Business loans without a personal guarantee: what lenders really say

Yes, but only from a small part of the market, and usually on a product that is not a classic term loan. A business loan without a personal guarantee tends to be an advance repaid from card sales or revenue, or a credit line secured on unpaid invoices. In each case the lender looks to the business’s income or assets, not to the director’s.

A personal guarantee is a promise by an individual, usually a director or shareholder, to repay the business’s debt if the business does not. GOV.UK explains that a limited company is legally separate from its owners, who are responsible for its debts only up to the value of their investment. A guarantee sets that protection aside for the debt it covers. Our guide to personal guarantees for business loans explains what a director is signing and how a guarantee is enforced; this page is about which lenders say they can do without one.

Before looking at names, decide what matters for your business. These are the points that separate one offer from another:

• What the lender relies on instead. A share of sales, a charge over invoices, a debenture over the company or a higher price.
• Whether “no guarantee” is a rule or a default. “No personal guarantees” and “no mandatory personal guarantees” are different statements.
• Eligibility. Revenue-based lenders usually set a minimum monthly sales figure and trading period; receivables lenders need business customers on credit terms.
• Total cost. Many of these products charge one fixed fee rather than interest. Convert every offer to the total you will repay.
• Regulatory status. Some providers describe their products as purchases of future receivables, not loans, and say they are not regulated by the FCA.

Four lenders in the Capzy lender directory state on their own sites that a personal guarantee is not required, or not mandatory. They are listed alphabetically, with their published product terms.

• Got Capital is a cash advance provider, not a loan lender. It advances £2,000 to £300,000, settled through an agreed collection from ongoing revenue for a fixed factor fee, and says no personal guarantee or collateral is needed. It describes its products as royalty-based investment, purchase of future receivables and merchant cash advance rather than loans, says it is not authorised or regulated by the FCA, and asks for at least three months’ trading and consistent monthly revenue of at least £5,000.
• Outfund says there are no mandatory personal guarantees. Its offers are repaid either as a share of sales or in fixed instalments, and it asks for at least six months’ trading and around £10k a month in sales.
• TP24 says its CreditLine, from £250,000 to £5,000,000, does not rely on a personal guarantee, a lock-in agreement, a trust account or a floating charge. The facility is secured on the business’s receivables and suits B2B companies.
• Wayflyer says there are no personal guarantees. Its cash advance is unsecured and security on its term loan is optional. Its home page asks for six months’ trading and £10,000 or more in monthly sales.

Two more are worth knowing. 365 Finance says its card-sales-linked advance reduces reliance on personal guarantees, but it does not say one is never needed. Kriya lists a charge over book debts and a debenture as security for its invoice finance and says personal guarantees may be applied.

Most of them. These lenders publish that a guarantee is part of their unsecured lending, and some set conditions on who can give it:

Government-backed lending does not remove the guarantee either. Kingsway Finance says that under the Growth Guarantee Scheme the government guarantees 70% to the lender, the borrower remains 100% liable, personal guarantees may be taken at its discretion, and a principal private residence cannot be taken as security. The British Business Bank sets out the same rules for every accredited lender under the scheme.

Because without one, an unsecured lender has nothing to fall back on but the company. UK Finance’s briefing on personal guarantees explains that the owners of a limited company or LLP are generally not personally liable for its debts, so without a guarantee an owner could walk away and leave the lender with the loss. It adds that guarantees are often used where a business lacks a trading record, capital or assets to offer as security.

The products that skip the guarantee get their comfort elsewhere. A revenue-based provider takes its repayment from your sales as they arrive, often through your card terminal or bank feed. A receivables lender is repaid when your customers settle their invoices. Both depend on the business having steady sales or a debtor book, which is why their eligibility rules centre on monthly revenue and customer quality.

Regulated lending is a different picture. In its 2024 follow-up to the Federation of Small Businesses’ super-complaint, the FCA found that only 0.3% of regulated loans across the 15 firms it sampled had a personal guarantee in place. Regulated business lending covers sole traders and small partnerships borrowing £25,000 or less; loans to limited companies sit outside it, and that is where guarantees are common.

When a lender drops the guarantee, it usually adds something else. The common substitutes are:

• A debenture. A charge over the company’s assets, given by the company, not by you. GOV.UK explains that a charge is the security a company gives for a loan, that it should be registered at Companies House within 21 days, and that the details appear on the company’s public record. Our explainer on what a debenture is covers fixed and floating charges.
• A charge over invoices. Invoice finance and receivables lines are secured on the money your customers owe you. See our page on invoice finance.
• A share of future sales. A merchant cash advance or revenue-based advance is repaid as a percentage of takings.
• The asset itself. With asset finance, the vehicle or machine is the lender’s security, though some asset lenders still ask for a guarantee.
• Price and size. A lender may accept more risk by charging more, lending less or lending for a shorter period.

Personal guarantee insurance is sometimes mentioned as an alternative. It is not one: it is a separate policy taken alongside a guarantee, and you remain liable under the guarantee you signed.

Then negotiate its terms. UK Finance’s briefing explains that a guarantee can be limited, capping your liability at a set sum, or unlimited, covering the whole debt plus interest and costs. It also warns that an “all monies” guarantee can cover future borrowing as well as the loan in front of you, and that a guarantee usually stays in force after a director resigns unless its terms say otherwise.

• Ask for a limited guarantee, capped at a figure you could pay.
• Ask whether the guarantee covers this loan only or all monies.
• Ask how and when you can be released, for example once part of the loan is repaid.
• Where several directors sign, check whether liability is joint and several.

The lenders above publish their own entry rules, and they lean on trading history and sales rather than personal assets. Typical published requirements include a minimum period of trading, a minimum level of monthly sales or card takings, connected bank or accounting data, and, for receivables lending, B2B customers with a ledger the lender can verify.

Pricing is usually a single fixed fee agreed at the start rather than interest, and none of the four lenders publishes a standard fee in the pages we read. Costs vary by lender and applicant, so ask each provider for the total amount repayable and compare that figure. Our guide to secured and unsecured loans explains how security changes the price and the risk.

Capzy is a credit broker, not a lender, and the lender pays us. You can check your eligibility with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A lender’s full application may involve a hard search, and every offer is subject to status and lender criteria.