Compare fast £5,000 business loans

There are plenty of lenders willing to offer £5,000 to small businesses. Here's how to choose the best option and keep the overall cost down.

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Comparison of lenders

Name Product Rating Loan type Credit limits Turnover/trading criteria
Funding Options Unsecured Loan
Finder score
★★★★★
Unsecured loan
£1,000 to £15,000,000
£5,000 per month minimum turnover,
minimum 6 months trading
Representative example: Borrow £50,000 over 24 months at a rate of 7.63% APR. Monthly repayment of £2,252.94 and the total amount payable is £54,070.56.
Funding Options Secured Loan
Finder score
★★★★★
Fixed rate Secured loan
£1,000 to £15,000,000
No specified minimum turnover or time trading
Tide Business Loan
Finder Award
Tide Business Loan
Finder score
★★★★★
Fixed or variable rate loan
£500 to £500,000
No specified minimum turnover or time trading
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Credit Card
Not yet rated
loan
£1,000 to £250,000
£24,000 minimum turnover,
no specified minimum time trading
Capital on Tap Business Credit Card
Not yet rated
loan
£1,000 to £250,000
£24,000 minimum turnover,
no specified minimum time trading
TSB Fixed Rate Loan
Finder score
★★★★★
Fixed rate loan
£1,000 to £1,000,000
No specified minimum turnover or time trading
9.94% APR representative (fixed). Based on an assumed loan amount of £13,000 over 60 months at the AIR of 9.06% p.a (fixed). Monthly repayment £273.12. Total amount payable £16387.38.
TSB
Finder score
★★★★★
Fixed or variable rate loan
£1,000 to £1,000,000
No specified minimum turnover or time trading
9.94% APR representative (fixed). Based on an assumed loan amount of £13,000 over 60 months at the AIR of 9.06% p.a (fixed). Monthly repayment £273.12. Total amount payable £16387.38.
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Whether you need a lump sum of £5,000 as soon as possible, or simply want the financial breathing room to allow you to focus on growth, there’s a range of business finance products that could help. This guide will help you explore your options, and the benefits and disadvantages of each.

What are my options?

Here is a non-exhaustive list of popular business loan and revolving business credit products that you could consider:

  • A startup loan. Government-backed loans of up to £25,000 are available for startups that have been around for less than two years. They also come with free mentoring.
  • A standard fixed-term business loan. You’ll have a £5,000 lump sum transferred to your bank account and make monthly repayments on the balance for an agreed period. Interest rates can be fixed or variable.
  • A business cash advance. If your business’s income can vary dramatically from month to month, then a business cash advance can offer peace of mind through repayment flexibility. You’ll pay a fixed fee when you draw down the loan, then pay back a percentage of every transaction until your debt is cleared. This means that if business is booming, you’ll clear your debt faster, but if business is slow, it’ll take longer. Either way, it’ll cost you the same amount overall.
  • Asset finance. Asset finance allows you to spread the cost of assets for your business over a longer period. You can access the latest technology or vehicles and then pay for it monthly. As you’d expect, the assets can be repossessed if you fall behind on repayments.
  • Asset refinance. Asset refinance allows you to unlock capital in assets already owned by the business – essentially by using them as security for a loan.

If you’re looking for ongoing access to business credit, consider the following options:

  • Invoice finance. The two main types of invoice finance are invoice discounting and invoice factoring. With the former, the lender will use your unpaid invoices as collateral for your loan. With the latter, the lender buys your unpaid invoices from you (at less than their full value).

If you need the lump sum upfront, but still like the idea of ongoing, flexible credit, consider these options:

  • Business credit card. A business credit card works the same as a personal credit card. You’ll be able to make purchases and overspend by your agreed credit limit, but will be charged interest if you don’t repay your balance in full before the end of the month.
  • Business line of credit. A line of credit works similarly to a credit card or overdraft, as you’re given a credit limit and will only pay interest on the amount borrowed. The rates are typically higher than those associated with a more traditional business loan, but there’s more flexibility.
  • Business overdraft. This is another flexible line of credit that you may wish to consider, but the interest rates do tend to be relatively high and the limits relatively low.

What if I have bad credit?

Many of these products are available for businesses with bad credit, especially for amounts as low as £5,000, although you may be charged a higher interest rate.

Business loans for bad credit.

How to compare your business credit options

  • Interest rate. The higher the interest rate, the more expensive your loan will be. Businesses with a better credit record and a lengthy history of profits will typically be able to access lower rates.
  • Loan duration. The amount of monthly payments you’ll make to repay your loan. As a general rule, the longer your loan term, the lower your monthly repayments will be, although you’ll pay more overall in interest.
  • Eligibility. Never apply for a loan without checking that the business is eligible for it. It’s a waste of time and demoralising, but what’s more, the application could be visible to future prospective lenders through your company’s credit record.
  • Secured vs unsecured. Some business loans require you to put assets forward as collateral to protect the lender against you going into arrears. These are called secured loans and tend to offer lower interest rates.
  • Flexibility. Nobody knows what’s around the corner, let alone three or four years down the line. Different types of business finance offer different levels of flexibility, and even within the same class of product, different lenders will have different policies. If your business is volatile, flexibility should be high on your list of requirements.

How much are payments on a £5,000 business loan?

6% p.a. interest12% p.a. interest20% p.a. interest
1-year term£430£444£473
2-year term£222£235£264
3-year term£152£166£196

How much does a £5,000 business loan cost overall?

6% p.a. interest12% p.a. interest20% p.a. interest
1-year term£5,164£5,331£5,674
2-year term£5,318£5,649£6,345
3-year term£5,476£5,979£7,062

£5,000 business loan calculator

This tool is designed to help you estimate the monthly and overall costs of borrowing £5,000. You can adjust the duration of the loan and the interest rate to get a better idea of what would be affordable. Our calculations assume that any fees involved are bundled in with the loan amount and repaid over the same term, at the same rate. Refer to your loan agreement for exact repayment amounts as they may vary from our calculations.
Interest rate


Loan term


Fees


Your loan would cost around £ each month and £ overall.

What about a broker or matching service?

Brokers and matching services allow you to instantly check which lenders would offer you a £5,000 loan, saving you time and preventing you from damaging your credit score via multiple failed loan applications.

Many of them are free because they make money via referral fees from lenders. However, a great deal of free business loan brokers don’t have access to the whole market, meaning you may not be recommended the very best deal.

Frequently asked questions

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.

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