Personal guarantee requirements by lender
Of the 103 lenders in our Lender Index, 16 have an explicit personal guarantee position on record: 12 require or typically require one, 4 explicitly don't. This is a genuine record of what our review has documented, not an inferred position for every lender, and it covers lender terms and liability, not a credit assessment.
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
Of the lenders FundBiz reviews, 16 have a documented personal guarantee position: 12 require or typically require a personal guarantee, 4 explicitly do not (including PayPal Working Capital and Square Cash Advance, which underwrite against sales/card-takings history instead, and Caple and Got Capital, which structure their standard product without one). Most reviewed lenders do not have this explicitly documented and are not listed here.
Summary
This page lists which UK specialty and mainstream business lenders in FundBiz's Lender Index have an explicitly documented personal guarantee position: required, typical, or explicitly not required, each linked to the lender's own profile. It is a partial record built only from documented cases, not a complete matrix across every reviewed lender.
This Page Covers
Which reviewed UK business lenders require, typically require, or do not require a personal guarantee, per lender
Not Covered Here
Not a complete matrix across every reviewed lender (only those with a documented position); not a credit or affordability assessment; see the personal guarantee checklist for what to ask before signing
| Lender | Product type | Personal guarantee position |
|---|---|---|
| Allica Bank | SME term loan, asset finance + commercial mortgage | Business loans are secured by a personal guarantee from the directors who are ultimate beneficial owners. |
| Funding Circle | Term loan | A personal guarantee is almost always required. |
| iwoca | Flexi-loan / line of credit | A personal guarantee is required. |
| Outfund | Revenue-based finance for online and subscription businesses | A personal guarantee is typical on limited company deals. |
| Got Capital | Revenue-based business funding advance | No personal guarantee in the standard advance structure. |
| MaxCap | Unsecured term loan | A personal guarantee is always required, despite the unsecured framing. |
| Funding Alternative | Short-term unsecured cash flow advance | Takes a debenture plus director personal guarantees on limited company deals. |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | Unsecured term loans, plus higher-risk and credit-builder options | A personal guarantee is required on its main unsecured term loan product. |
| Capital on Tap | Business credit card with revolving credit line | A personal guarantee is required from a director. |
| Lloyds Bank | Business loans, overdrafts, commercial mortgages, asset finance | A personal guarantee from a director is typical. |
| Caple | Unsecured SME growth loan | No personal guarantees on its unsecured growth loans for acquisitions, MBOs and growth capital. |
| 4Syte | Invoice finance and asset-based lending | A personal guarantee is almost always required. |
| GapCap | Invoice and asset finance | A personal guarantee is typically required. |
| Ultimate Finance | Invoice finance, asset finance, bridging and working capital | A personal guarantee is typical on commercial term debt. |
| PayPal Working Capital | Merchant cash advance (revenue-based) | No personal guarantee; underwriting is based on PayPal sales history instead. |
| Square Cash Advance | Merchant cash advance (revenue-based) | No personal guarantee requirement; repayment is a percentage of ongoing card sales. |
Sourced from the same lender records as our Lender Index. A lender's absence from this table means our review doesn't have an explicit personal guarantee position on record for it, not that one doesn't exist.
“The lenders here that explicitly do not require a personal guarantee, PayPal Working Capital, Square Cash Advance, Got Capital, all share one thing: they underwrite against a revenue or sales-history signal the lender already has direct visibility of, not a fresh credit assessment. That is what lets them drop the guarantee, not a more relaxed attitude to risk. A business without that kind of built-in sales history at a platform should not expect the same offer elsewhere without one.”
FAQs
Why does this page only cover 16 lenders when the Lender Index reviews over 100?
Because a personal guarantee position is only recorded here where our review explicitly documents it as required, typical, or explicitly not required. Most reviewed lenders don't have this stated in the underlying data, so this page is a genuine but partial record, built only from what we can actually verify, rather than an inferred position for every lender.
Does "personal guarantee typical" mean it is always required?
No. "Typical" reflects what our review found to be the general position for that lender based on published criteria and documentation, not a guarantee of the outcome on every individual deal. Terms vary by facility size, structure and the lender's own underwriting; confirm the position for your specific application directly with the lender.
What should I do before signing a personal guarantee?
Work through our free 10-question personal guarantee checklist before signing anything, covering the cap, whether it's limited to this facility, joint and several liability, the call trigger, and more.
Before you sign anything
Work through our free personal guarantee checklist, the 10 questions to get answered in writing before signing. Tell us what you need and we pass your enquiry to a business finance broker.
Check your options →By Adam Parker. FundBiz is owned and operated by Best Business Loans Ltd, directed by Oliver Mackman. General information, not legal advice. Last updated: