Business loan declined by Aldermore, what next?
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.
Why this triggers a decline
Aldermore doesn't publish how often each decline reason occurs, and its loan-to-value limits vary by product. Common reasons include: a short trading history, too little asset cover for the amount, incomplete or late-filed Companies House accounts, director credit issues beyond their conservative threshold, complex group structures with offshore tax residency, sector exclusions (gambling, adult, regulated financial services), and minor HMRC arrears that have not been formally addressed via a Time To Pay arrangement.
Alternatives that work
- OakNorth or Allica Bank for an alternative challenger-bank route on the same asset-backed profile
- Specialist asset finance lenders for equipment-backed deals where Aldermore was structurally a poor fit
- Specialist commercial mortgage lenders for property-backed deals with tighter LTV thresholds
- Invoice finance specialists if the application was against a debtor book
Lenders that may consider this
- OakNorth (challenger bank, similar asset-backed appetite)
- Allica Bank (challenger bank, business loans up to £150k and commercial mortgages from £150k)
- Specialist asset finance lenders (Time Finance, Close Brothers AF) for equipment deals
- Specialist commercial mortgage lenders for property deals
- Funding Circle or iwoca for sub-£150k unsecured tickets where Aldermore was too large a lender for the ask
What to do first
- Ask Aldermore for the main reason for the decline.
- If the issue is asset cover, get an updated independent valuation; a new valuation can change the numbers.
- If the issue is Companies House status, file overdue accounts and let the public record update before reapplying.
- If the issue is HMRC arrears, agree a formal Time To Pay with HMRC and let it bed in for 30 to 60 days.
- If the ticket is sub-£150k, look at fintech or specialist asset-finance lenders where the smaller size fits the model better.
Not for
Sub-12-month trading, sole-trader applicants (the FundBiz enquiry form is for limited companies, LLPs and partnerships with four or more partners), active winding-up petitions, or large unsatisfied CCJs. Those cases are usually better suited to fintech or specialist post-decline lenders, not to another challenger bank.
Send an enquiry
Tell us what you need in 2 minutes. FundBiz is not a lender and does not run a credit check. We pass your enquiry to a business finance broker, who will contact you about your options. For limited companies, LLPs and partnerships with four or more partners.
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