Declined? Start with the reason.
Most UK SMB declines have a specific reason: CCJ, missed payments, thin file, sector, affordability. Some lenders are more open to certain reasons than others. Pick the reason closest to yours to see what it means, what lenders typically look at, and what to fix before you apply again.
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, FundBiz
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind FundBiz. His background runs through commercial finance, mortgages and fintech, including as managing director of an invoice finance business. He oversees FundBiz's guides and lender reviews.
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CCJ
A County Court Judgment registered against your business or against you personally as a director. CCJs sit on your credit file for six years, regardless of whether they're satisfied.
IVA
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a formal, legally binding agreement to repay personal debts over a fixed term, usually five to six years, supervised by a licensed insolvency practitioner. It is a personal arrangement, not a company one, so a limited company can keep trading; but the IVA is recorded on the Individual Insolvency Register and on the director's credit file.
Missed payments
Recent (under 12 months) missed payments on existing business or personal credit. Particularly material if linked to existing business borrowing, asset finance or director credit.
Thin file
Insufficient credit history for the lender to underwrite. Common for newer Ltd companies, recent incorporations, or businesses without prior borrowing.
Sub-12-month trading
Your Ltd company has been trading for less than 12 months. Most UK SMB lenders set 12 to 24 months as a minimum.
Pre-revenue
Your business hasn't yet generated revenue or has recurring revenue under £5,000 a month. Affects pre-revenue tech, biotech, manufacturing pre-launch, and similar.
Low turnover
Your annual turnover is below the lender's minimum threshold. Most mainstream lenders set £100k to £200k as a floor; high-street banks often set £500k+.
Affordability ratio
Your existing debt service plus the proposed new repayment exceeds the lender's affordability ceiling (commonly 30 to 40 percent of free cash flow).
Sector
Your business operates in a sector the lender either doesn't underwrite or treats as high-risk. Common examples: gambling, adult, CBD, vape, firearms, transport (HGV, taxi), some hospitality verticals.
Recent director change
A director appointed within the last 6 to 12 months at the borrowing company. Mainstream lenders treat the change as a red flag because it disrupts the underwriting trail and can mask earlier issues.
Complex group
Group structures with overseas parents, multiple holding companies, opaque beneficial ownership, or recently restructured ownership. Mainstream lenders prefer simple Ltd structures with clear UK beneficial owners.
Overseas director
A director not resident in the UK. Mainstream lenders prefer at least one UK-resident director on a Ltd company they lend to.
Overdue accounts
Filed accounts more than 1 month overdue at Companies House. Mainstream lenders treat overdue filings as evidence of weak financial control and decline at the gate.
Existing debt
You already have an open facility with the lender you have applied to. Many UK SMB lenders cap exposure to one borrower at a fixed limit; reaching the cap means automatic decline on the new application.
No business account
You're operating through a personal bank account or a non-UK account rather than a UK business bank account in the company name.
Sole trader
You trade as a sole trader, not a Ltd company. The FundBiz enquiry form is for limited companies, LLPs and partnerships with four or more partners.
Recent restructure
The company has recently been through a CVA, administration, MVL, or material change of control. Mainstream lenders apply post-restructure cooling-off periods.
Declined by Funding Circle
Funding Circle has declined your unsecured term-loan application. Funding Circle is one of the best-known UK SMB term-loan platforms, lending £10,000 to £750,000 to limited companies (per its own site), so a decline usually means looking at a different type of lender rather than a second mainstream attempt.
Declined by iwoca
iwoca has declined your Flexi-Loan or term-loan application. iwoca is one of the best-known UK SMB working-capital lenders, lending £1,000 to £1,000,000 to UK limited companies and LLPs (per its own site), so an iwoca decline is often a sign that similar mainstream lenders will decline too.
Declined by Capify
Capify has declined your short-term business loan application. Capify offers short-term business loans and may consider some cases that mainstream term lenders decline, so a Capify decline narrows your route options.
Declined by 365 Business Finance
365 Business Finance has declined your merchant cash advance application. 365 offers revenue-based finance of up to £500,000 (per its own site) and may look case by case at credit issues some mainstream lenders decline, so a 365 decline often means looking at specialist post-decline or asset-backed alternatives.
Declined by Liberis
Liberis has declined your merchant cash advance application. Liberis is one of the largest UK card-flow MCA providers, distributing through Barclaycard, Worldpay and other acquirer partnerships, so their underwriting leans heavily on card-machine flow rather than filed accounts.
Declined by YouLend
YouLend has declined your revenue-based finance application. YouLend provides revenue-based finance through partners including Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Just Eat and payment providers (per its own site), underwriting against the sales data those platforms hold, so their decline patterns are specific to digital sales flow rather than traditional credit.
Declined by Allica Bank
Allica Bank has declined your commercial mortgage, asset finance or term-loan application. Allica is a UK challenger bank for established SMEs. Its business loans run from £25,001 to £150,000 and its commercial mortgages from £150,000 (per its own site), so its decline patterns differ from fintech declines.
Declined by OakNorth
OakNorth has declined your commercial mortgage, growth-capital or asset-backed term-loan application. OakNorth is a UK challenger bank lending to established and mid-market businesses, with a minimum business loan size of £1 million (per its own site), so a decline often points to a mismatch between the ask and the lender model rather than to a credit problem.
Declined by Bizcap
Bizcap has declined your specialist short-term loan or MCA application. Bizcap is a specialist lender that says it will consider businesses with bad credit, lending £5,000 to £1,000,000 (per its own site), so a Bizcap decline is often a sign that the file needs work before another application.
Declined by JPM Capital
JPM Capital has declined your specialist post-decline loan or MCA application. JPM Capital is a specialist lender that may consider some cases other lenders have declined, so a JPM Capital decline is a strong sign that the file needs work before any further credit application.
Declined by Aldermore
Aldermore has declined your asset finance, invoice finance or commercial mortgage application. Aldermore is an established UK challenger bank that sits between mainstream high-street lending and specialist fintech. Their underwriting leans on real asset cover and clean compliance, so a decline usually points to a documentation or asset-cover problem rather than a hard credit issue.
Declined by Start Up Loans Company
The British Business Bank Start Up Loans Company has declined your application. Start Up Loans is a government-backed scheme for UK businesses that are starting up or have been fully trading for less than 5 years, offering personal loans of £500 to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% a year to the people running the business rather than loans to the company (GOV.UK). A decline points either to an eligibility mismatch (for example, the business has traded too long for the scheme) or to affordability or credit issues for the individual applicant.
Declined by Time Finance
Time Finance has declined your asset finance, invoice finance or unsecured loan application. Time Finance is a UK challenger lender focused on asset-backed and invoice-backed SME finance, sitting between mainstream banks and specialist post-decline lenders. A decline usually signals an asset-class or trading-position mismatch rather than a hard credit issue, since Time Finance is more flexible than the high-street and more conservative than Bizcap or JPM Capital.
Want to talk it through with a broker?
Send an enquiry and a business finance broker will contact you about your options and may introduce you to lenders. FundBiz passes your details to the broker and does not run a credit check. Any lender makes its own decision and may run its own checks.
Send an enquiry →Quick pre-flight tools
Use these to get a rough idea of where you stand on two things lenders commonly look at: affordability and general lending criteria. They're self-checks only and don't predict any lender's decision.
Declined by a specific lender?
If a named lender turned you down, start from the alternatives: each page lists UK lenders that engage with the same profile. And before you reapply, check the lender-comfort signals underwriters weigh, including how recent filings and director changes read.