Merchant Cash Advance for Hospitality Businesses

A merchant cash advance works differently to a loan. The provider buys a portion of your future card sales at a discount, then takes a fixed percentage of each day's card receipts until the agreed total is repaid. For a pub or restaurant turning over £40,000 a month through the terminal, that might mean a provider advances £30,000 and collects 12% of daily card takings until £37,500 is repaid. A factor rate, not an interest rate, sets the total cost, and nobody can quote you that figure before a provider has read your card processing statements.\n\nHospitality suits this product because the repayment moves with trade. A wet January in a pub means you repay less that month; a busy August bank holiday weekend means you repay more. You are not fighting a fixed direct debit on a slow Tuesday, and that is the main reason we place so many of these in the sector.\n\nThe limit is cost. Against a secured term loan, an MCA is expensive. If your card revenue drops for four months the facility term simply extends and the total you repay stays the same, so a permanent fall in trade does not shrink the bill. We ask every client to model a 25% drop in card takings before they sign. No property security is required, and most providers do not ask for a personal guarantee either, which matters for an operator who has already charged their home against the premises loan.\n\nMost providers want at least six months of card processing history and a minimum of around £5,000 a month through the terminal. Delivery platform payouts from Uber Eats or Deliveroo arrive as bank transfers, not card receipts, so they usually do not count toward the eligible revenue figure. We are a broker; we place the deal, we do not lend, and no provider guarantees an offer until they have underwritten your statements.