Credit4: products, terms and eligibility

Credit4 is a UK provider of unsecured business loans. The legal entity named on its site is Credit4 Limited, company number 08738775. It is based in London. Companies House shows the company was incorporated 2013.

Credit4 Limited is incorporated in England and Wales (company number 08738775) with its registered office in London (SW1E). Its site does not publish a founding story, ownership or group structure in the pages read. It says it works with finance brokers and directly with growing UK SMEs, and that lending decisions are made by people rather than automated systems.

Everything on this page comes from what Credit4 publishes itself. We show the date we last checked it, and we do not rate or rank lenders.

Credit4 publishes 3 products for UK businesses. The table above gives the amounts and terms as it states them.

• Flexible Funding Facility: Revolving: repay and redraw during the term; interest payable fortnightly; drawn capital repaid by end of term.
• Dual Growth Funding: Term loan repaid monthly plus a flexible facility element (maximum £30,000) you can draw, repay and redraw.

Flexible Funding Facility

A facility of £15,000 to £30,000 over 3 to 12 months that can be drawn, repaid and redrawn as many times as suits the business during the term, subject to minimum drawing amounts. Interest accrues daily on drawn funds and is payable fortnightly, with fortnightly statements. All outstanding capital must be repaid by the end of the term, in lump sums or one bullet payment. It must be used for business purposes and suitable guarantors are required.

Dual Growth Funding

Combines a term loan drawn immediately and repaid in equal monthly instalments with a flexible facility that can be drawn, repaid and redrawn. Total funding is £30,000 to £150,000 over 12 to 36 months; the flexible element has a maximum of £30,000 and cannot exceed the term loan amount. Interest on the flexible element is charged only on drawn funds. All proprietors or directors must give a personal guarantee.

Secured Business Funding

Loans of £75,000 to £250,000 over 12 to 60 months, repaid in monthly instalments of interest and principal. It is secured against a suitable property of a personal guarantor by a second charge on residential or commercial property, rather than against business assets. The process includes underwriting, property valuation and consent from any first charge holder, legal review by a solicitor and registration of the charge before funds are released to the business or to repay existing debt.

Credit4 says its finance is used for:

• Funding growth opportunities
• Working capital
• Refinancing existing debt (Secured Business Funding)
• Business purposes only

Sectors and business types it says it funds:

• Growing UK SMEs

Credit4 publishes these criteria. Meeting them does not mean an application will be accepted: every lender makes its own decision.

• Funding must be for business purposes.
• Suitable guarantors required.
• Financial accounts and bank statements needed to show the need for funding.
• Subject to Credit4’s eligibility criteria, approval and documentation.

Credit4 describes its process like this:

1. Apply based on the business’s funding need.
2. Provide financial documentation such as accounts, bank statements and cashflow forecasts.
3. Underwriting review by the lender’s team.
4. For Secured Business Funding: property valuation, offer documents, solicitor review and charge registration.
5. Funds are drawn or paid out once documentation is complete.

Information it says it asks for:

• Accounts
• Bank statements
• Cashflow forecasts

Every application is subject to status and the lender’s own criteria at the time.

An unsecured business loan is a fixed sum repaid in instalments over an agreed term, without a charge over a specific asset. Most lenders still ask the directors for a personal guarantee, which makes them personally liable if the company cannot repay.

Lenders price each loan on the business’s trading history, turnover and credit profile, so the offer you receive can differ from the published range. Compare the total cost in pounds and the repayment pattern, not only the headline rate: our guide on how to compare business loan lenders shows how.

Points Credit4 publishes that are worth knowing:

• Flexible Funding Facility and Dual Growth Funding are unsecured loans that must be backed by a suitable personal guarantee from all directors or principals.
• Secured Business Funding is not secured against business assets: it needs personal guarantees and a first or second charge on a suitable property of a personal guarantor (80% LTV based on a 180-day valuation).
• Says there are no early repayment charges on its products.
• Says no non-utilisation fees apply on the flexible facility.

Credit4’s site states: “Credit4 Limited is registered in England (Company Number 08738775) with registered office 5 Seaforth Place, London, SW1E 6AB”

Protections differ by borrower type and loan size. Most lending to limited companies is not regulated consumer credit, so read the agreement and ask the lender what applies to you.

Other providers of unsecured business loans with profiles here include Cubefunder, Federal Capital and Finance For Enterprise. Each profile uses that lender’s own published terms.

The full list, grouped by product type, is in our directory of UK business lenders.

Capzy is a credit broker, not a lender, and gets paid by the lender. One application lets your business compare options across lenders, so you can weigh this kind of facility against the alternatives. You can check your funding options with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A full application to a lender may involve a hard search, and any offer is subject to status and lender criteria.