Unsecured Business Loans for Hospitality Businesses
By Joshua Giles, Founder and Director · Reviewed by the CoreFi credit team
Last updated 20 July 2026
CoreFi is a broker, not a lender. We do not set rates and lenders make all credit decisions.
In short: An unsecured business loan lends against the trading strength of a hospitality business, its accounts, card turnover and bookings, not the bricks. Amounts typically run from £5k to £250k over 1 to 5 years with fixed monthly repayments and no legal charge; most lenders ask a director for a personal guarantee. We are a broker and place your file with hospitality lenders.
An unsecured business loan lends against the trading strength of your hospitality business, not the bricks behind it. The lender looks at your last 12 to 18 months of accounts, your card terminal turnover, and your booking history. If the numbers stack, you get a fixed-term loan with equal monthly repayments. No first charge, no legal pack, no valuation delay.
For tenant operators, this is often the only route. You do not own the freehold, so you cannot offer it as security, and most pub company leases prohibit you charging the lease anyway. The lenders we work with in this space understand the tenanted model. They assess your EBITDA at site level rather than dismiss you for renting.
The product suits a kitchen that needs replacing before summer, a terrace you want covered before winter, or a POS upgrade you have put off because the cash is tied up in stock and wages. The loan fixes the repayment, so you know exactly what leaves the account each month. That matters when your margins are thin and your cash flow runs seasonal.
We are a broker, not a lender, so we cannot promise you a rate or approval. What we can do is identify which lenders actually have appetite for hospitality right now, because that appetite moves, and place your application with the right one first time.
Key Benefits
- Tenant operators qualify: the lenders we use assess site-level EBITDA, not freehold ownership, so a pub company lease is not a barrier
- Card revenue counts: strong terminal turnover can offset thinner net margins on paper, which matters for bars & late-night venues
- Fixed monthly repayments: unlike a merchant cash advance, the payment does not vary with your takings, so you can plan around it
- No valuation or legal charge: no surveyor, no Land Registry registration, no months of legal back-and-forth before you refit the kitchen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a tenanted pub get an unsecured loan?
Yes, and we place these regularly. The lender assesses your trading accounts and card revenue at site level. They are not interested in who owns the freehold. What they want to see is a business that covers its costs and has been trading for at least 12 months.
What if my business is seasonal?
Most hospitality lenders assess on annualised performance, so a strong summer trading record is not ignored because December was quiet. Some lenders will structure repayments around your seasons, with lower payments in your off-peak months, though that is lender-specific and not something we can promise upfront.
Can I fund an outdoor dining area or covered terrace?
Yes. Outdoor infrastructure has become one of the most common uses we see for hospitality loans. A covered, heated terrace lets you seat customers through more of the year, and lenders read that as a revenue-generating investment rather than a luxury spend.
Do I need to be VAT registered?
There is no VAT registration requirement for the loan. That said, most hospitality businesses above the £90,000 VAT threshold will be registered, and lenders do use that as a proxy for scale. If you are below threshold and recently started trading, your options will be narrower.
Work out your numbers
Related Funding Options
Unsecured Business Loans UK: £1k to £500k, No Property Security
Unsecured business loans from £1k to £500k for UK limited companies. No charge on your property. We broker these deals and can tell you which lenders are open to your sector & turnover.
Merchant Cash Advance for Hospitality Businesses
Pubs, restaurants, cafes & hotels repay a merchant cash advance through card sales, not fixed monthly payments. We place these hospitality deals with providers who understand seasonal trade.
Commercial Mortgages for Hospitality Businesses: Pubs, Hotels & Restaurants
Commercial mortgages for pubs, hotels and restaurants in the UK. Long-term finance secured against trading hospitality property, valued on fair maintainable trade. We broke it to specialist lenders.
Business loans by location
Lender appetite varies by city and region. If you would rather start from where your business is based, these local guides cover the same funding with the local picture.
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Get matched with lendersCoreFi is a trading name of JG Core Ltd (Company #16218779, England & Wales). CoreFi acts as a commercial finance broker and does not provide regulated financial advice. All products described are unregulated business-to-business finance. Information on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute a formal offer of finance. Terms, rates, and availability are subject to lender criteria and may change without notice.