Unsecured Business Loans UK: £1k to £500k, No Property Security
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 strength of your business, turnover, profit and trading history, with no charge on your property. Most lenders still ask a director for a personal guarantee. Amounts run £1k to £500k over 1 to 5 years, typically with fixed monthly repayments. We place your file with lenders whose criteria fit your business.
An unsecured business loan means the lender takes no charge on your property or assets. Instead, they lend against the strength of the business: turnover, profitability, time trading, and credit history. Most will ask a director to sign a personal guarantee, which is not the same as a charge on your house, but it does mean personal liability if the business cannot repay. That distinction matters, and it is one of the first things we walk clients through.
The lender who says yes to an unsecured loan is almost never your high street bank. Challenger and alternative lenders dominate this space, and their decisions run on open-banking data and filed accounts rather than a relationship manager and a committee. That means faster answers, sometimes within the day, but also a wider range of rates. A strong, established business will be priced very differently from an early-stage one with thin margins, and no broker can promise you a rate. The lender decides once they have seen your numbers.
Loans run from £1,000 to £500,000 over one to five years, with fixed monthly repayments. The fixed payment is genuinely useful for cashflow planning, which is why this product suits working capital, hiring rounds, marketing spend, stock, and equipment where you know the return but need the cash now. We are a broker, so we place your file with the lenders most likely to fund it rather than sending you back to a single bank.
Key Benefits
- A personal guarantee is not a charge. Your property stays unencumbered, which matters if you are also carrying a mortgage or have a secured facility elsewhere.
- Alternative lenders decide on open-banking data, not a monthly credit committee, so a clean file can get an answer far quicker than a high street bank.
- Fixed monthly repayments for the life of the loan. If margins are tight, knowing exactly what leaves the account on the 1st is worth something.
- Lenders on our panel cover most trading sectors and business purposes, from stock purchases to hiring to pre-revenue marketing campaigns. We tell you upfront which ones are open to your sector & turnover.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between secured and unsecured business loans?
A secured loan puts a legal charge on an asset, usually a property, and in return the lender will typically offer a lower rate and larger amounts. An unsecured loan takes no charge. The trade-off is a higher rate and, in practice, a lower ceiling: above £250k unsecured, lenders want a strong two or three year trading record before they get comfortable.
Will I need a personal guarantee?
Almost certainly, yes. The majority of unsecured lenders require a PG from the directors. This makes you personally liable if the business defaults, but it is not a charge registered against your home. A handful of lenders will consider PG-free facilities for very strong applications, usually at a meaningfully higher rate.
How much can I borrow?
Up to £500k unsecured, though amounts above £250k need a solid trading history and healthy filed accounts. As a rough guide, lenders often size a first facility to somewhere around 10 to 20 percent of annual turnover, but the actual offer depends on your accounts and open-banking data.
How quickly can I get the funds?
For a straightforward application with clean open-banking data, some lenders can come back within the day and fund shortly after acceptance, while traditional banks tend to work on a one to four week timeline. That speed from alternative lenders has a cost: rates run higher than a secured facility. Always read the total cost of borrowing, not just the monthly payment, before you sign.
Work out your numbers
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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.