Compare business loans: the six things that decide what one costs
Most people compare business loans on the headline rate, and the headline rate is the number a lender has the most room to dress up. Two offers at the same rate can be thousands of pounds apart once the fee, the term and the early repayment terms are in. This page is the comparison we run on every case before it goes anywhere: six things to put side by side, a worked method, and every lender on our panel named with what we hold for each.
The six things to compare
- 1
Total repayable, not the rate
Add the arrangement fee to the amount borrowed, then multiply the monthly payment by the months. That one figure is what the loan costs. A 5% arrangement fee on £50,000 is £2,500 before you have paid a penny of interest, and it is easy to miss on a quote that leads with a rate.
- 2
How the interest is charged
An annual rate on a reducing balance, a monthly rate, a flat rate on the original sum, or a factor on a cash advance are four different measures. A flat rate is the one that catches people: 5.9% flat over five years works out at about 11.2% a year once you express it as an APR, because you keep paying interest on money you have already repaid. Our factor rate page walks through the arithmetic.
- 3
The term, and what it does to the monthly figure
A longer term buys a smaller payment and costs more in total. The right question is not which payment is lowest but what the business can carry in a quiet month, and then the shortest term that fits inside it.
- 4
Early repayment
If you might clear the loan early, from a contract paying out or a better facility, ask what that costs. Some lenders charge the remaining interest, some a fixed number of months, some nothing. On a three-year loan repaid after one, the difference between those three answers is most of a year of interest.
- 5
Security and the personal guarantee
Unsecured means no charge over a specific asset, not no recourse. Nearly every unsecured business loan carries a personal guarantee from a director, and some carry a debenture over the company as well. Read what the guarantee covers, whether it is joint, and whether it survives a change of ownership. Secured borrowing pledges something specific, which is why it goes further and costs less.
- 6
What happens if a payment is late
The default rate, the fee for a missed payment, and how quickly a lender escalates are all in the agreement and almost never in the quote. A month that goes wrong is when you find out what you signed, so read that clause before the good one.
Speed is the seventh, and the one to weigh honestly. A decision in 48 hours is worth a lot when a supplier is waiting; it is worth nothing if a two-week wait would have bought a facility that costs less every month for three years. Both exist on the panel, and we say which is which.
Two offers, side by side
Example figures, not quotes, and no lender is named. Two offers for the same £50,000, laid out the way we lay them out on the call.
| Offer A | Offer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | £50,000 | £50,000 |
| Arrangement fee | £2,500 (5%), added to the loan | None |
| Term | 36 months | 60 months |
| Monthly payment | £1,700 | £1,050 |
| Total repayable | £61,200 | £63,000 |
| Cost of the money | £11,200 over 3 years | £13,000 over 5 years |
| Repaid early after 12 months | Remaining interest charged in full | Balance only, no penalty |
Offer A costs £1,800 less over its life and £650 a month more while it runs. Offer B is the one to take if a quiet quarter would put the £1,700 at risk, or if there is a real chance of clearing it early, because A charges the whole remaining interest on the way out and B does not. Neither is right in general. One is right for a particular business with particular months, which is why the comparison is a conversation rather than a table.
Secured or unsecured, at a glance
Unsecured
55 lenders on the panel, product limits from £1,000 to £20 million, checked September 2026
- No charge over a specific asset; a personal guarantee is the norm.
- Decisions in days, sometimes hours, because there is nothing to value.
- Sized on turnover, profit and the bank statements, so a younger or asset-light business can still borrow.
- Terms from a few months to about five years.
Secured
19 lenders on the panel, product limits from £5,000 to £10 million, checked September 2026
- A charge over property, usually a second charge behind the mortgage.
- More money and a longer term than the same business could borrow unsecured.
- Weeks rather than days, because the security is valued and the legal work runs.
- The asset is at risk if the loan is not repaid, which is the whole reason it costs less.
The product limits are the smallest minimum and the largest maximum across each panel, not what a typical business is offered. The business loans page covers what lenders look at on each; this page is about comparing the offers once you have them.
Who the panel will look at
Comparing loans starts with which lenders will consider the case at all. These are distinct lenders on our panel with at least one live product matching each criterion.
24
unsecured lenders list minor adverse credit as acceptable
8
unsecured lenders go as far as moderate adverse
21
unsecured lenders take a business trading under a year
5
unsecured lenders will consider a start-up
39
unsecured lenders do not need a homeowner director
7
secured lenders will consider a start-up with security
Counts are distinct lenders on our panel with at least one live product matching the criterion, checked September 2026. Panel composition changes over time, and meeting a criterion is not an offer: every case is subject to the lender's own checks.
