ThinCats
Mid-market SME term lender focused on the £1m to £15m ticket band underserved by mainstream banks. Acquired by Shawbrook Group in September 2025; the original Business Loan Network Limited trading entity (CN 07248014) is in liquidation as part of the post-acquisition restructure. The ThinCats brand continues for established broker-introduced mid-market deals through Shawbrook. For most use cases, refer to the Shawbrook entry.
Quick routing verdict
- Product: Mid-market SME term loans (now part of Shawbrook Group).
- Ticket band: £1m to £15m.
- Decision time: 2 to 6 weeks.
- Pricing: Bespoke, quoted at offer.
- FCA-authorised.
At a glance
- Legal entity
- ThinCats (now part of Shawbrook Group)
- Founded
- 2011
- Product
- Mid-market SME term loans (now part of Shawbrook Group)
- Ticket range
- £1m to £15m
- Decision time
- 2 to 6 weeks
- Ltd-only
- Yes (FundBiz routes Ltd / LLP / partnerships of 4+ only regardless)
- Last reviewed
- 2026-05-08
Why we route here
- Genuine mid-market specialism (£1m to £15m) that fintech and high-street banks both gap.
- Now backed by Shawbrook's PRA-regulated balance sheet.
- Established broker channel and adviser-introduced cases.
- Strong record on management buyouts, acquisitions and growth capital.
When we route elsewhere
- Long underwriting cycle (2 to 6 weeks); not a speed product.
- Broker or adviser-introduced only; no direct self-serve route.
- Pricing bespoke; not published.
- Original trading entity in liquidation; new applicants effectively route through Shawbrook.
Best fit applicants
- Mid-market SMEs £1m+
- MBOs, acquisitions and growth capital
- Broker or adviser-introduced cases
Where ThinCats is the wrong fit
- Sub-£1m tickets (route to Shawbrook proper or Funding Circle)
- Self-serve borrowers
- Speed-prioritised cases
If declined by ThinCats
If your application to ThinCats is declined, the FundBiz post-decline matcher routes by decline reason. Common alternatives in our panel are listed in the "When we route elsewhere" section above. See also our ThinCats decline runbook for sector-specific routing detail.
Other panel lenders
- 365 Business Finance, Merchant cash advance
- Aldermore, Asset finance, invoice finance, commercial mortgages
- Allica Bank, SME term loan + commercial mortgage
- Bizcap, Specialist post-decline / fast cash
How we rate ThinCats
This review is FundBiz's own editorial assessment, scored against a published framework. See our methodology for how we rate each lender.
Run the matcher
Tell us your turnover, sector and ticket size. We score against ThinCats and the wider FundBiz panel, then surface the lenders most likely to approve. Limited companies, LLPs and partnerships of 4+ only.
Open matcher →Last reviewed: 2026-05-08. By Oliver Mackman.