 days. Put it on a three-year term loan and you are paying for thirty-six months to solve a three-week problem. The headline rate might look low; the total interest, divided by the few weeks you actually needed the money, is anything but.
The reverse error is just as expensive. Fund a permanent, structural cash need — you are simply under-capitalised and always will be at this trading level — with repeated short-term borrowing, and you pay short-term pricing on a long-term problem, indefinitely, while never addressing the cause. Short-term finance is a tool for short-term gaps. It is not a substitute for equity or for a properly sized facility when the need is structural.
## Where short-term working capital actually fits
There is a recognisable set of situations where short-dated working capital is the right answer rather than a compromise:
- **A confirmed order you can’t fund from the current account.** The customer is real, the margin is real, the payment date is known — you just need the materials or stock before the money lands. The finance is repaid out of the proceeds of the very thing it funded.
- **A timing mismatch, not a shortfall.** You are profitable across the month but the rent, payroll or VAT bill lands before the receivables do. The gap is days or weeks, and it closes by itself.
- **A short, ring-fenced opportunity.** A supplier offers a settlement discount for paying early, or a one-time bulk-buy beats the working-capital cost of borrowing for it. The maths works *because* the borrowing is brief.
- **A genuine one-off shock with a clear recovery date.** A delayed payment from a large customer, an unexpected repair — something that pushes the cycle out by a fortnight, not something that recurs every month.
The common thread is a defined start, a defined end, and a repayment source you can point to. When you cannot point to the end date or the repayment source, the need is probably structural, and short-term finance is the wrong tool no matter how quick or convenient it is.
## A simple test before you borrow
Three questions sort most of it out:
- **When does this money come back?** If you can name a date and a source — an invoice, an order, a banking cycle — short-term working capital is in frame. If you can’t, you are looking at a term loan or, honestly, at capital you don’t yet have.
- **How long does the benefit last?** A van that serves you for five years is a term-loan purchase. A pallet of stock that ships next week is a working-capital one. Match the life of the borrowing to the life of the thing it buys.
- **Is this a one-off or a pattern?** A one-off gap suits a one-off short-term loan. A pattern that repeats every month is telling you the business is under-capitalised — address the cause, don’t rent the symptom.
## Where Credicorp sits on this map
The operator, Credicorp Limited, is deliberately on the short-dated, working-capital end of this spectrum. The business bridging loan is small and short by design — a tool for the confirmed-order, timing-mismatch and short-shock situations above, not a five-year asset-purchase facility. That is a feature, not a limitation: the product is honest about what it is for. For a structural or longer-lived need it is on the record pointing borrowers at [other instruments](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/) — overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance, longer SME term loans — because matching the finance to the need matters more than making a sale.
Two structural points are worth restating, because they shape what the borrowing is. Credicorp lends only to **incorporated UK businesses** — limited companies, LLPs and PLCs — so the company is the borrower, not the director. And it [does not take a personal guarantee](/articles/why-we-dont-take-personal-guarantees), which keeps a short company cash gap from becoming a personal liability. The lending sits [outside the FCA consumer-credit regime](/lending-and-regulation/) precisely because the borrower is a body corporate, not an individual.
## The honest summary
Working capital and a term loan are not competitors; they are tools for different jobs. A term loan spreads the cost of a long-lived purchase across the years you benefit from it. Short-term working capital bridges a brief, identifiable gap and then gets out of the way. The skill is not finding the cheapest headline rate — it is being honest about the shape of the need, and reaching for the instrument built for that shape. When the gap is short, defined, and has a name for where the repayment comes from, short-term working capital is exactly the right answer.
## Related
- [Products at Credicorp Limited — what the bridging loan is for](/products/)
- [The alternatives we recommend you check before applying](/articles/alternatives-we-recommend-you-check-first)
- [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/)
- [Operator product page — apply or compare](https://credicorp.co.uk/business-loans/)