Every lender on the panel, named
A comparison you cannot check is a claim. This is the roster we place unsecured and secured loans with, each lender with the number of live products and the size span across them, from our own catalogue. Naming a lender is a fact about the panel, not a recommendation, and inclusion does not imply any affiliation with or approval by that lender. Panel composition changes; the figures carry their date.
Every unsecured business loans lender on our panel
55 lenders, 135 live unsecured business loans products. Most brokers say “100+ lenders” and name none. These are ours, so you can check them. One enquiry is checked against the criteria of all of them before anything is submitted.
| Lender | Products | Size range |
|---|---|---|
| Investec | 10 | £25,001 to £500,000 |
| Kingsway Finance | 10 | £25,000 to £350,000 |
| Admiral Leasing and Loans | 8 | £10,000 to £100,000 |
| Rivers Leasing | 8 | £5,000 to £50,000 |
| White Oak | 6 | £5,000 to £250,000 |
| Braemar Finance | 5 | £5,000 to £500,000 |
| Paragon Bank | 5 | — |
| Funding Circle | 4 | £10,000 to £750,000 |
| Oxbury Bank | 4 | £15,000 to £150,000 |
| Cubefunder | 3 | £5,000 to £50,000 |
| Fleximize | 3 | £10,000 to £250,000 |
| iwoca | 3 | £1,000 to £1m |
| Kingsley Asset Finance | 3 | £10,000 to £75,000 |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | 3 | £5,000 to £500,000 |
| Playter | 3 | £30,000 to £500,000 |
| Swishfund | 3 | £15,000 to £100,000 |
| 365 Finance | 2 | £10,000 to £500,000 |
| Allica Bank | 2 | £25,001 to £150,000 |
| Bizcap | 2 | £5,000 to £1m |
| Capify | 2 | £5,000 to £500,000 |
| Credit 4 | 2 | £15,000 to £150,000 |
| FlexyCap | 2 | £10,000 to £350,000 |
| Funding Alternative Group | 2 | £5,000 to £250,000 |
| Juice | 2 | £5,000 to £1m |
| MCL Finance | 2 | £5,000 to £250,000 |
| Mercia Asset Management | 2 | £100,000 to £1m |
| Momenta Finance | 2 | £50,000 to £500,000 |
| Premium Credit | 2 | £10,000 to £1m |
| Swiftfund | 2 | £10,000 to £500,000 |
| ThinCats | 2 | £1m to £15m |
| Uncapped | 2 | £10,000 to £2.5m |
| 1st Merchant Finance | 1 | £50,000 to £250,000 |
| Adelpha Capital | 1 | £2,000 to £100,000 |
| Adsum | 1 | £25,000 to £2m |
| All Capital | 1 | £5m to £20m |
| BCRS Business Loans | 1 | £25,000 to £150,000 |
| BloomSmith | 1 | £50,000 to £2m |
| Elect Capital | 1 | £5,000 to £750,000 |
| Factored | 1 | £3,000 to £75,000 |
| Finance for Enterprise | 1 | £25,001 to £500,000 |
| Finance Yorkshire | 1 | £25,001 to £250,000 |
| FW Capital | 1 | £100,000 to £2m |
| HSBC | 1 | £25,001 to £300,000 |
| LendingCrowd | 1 | £75,000 to £350,000 |
| Little Business Loans | 1 | £2,000 to £20,000 |
| Multifi | 1 | £4,999 to £350,000 |
| NatWest | 1 | £25,001 to £50,000 |
| OakNorth Bank | 1 | £1m to £20m |
| Outfund | 1 | £10,000 to £1.5m |
| Revolve | 1 | £25,000 to £100,000 |
| SAPI | 1 | £5,000 to £500,000 |
| Sigma Lending | 1 | £5,000 to £100,000 |
| Simply Funded | 1 | £5,000 to £100,000 |
| Triffin | 1 | £50,000 to £2m |
| YouLend | 1 | £3,000 to £1m |
Product counts and size ranges across each lender's unsecured business loans products on our panel, checked September 2026. The figures for the whole panel are published in The UK SME Lending Panel 2026. These are not offers or quotes, and a dash means we hold no published figure for that field. Lender criteria change. All lending is subject to status and the lender's own checks. Being on the panel is a fact about the panel: it is not an endorsement of CapExpand by any lender named, and implies no affiliation. Panel composition changes.
