Grow your business with with Nucleus Cash Flow Finance

- Borrow £25,000 to £150,000
- Apply online in 2 minutes
- Funding in 24 hours
Whether you need a £25k lump sum up front, or simply need the financial breathing room to focus on growth, there’s a range of business finance options that could help. This guide will help you understand the choices.
For larger sums, lenders may look to secure the loan against a business or personal asset, such as property or equipment. Much like a mortgage, if you fail to repay your loan, the lender can sell the asset to recoup any losses.
Realistically, a secured loan can take a little longer to fund, because the lender will need to verify the value of the asset that you put forward. The benefit is that having security can mitigate some of the risk for a lender, which can mean better rates. However, if you or your business has bad credit, then putting up some collateral as security might be the only way to get approved.
An unsecured loan doesn’t require you to put anything forward as collateral, but you’ll probably need good credit, healthy growth and a number of years of successfully trading under your belt – especially to get a decent rate or a larger sum. Not needing security generally means a faster turnaround – potentially even the same day.
Learn more about secured vs unsecured business loans
Another option is a personal guarantee – which is where a director makes a legal promise to be personally responsible for a loan, in the event that the business fails to repay. Under this sort of agreement, you’ll be putting your personal finances on the line, but many lenders will insist on it.
Learn more about personal guarantees
For a £25,000 business loan, you may be asked to either secure against business assets or sign a personal guarantee.
If you’re looking for a lump sum to be paid upfront, your options include:
If you’re looking for ongoing access to business credit, consider the following options:
If you need the lump sum upfront, but still like the idea of ongoing, flexible credit, consider these options:
A business overdraft is another flexible line of credit that you may wish to consider, but it won’t typically be available for large sums like £25,000, and although it’s super-flexible, it’s usually a very expensive method of borrowing.
Here are some of the key factors to consider:
Interest rate of 5% fixed p.a. | Interest rate of 10% fixed p.a. | Interest rate of 20% fixed p.a. | |
---|---|---|---|
2 year loan | Monthly: £1,096.78 Overall: £26,322.83 | Monthly: £1,153.62 Overall: £27,686.96 | Monthly: £1,272.40 Overall: £30,537.48 |
3 year loan | Monthly: £749.27 Overall: £26,973.81 | Monthly: £806.68 Overall: £29,040.47 | Monthly: £929.09 Overall: £33,447.23 |
5 year loan | Monthly: £471.78 Overall: £28,306.85 | Monthly: £531.18 Overall: £31,870.57 | Monthly: £662.35 Overall: £39,740.83 |
Brokers and matching services come with some handy advantages – not least the “hand-holding” element that’s so useful when navigating a tricky subject like business finance.
A good matching service will be able to instantly check which lenders would offer you a £25,000 loan, saving you valuable time and stopping you from damaging your credit score via multiple loan applications.
Brokers and matching services will usually get a referral fee from the lender you end up taking out a loan with, so the service doesn’t have to cost your firm a penny.
The downside? These services rarely have access to the full market, but will instead refer you to lenders from their panel of partners. That means you may not be offered the very best deal you’re eligible for.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you.
Find out how to get a loan if you work for yourself, including which lenders offer business loans for sole traders.
Everything you need to know about chain break finance – a type of bridging loan that stops you losing your dream home if the sale of your existing one falls through.
In-depth guide to fix and flip and how this type of property investment works, including the factors you need to consider, the risks to be aware of and how to finance it.
Everything you need to know about commercial bridging loans. We look at when they’re useful, how they work and what to be aware of before taking one out.
Everything you need to know about hard money loans – also known as bridging loans. Find out how they work, what they can be used for and their benefits and downsides.
In-depth guide to 100% bridging loans, including how bridging loans work, how to borrow 100% of the property’s value, how to get the best deal and the pros and cons.
Learn about government support and alternative options for businesses needing finance to help deal with the impact of coronavirus.
Everything you need to know about the benefits of using a bridging loan to fund a property development project if you don’t have the cash already available.
Find out if a bridging loan could be a good option versus other types of finance if you’re buying land. We explain the pros and cons and how to get the best deal.
Everything you need to know about residential bridging loans, including what to consider before taking one out, what they can be used for and their pros and cons.