- A UK limited company or LLP — incorporated and registered at Companies House. Sole traders and partnerships are outside our scope, full stop.
- 6+ months trading — six months of real revenue, not six months since incorporation. Most lenders prefer 12+ months.
- £25,000+ monthly turnover — consistently, visible in the business bank account. More turnover widens your options.
- An active UK business bank account — in the company's name, where that turnover actually flows.
These four are our minimum, not a prediction: meeting them isn't the same as being approved, it's the point at which an application is worth your three minutes. Miss one and it usually isn't — yet. And because most lenders prefer 12+ months of trading, a company between six and twelve months old is usually looking at revenue-based finance or a merchant cash advance rather than a plain term loan. The rest of this guide covers the second layer: the factors that decide which lenders say yes, how much they offer, and at what price. Everything below is assessed mostly from your bank statements rather than a business plan.
What lenders actually weigh up
| Factor | What helps | What makes it harder |
|---|---|---|
| Time trading | 6+ months is our minimum; most lenders prefer 12+ months, and two or more years widens your options and improves pricing | Under 6 months of real trading. Between 6 and 12 months, expect revenue-based finance or a merchant cash advance rather than a term loan |
| Monthly turnover | £10k+ every month, steady or growing; more turnover widens your options | Erratic months, or regularly dipping under ~£10k |
| Bank conduct | Few returned payments, sensible balance, arranged facilities only | Regular unpaid direct debits, living in an unarranged overdraft |
| Sector | Most trading sectors; strong card or online takings suit revenue-based finance especially well | A small set of restricted sectors (e.g. gambling, adult, crypto) with fewer willing lenders |
| CCJs | None — or small, old and satisfied, with an explanation ready | Recent, large or unsatisfied judgments |
| Existing borrowing | Manageable repayments, disclosed up front | Several stacked advances already collecting daily |
| Directors | Clean personal credit supports the personal guarantee most lenders ask for | Recent personal defaults or a previous insolvency |
| Companies House record | Accounts and confirmation statements filed on time | Overdue filings, frequent officer churn |
No single factor decides it. The whole picture is scored together, not item by item. For advances of £10,000 to £75,000 that assessment is ours, made by our own underwriters. Above that, and for term loans, we place the application with the lending partner whose criteria fit it best. An offer is never guaranteed either way.
CCJs: the factor people worry about most
A county court judgment doesn't automatically end the conversation. What lenders read is the pattern: how big, how recent, and — above all — whether it's been satisfied. A £900 judgment from 2023, paid and marked satisfied, with eighteen strong months of trading since, is a footnote to many lenders. A £15,000 judgment from March that's still open is a different matter, and honestly narrows the field to few options at higher cost.
The one rule: disclose it before they find it. Judgments surface in the first soft search, within seconds. An explained CCJ is context; a discovered one is a credibility problem that slows everything down — as our guide to funding timelines shows in detail.
Soft checks vs hard checks — what actually touches your credit file
| Stage | What happens | Effect on credit file |
|---|---|---|
| Applying to us | No credit check at all — nothing is searched when you first apply | None |
| Lender quote stage | Soft search on the company and directors to shape an initial offer | None — visible only to you, not to other lenders |
| Final offer / payout | Hard search, with the lender telling you first | Recorded — one is normal; many in a short period can lower a score |
The practical upshot: checking your options costs your credit file nothing. The hard search comes once, at the end, from the lender you're actually proceeding with — not from shopping around at the start.
Why limited companies and LLPs only?
Three reasons, and none of them is snobbery.
- It's how the products are built. Our advances, and our partners' loans, are made to the company, assessed on the company's bank account and Companies House record, usually backed by a director's personal guarantee. That structure needs an incorporated borrower.
- It's a regulatory line. Lending to sole traders and small partnerships is often regulated consumer credit under FCA rules — a different regime with different products. Finance to limited companies and LLPs is generally unregulated commercial lending, which is the market we operate in.
- It's what keeps things fast. Companies House gives lenders a verifiable public record of your business in seconds. That's a large part of why decisions arrive in hours rather than weeks.
So if you're a sole trader, we genuinely can't help — not today. If you incorporate and build up six months of trading through a company account, we'd be glad to hear from you then.
Not eligible yet? The honest to-do list
If you're close but not quite there, the fixes are unglamorous and effective: trade past the six-month mark before applying, and past twelve if you can, because most lenders prefer 12+ months and your options widen as you do; route all revenue through the company account so turnover is visible; clear or formally satisfy any CCJ and keep the paperwork; stop the small unpaid direct debits (set them a day after your busiest banking day); and bring Companies House filings up to date. Three to six months of that changes what comes back from underwriting more than any wording on an application ever will.
Meet the core four? Check your options
One three-minute application, no documents to start, and we'll be straight with you — including telling you quickly if we can't help.
No cost to check your options. Where we lend, a 5% arrangement fee is deducted at funding. UK Ltd & LLP companies only.Frequently asked questions
My company has a CCJ. Is funding still possible?
Sometimes. A small, older CCJ that has been satisfied — paid and marked as such — is survivable with many lenders, especially if trading since has been strong. A recent, large or unsatisfied CCJ narrows your options considerably. Either way, disclose it up front: lenders will find it in seconds, and an explained CCJ reads far better than a discovered one. No outcome can be guaranteed.
We haven't filed our first accounts yet. Are we eligible?
Possibly. Our minimum is six months of trading and £10,000 or more in monthly revenue. At these amounts, bank statements do most of the underwriting work, so a young company that simply hasn't reached its first filing deadline is a different case from one with overdue filings — the latter is a genuine red flag. Most lenders prefer 12+ months, though, so a company under a year old is usually looking at revenue-based finance or a merchant cash advance rather than a plain term loan. And meeting our minimum is not the same as being approved — it is the point at which it is worth applying.
Do directors need to be homeowners?
Not universally. Some lenders prefer homeowner directors for larger unsecured amounts because a personal guarantee carries more weight, but it is not a blanket requirement. Tell us your situation and we will tell you straight whether it is something we can fund ourselves, whether it is better placed with one of our lending partners, or whether the answer is no.
Will checking my options affect my credit score?
Applying to us does not touch your credit file — we don't run credit checks at all. Lenders we introduce you to typically begin with a soft search, which is invisible to other lenders and does not affect your score. A hard search generally happens only before a final offer, and the lender will tell you first.
Is there a minimum credit score for business funding?
There is no single pass mark. Each lender weighs the company's trading history, bank conduct, sector and any court judgments alongside the directors' records — a strong trading business can absorb an imperfect score, and a clean score won't rescue weak turnover. That is exactly why comparing two or three lenders' views beats relying on one.
I'm a sole trader. Can Solvo Funding help me?
No — and we'd rather say so clearly than waste your time. We work exclusively with UK limited companies and LLPs; we cannot assist sole traders or general partnerships. If you incorporate in future and meet the criteria, we would be glad to help. We lend our own money for advances of £10,000 to £75,000 and arrange larger facilities through our lending partners. Where we lend, a 5% arrangement fee is deducted at funding; where we introduce, the lender pays our commission and you pay us nothing.
Keep reading
Business loan vs revenue-based finance (MCA)
Costs side by side, a worked £50,000 example at factor 1.48, and who each product suits.
Read the guide → GuideHow fast can a UK limited company actually get funding?
A realistic hour-by-hour timeline — and what genuinely speeds an application up or slows it down.
Read the guide →Eligible? Let's find out properly
Apply in about three minutes and we'll assess your company against our own criteria — usually with an answer the same working day.
Subject to status and underwriting. We lend up to £75,000 ourselves and arrange larger facilities through our partners.