Every secured business loans lender on our panel
19 lenders, 38 live secured business loans products. Most brokers say “100+ lenders” and name none. These are ours, so you can check them. One enquiry is checked against the criteria of all of them before anything is submitted.
| Lender | Products | Size range |
|---|---|---|
| United Trust Bank | 6 | £10,000 to £500,000 |
| Selina Finance | 5 | £10,000 to £500,000 |
| Mercantile Trust | 4 | £10,000 to £300,000 |
| Together | 4 | £30,000 to £2m |
| Accredo Secured Business Finance | 2 | £26,000 to £1.5m |
| FinSec Limited | 2 | £15,000 to £500,000 |
| Jabac Finances Ltd | 2 | £25,000 to £500,000 |
| Rivers Leasing | 2 | £50,000 to £250,000 |
| 4Syte | 1 | £30,000 to £500,000 |
| Adelpha Capital | 1 | £5,000 to £150,000 |
| Capify | 1 | £50,000 to £500,000 |
| Credit 4 | 1 | £75,000 to £250,000 |
| Fleximize | 1 | £26,000 to £500,000 |
| Momenta Finance | 1 | £50,000 to £1.5m |
| Nationwide Finance | 1 | £6,000 to £500,000 |
| Praetura Asset Finance | 1 | £120,000 to £5m |
| Reward Funding | 1 | £100,000 to £3m |
| Swishfund | 1 | £15,000 to £423,000 |
| Ultimate Finance | 1 | £500,000 to £10m |
Product counts and size ranges across each lender's secured business loans products on our panel, checked September 2026. The figures for the whole panel are published in The UK SME Lending Panel 2026. These are not offers or quotes, and a dash means we hold no published figure for that field. Lender criteria change. All lending is subject to status and the lender's own checks. Being on the panel is a fact about the panel: it is not an endorsement of CapExpand by any lender named, and implies no affiliation. Panel composition changes.
Questions people ask when comparing
What is the quickest way to compare two business loan offers?▼
Put the total repayable side by side, not the rate. Add the arrangement fee to the loan, multiply the monthly payment by the number of months, and compare those two totals. Then check the two things the total hides: whether you can clear it early without a penalty, and what the personal guarantee covers. Ten minutes with a calculator settles most of it.
Is a lower monthly payment a cheaper loan?▼
Usually not. A lower payment normally means a longer term, and a longer term means more months of interest. On the same £50,000, spreading it over five years instead of three can cut the monthly figure by a third while adding several thousand pounds to what you repay in total. Decide what the business can afford each month first, then take the shortest term that fits it.
Why do two lenders quote rates that look nothing alike?▼
Because they are not measuring the same thing. One quotes an annual percentage on the reducing balance, another a monthly rate, another a flat rate on the original sum, and a cash advance quotes a factor with no rate at all. A flat rate roughly doubles when you convert it to an APR, so 5.9% flat over five years is about 11.2% a year. Convert everything to total repayable before you compare.
How many lenders do you compare for a business loan?▼
Our panel holds 55 lenders writing unsecured business loans and 19 writing secured ones, part of 200+ lenders across every product, checked September 2026. We do not send your case to all of them. We check their published criteria against your figures first and put it only to the ones it fits, which is usually a handful.
Can I compare business loans with bad credit?▼
Yes. 24 lenders on the unsecured panel list minor adverse credit as acceptable and 8 go as far as moderate, as at September 2026. What changes is the size of the panel and the rate, not whether there is a panel. Tell us what is on the file before we look, because a default a lender finds is worse for you than one you told us about.
Does comparing loans through you affect my credit score?▼
No. Enquiring does not affect your credit score. We check your figures against the lenders' published criteria before anything is submitted, and a lender only runs its own search once you have seen the terms and said yes to that application.
What does CapExpand charge for this?▼
Nothing to you. We are a commercial finance broker, not a lender. If a loan completes the lender pays us a commission, and we tell you the amount on request. If nothing fits, we say so on the first call and you have lost nothing but ten minutes.
Want the comparison done on your figures?
Two minutes on the form or one call. We check your case against the 55 unsecured and 19 secured lenders on the panel, put it only to the ones it fits once you say so, and lay the offers out the way the table above does. Finance arranged for UK limited companies, LLPs, sole traders and partnerships.
Sources
- British Business Bank, finance options for smaller businesses: the products and how each is structured, read 21 September 2026.
- BVA BDRC, SME Finance Monitor: the share of bank loan applications declined, which is why criteria are checked before an application goes in.
- Bank of England, Bank Rate: the base the variable-rate products on the panel price over (3.75%, unchanged since 18 December 2025).
- British Business Bank, Growth Guarantee Scheme: the 70% guarantee that can change how far a lender goes on a marginal case, read 21 September 2026.
- GOV.UK, finance and support for your business: the public schemes worth checking before you borrow commercially.
- CapExpand, factor rate and APR explained: the flat-to-APR arithmetic the second item above refers to.
- CapExpand, the lender panel: the roster the two tables are drawn from, checked September 2026.