Business loan declined by OakNorth, what next?
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.
Why this triggers a decline
OakNorth says its minimum business loan is £1 million and that it looks at factors such as trading history, turnover, profitability and EBITDA. It doesn't publish how often each decline reason occurs. Common reasons include: an ask below its minimum loan size, too short a trading record or too little profit for the amount, insufficient security, a complex or overseas group structure, sector appetite at the time, and deals that rely mainly on forecast growth to repay.
Alternatives that work
- Allica Bank for an alternative challenger-bank underwriter on slightly smaller tickets
- Specialist commercial mortgage and bridging lenders for property-backed deals
- Funding Circle or iwoca for smaller unsecured tickets where OakNorth was too big for the ask
- Asset finance specialists for equipment-backed sub-£500k deals
Lenders that may consider this
- Allica Bank (challenger bank, business loans up to £150k and commercial mortgages from £150k)
- Funding Circle (unsecured term loans, £10k to £750k)
- iwoca (working-capital flexi-loan, smaller ticket)
- Specialist commercial mortgage lenders for property-backed deals
- Specialist asset finance lenders for equipment
What to do first
- Ask OakNorth for the main reason for the decline.
- If the issue is ticket size (under £1m), look at Allica, Funding Circle or iwoca where the smaller ticket fits the model.
- If the issue is trading history, wait until you have a longer record or look at lenders with shorter requirements.
- If the issue is security or loan-to-value, get an updated valuation; a new valuation can change the numbers.
- If the issue is sector appetite, ask whether the answer could change later.
Not for
Asks below £1 million, very young businesses, or sole-trader applicants (the FundBiz enquiry form is for limited companies, LLPs and partnerships with four or more partners). Those cases route to fintech or specialist alternatives, 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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