Paragon Bank review UK 2026, buy-to-let, asset finance, invoice finance and development lending

What Paragon Bank lends

Buy-to-let came first, and the bank says it has been doing it for over 30 years. The criteria page sets the minimum loan at £30,000 for a purchase or remortgage and £2,000 for a further advance, with a term of 5 to 35 years and a borrower aged 21 at the start and no more than 85 at the end. Maximum loan runs on a ladder: up to £800,000 at 80% loan to value, £1.2m at 75%, £1.7m at 70%, and £2m or £4m at 65% depending on portfolio size. Aggregate borrowing is capped at £2m for a landlord with three or fewer mortgaged properties and £10m for larger portfolios, limited companies, HMOs and multi-unit blocks.

The SME Lending side describes seven structures. Hire purchase runs up to five years with monthly, quarterly or seasonal payments and ownership at the end. A finance lease closes with three choices: return the kit, keep renting it, or sell it to an unconnected buyer and keep a pre-agreed share of the proceeds. Sale and HP back and sale and leaseback both have Paragon buy an asset the business already owns at an agreed value and advance that sum. Refinance goes one step further, settling another lender to take title and paying over the difference. An operating lease has Paragon set a residual value the customer never pays, and the loans page says a business loan may be unsecured or supported by other security.

Sector pages, read 21 September 2026, name yellow plant, cranes and access platforms under construction; HGVs, LCVs, trailers, recovery vehicles and waste collection vehicles under transport; new and used machinery under agriculture; corporate jets, helicopters and light aircraft under aviation; and renewable technology for commercial and public sector bodies. Invoice finance advances up to 95% of an invoice, in confidential discounting, factoring or a CHOCCS arrangement, with a customer protection option, and the page lists manufacturing, engineering, recruitment, print, haulage and courier businesses among its clients.

Development finance covers multi-unit residential new build, conversion and refurbishment, build to rent, student accommodation, pre-planning site purchase, marketing period loans on finished units, care homes and light industrial space, with pre-let commercial funded up to 65% of net investment value. A Green Homes initiative applies to schemes of at least five private units where 80% or more reach EPC A. Structured lending, a desk established in 2017, provides secured revolving facilities of £5m to £35m to non-bank lenders against their own receivables.

Who Paragon Bank lends to

On mortgages the who-we-can-help page lists first-time landlords, experienced portfolio landlords and limited company landlords, on single self-contained units through to large HMOs and multi-unit blocks of up to 20 units. A landlord with three or fewer mortgaged properties needs a combined gross income of £25,000 a year from employment, self-employment or pension; with four or more there is no income floor, though all income must be shown. HMO and multi-unit cases need two years of letting experience, the property must be worth at least £75,000, and it needs an EPC rating of E or an exemption.

Rental cover is set by tax band and property type. A basic rate taxpayer or a limited company is tested at 125% on a single self-contained property and 130% on an HMO or multi-unit block; a higher or additional rate taxpayer is tested at 140% and 145%. Where total exposure passes £5m the portfolio is held to 75% loan to value and each new property to 70%. Consumer buy-to-let contracts are accepted where the criteria are met.

For SME finance the bank publishes sectors rather than a trading-time rule, and its December 2025 release says the division serves construction, manufacturing, agriculture and transport across the UK, with a 23% rise in customer numbers in three years. Invoice finance takes new start businesses, management buyouts and buy-ins, and turnaround cases. The site footer states that Paragon Bank PLC holds Financial Services Register number 604551, and that entry can be read at register.fca.org.uk. Lending secured on property through us is for UK limited companies and LLPs, on business terms.

How an application runs

SME cases go in through the Paragon Origination Portal. The intermediary page says a quote is processed in about 10 minutes, deals up to £150,000 are eligible for an instant automated decision, and payout can be made the same day. The December 2025 release puts nearly 90% of new SME lending through digital channels first, with approval times cut by 60% since the portal arrived. Field and office contacts sit behind it, and Paragon is an accredited lender under the Growth Guarantee Scheme.

Mortgages run on a separate intermediary system with published service levels. As of 8 September 2026 the bank was answering calls within 45 seconds, 85% of applications received an instant decision in principle, referrals were reviewed in one working day and valuations in three. Applications are placed through brokers registered with the bank, the applicant's own solicitor can act if the firm is on Lender Exchange and Paragon's panel, and payments go by direct debit from a UK bank account in the applicant's name.

With us, the numbers are matched against Paragon and the rest of the panel first, then a named case handler packages the proposal for whichever portal the product needs. We arrange; Paragon Bank decides. Enquiring does not affect your credit score.

Paragon Bank on our panel

At September 2026 the 60 live Paragon products we held split into 50 buy-to-let mortgages sized from £30,000 up to £4m, 5 business loans over terms from 12 months up to 5 years, 3 asset finance products sized from £2,000 up to £10m over terms from 1 month up to 7 years, 1 development finance product sized from £1m up to £35m and 1 invoice finance product sized from £50,000 up to £2m. Every span is read per category from our own pull, describes the panel on that date rather than an offer, and moves as products are added or withdrawn.

Around Paragon, at September 2026 we counted 26 lender brands on the panel with a live buy-to-let product for HMOs, 25 for multi-unit blocks, 24 taking first-time landlords and 12 lending to a trading business; on the asset side, 33 fund construction plant, 7 fund aviation and 31 fund green energy assets. Those are counts of brands holding at least one live product, not a statement about Paragon's own criteria.