What is an unsecured business loan?
An unsecured business loan is a sum lent to a company and repaid in fixed instalments over an agreed term, without the lender taking a charge over any property, equipment or other asset of the company. The lender’s decision rests on the company’s filed accounts, its recent bank statements and the directors’ own standing, and on a default its recourse is a claim against the company and, almost always, a personal guarantee from one or more directors.
"Unsecured" describes the company’s side. From the director’s side the loan is usually guaranteed, which is a personal commitment even though no charge is taken over the company’s assets. We have access to a range of UK commercial finance lenders through our principal, White Rose Finance Group Limited. Each lender publishes its own amounts, terms and criteria and makes its own decision.
How it differs from a secured loan
A secured loan gives the lender a registered charge over a named asset, so that on a default the lender can take and sell that asset ahead of other creditors. An unsecured lender has no such asset to look to; it ranks with the other unsecured creditors if the company fails, after the fixed and floating charge holders and the preferential creditors. That difference is why unsecured lenders read the trading record harder, lend smaller sums over shorter terms than a secured lender would, and price for the risk. Each lender publishes its own terms for each, and which structure a business uses is its own decision.
What the lender reads instead of security
The filed accounts at Companies House, which a private company files within 9 months of its year end; management figures where the filed accounts are more than 6 months old; the last 3 to 6 months of business bank statements or an Open Banking connection, read for the pattern of the account rather than its balance; the company’s credit file and the directors’ files; and the trading time, because a company under a year old has no filed accounts and the lenders open to it underwrite on statements and the directors instead.
The personal guarantee
On an unsecured loan to a limited company the personal guarantee does the work that security does on a secured loan. It is a contract between the director and the lender under which the director promises to repay if the company does not. It is not registered at Companies House and takes no charge over anything, but on a default the lender pursues the director as an individual. The personal guarantee page explains the document and what to read before signing it.
What an unsecured business loan looks like
A fixed sum, drawn once. A fixed term in months. A fixed monthly instalment of capital and interest, collected by direct debit. An arrangement fee, stated in the offer. Early repayment terms, which differ by lender: some charge the full interest for the term, some rebate part of it, some charge nothing. No facility to draw again, which is what separates a loan from a revolving credit facility or an overdraft. Each lender publishes its own minimum and maximum, term, rate and fees; we show the figures each lender provides so you can compare them, and no rate appears on this page.
We arrange loans from £10,000, for businesses that have traded for 3 months or more. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. Enquiring does not affect your credit score. If you apply to a lender, it runs its own credit search, which may be recorded on your file.
Regulation
CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is a credit broker and an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited (FRN 630772), which is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a broker, not a lender. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. If you have a complaint, our complaints page explains how it is handled.
Frequently asked questions
Is an unsecured business loan really unsecured?
For the company, yes: no charge is taken over its assets. For the director who signs a personal guarantee, no: the guarantee is a personal commitment to repay if the company cannot, and it is enforceable against the director’s own assets.
How much can a company borrow unsecured?
Each lender publishes its own minimum and maximum and sizes a loan on the accounts and the bank statements. We arrange loans from £10,000; the upper figure for a case comes from the lenders whose criteria it meets, side by side.
What is the difference between an unsecured loan and an overdraft?
A loan is a fixed sum drawn once and repaid in instalments over a term. An overdraft is a limit on the current account that can be used and repaid at will, charges interest only on the overdrawn balance and is repayable on demand. The business overdraft page sets out the alternatives to one.
Can a company get an unsecured loan with adverse credit?
Each lender sets its own view of adverse credit; the age of the mark, whether it is satisfied and the explanation all matter. The bad credit business loans page explains what a lender asks for at each level.
Does enquiring affect my credit score?
Enquiring does not affect your credit score. If you apply to a lender, it runs its own credit search, which may be recorded on your file.
How is CapExpand paid?
We will receive commission from lenders. On some cases we also charge a fee, which we set out in writing and agree with you before you proceed.
More funding questions answered
- What is a decision in principle?A lender’s indication, on the papers and before a valuation or full underwriting, that it would lend a stated amount on stated terms; what it is worth and how it becomes an offer.
- What is mezzanine finance?The layer between the senior debt and the equity: a second charge or a subordinated loan that fills the gap a senior lender will not, on a development or an acquisition.
- What is a business overdraft?A limit on the current account the business draws into and repays at will, charging interest on the overdrawn balance and repayable on demand; arranged with the bank, not a broker.
- What is a management buyout?The purchase of a company by the managers who run it, through a new company funded by senior debt, a vendor loan note and the managers’ own equity.
- What is hire purchase?A business pays for an asset in instalments and owns it after the last payment and the option fee: who owns what and when, VAT and capital allowances.
- What is working capital?Current assets less current liabilities: the working capital cycle in days, how to read the figure from the accounts, and where finance fits.
An unsecured loan for the company
The amount, the purpose and how long the company has traded are enough for us to check the case against lenders’ published criteria before anything is sent anywhere.
Sources
Checked 26 October 2026. This page explains the structure of an unsecured loan; each lender publishes its own amounts, terms, rates and criteria, and nothing on this page is a quote.
CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is a credit broker and an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited (FRN 630772), which is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a broker, not a lender. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. We do not provide financial advice.