Business loan declined by iwoca, what next?

Why this triggers a decline

iwoca doesn't publish how often each decline reason occurs. Common reasons a working-capital lender like iwoca declines include: a recent unsatisfied CCJ, a thin credit file at company or director level, a very recent change of director, problems on a previous facility, a restricted sector, and turnover that doesn't support the amount asked for (iwoca says it lends up to 20% of turnover). It's only open to limited companies and LLPs.

Alternatives that work

• MCA against card or gateway flow for retail and hospitality applicants
• Asset finance against specific equipment where credit-file is the issue
• Specialist post-decline lenders for CCJ cases
• Capify or 365 Business Finance for sub-£100k revolving working capital

Lenders that may consider this

• Capify (short-term business loans)
• 365 Business Finance (case-by-case on recent director change and CCJ)
• Liberis (card-flow MCA, retail and hospitality)
• YouLend (marketplace and gateway flow, including Amazon, Shopify, eBay sellers)
• Specialist post-decline lenders for the harder cases

What to do first

1. Ask iwoca for the main reason for the decline.
2. If the issue is a recent CCJ, check whether it's satisfied; if it is, ensure the satisfaction is correctly reported on all three credit files.
3. If the issue is a recent director change, ask iwoca how long it would expect before a new application.
4. If the issue is a thin file, build 6+ months of bank-statement history and reapply, or look at MCA where the score matters less than the cash flow.
5. Before reapplying anywhere, check what has changed since the decline; a new application with the same facts is likely to get the same answer.

Not for

Cases where the issue is fundamental (active CVA, ongoing winding-up petition, sanctioned beneficial owner). Those are restructuring or specialist-counsel cases, not cases for another finance application.