Compare the best business loans and financing of 2024

If you're self-employed, a sole trader or a freelancer, launch or grow your small business by comparing finance options from UK lenders.

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By

Emily Herring

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Compare business loans

Table: sorted by loan terms, promoted deals first

Name Product Loan type Loan amounts Loan terms Turnover/trading criteria Key benefit
Barclays Secured and Unsecured Business Loans
Barclays Secured and Unsecured Business Loans
Fixed or variable rate loans
From £1,000
12 to 240 months
No specified minimum turnover or time trading
Subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Other terms may be available.
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Funding Options Unsecured Loan
Funding Options Unsecured Loan
Unsecured loan
£1,000 to £20,000,000
12 to 72 months
£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.
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More often than not, you need money in order to make money. A business loan can give a company the capital it needs to get off the ground or to get to the next stage of its evolution. That might require just a few thousand pounds or hundreds of thousands, for a couple of months or a couple of decades.

If you’re self-employed, a sole trader or a freelancer it can sometimes be more challenging to secure the funds you need to start or grow your company. There’s a range of lenders out there to cater to the full spectrum of what you need. We have plucked out a few of these above.

Companies usually apply for a business loan when they need to borrow cash or capital from a bank. The amount is repaid with interest and fees may apply. Government-backed start-up loans are also available to those eligible.

How to choose the best business loan

Here are some of the key features to consider when comparing business loans:

  • Amounts available. Having set out your business plan, you should know how much you need to borrow, and one of the first things to look at when evaluating a loan is whether or not it can offer you the sum that you need.
  • Terms available. You may have a fairly clear idea of the length of time you want or need to borrow for, or this factor may be dictated by the size of the monthly instalments.
  • Eligibility. Never apply for a loan without checking that the business is eligible for it. It’s a waste of time and demoralising – and the rejection could be visible to future prospective lenders.
  • Security required. It’s not unusual for lenders to ask for a personal guarantee – meaning an individual will be personally responsible for the loan. Security can also take the form of a company’s realisable assets, such as a property, vehicles or equipment. Where no assets are available, it may be necessary to secure the loan on a director’s own property.
  • Total costs. It can be easy to obsess over APRs (rates), but perhaps more importantly, consider how much the loan is going to cost overall. When you’re trying to identify the best business loan, the loans that are cheapest overall are naturally a good place to start.
  • Interest rates. Is the rate offered variable or fixed? Is it competitive?
  • Fees. Look out for “product” or “set-up” fees as well as any annual/monthly account charges. Lenders sometimes offset an attention-grabbing low rate with product fees, so it’s crucial to also keep an eye on the total amount payable.
  • Repayment holidays. Repayment holidays are set periods when you don’t have to make any repayments. This might be, say, the first three months of a loan. This can give your company an opportunity to get back on its feet financially, but will usually extend the term of the loan by the same number of months, pushing up the overall cost of the loan.
  • Early repayment terms. It’s hard to predict what’s around the corner, let alone three or four years down the line. If the option to repay early is important to you, you’ll need to check the early repayment (or overpayment) terms of the specific product or products you’re considering. It’s important to note that “No early repayment fees!” does not necessarily mean that repaying early will save you money on interest.

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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. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.

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