Become a self-employed commercial finance broker with CoreFi
A self-employed commercial finance broker sources SME funding deals and keeps a share of the commission CoreFi earns from the lender. Your split starts at 55% on self-sourced deals and rises with your lifetime commission earned, with no cap. It is a self-employed arrangement, so income is variable and not guaranteed.
Working as a self-employed commercial finance broker means running your own business, not taking a job. You source funding for UK SMEs, package deals to specialist lenders, and keep a share of the commission CoreFi earns from the lender when a deal completes. There is no employer above you, no salary and no guaranteed hours; what you earn depends entirely on the deals you place.
CoreFi gives self-employed brokers the infrastructure to do this professionally: a curated panel of specialist lenders, a deal CRM, a lender-matching engine, document handling and structured broker training. You operate under your own limited company and decide your own workload. This page explains how the self-employed model works, how you get paid, and the boundaries you need to understand before you start.
- 1
Set up your limited company
Incorporate a limited company at Companies House, often within a day via a formation agent. Operating through your own limited company is the foundation of the self-employed, unregulated commercial finance route and keeps your business separate from you personally.
- 2
Apply to join CoreFi as a self-employed broker
Complete the CoreFi broker application. You will go through identity verification, a compliance review and a structured onboarding process covering your background, the products you plan to place and your target market. This is a self-employed arrangement, not a job application.
- 3
Complete broker training and sign the introducer agreement
Work through CoreFi's broker training, then sign the introducer agreement. The agreement sets out your commission split, your compliance obligations and how you represent lenders and CoreFi to borrowers. This is the point at which you are cleared to place deals.
- 4
Source deals, place them and earn your share
Bring enquiries into the deal CRM, run the matching engine, package the submission and get your client's sign-off before it goes to the lender. When a deal completes, your share of the lender commission is recorded in the platform and paid on the standard schedule. Your income rises as you place more deals and your lifetime commission earned grows.
What self-employed means here
This is a self-employed B2B arrangement, not employment. You are not a CoreFi employee and you do not receive a salary, guaranteed hours, holiday pay, sick pay or any other employee benefit. You operate through your own limited company, invoice for the commission you have earned, and are responsible for your own tax, National Insurance and record-keeping.
The upside of that independence is control. You choose how many deals you pursue, which sectors you focus on and how you spend your week. The trade-off is that your income is variable and not guaranteed. In months where you place no deals, you earn nothing; in strong months, there is no ceiling on what you can earn. Treat it as building a business, because that is what it is.
How you get paid: a share of the lender commission
When a deal you source completes, the lender pays CoreFi a commission. You keep a share of that commission, not a percentage of the loan and not a fixed fee. Your share is a split that starts at 55% on self-sourced deals and rises as your lifetime commission earned grows.
| Lifetime commission earned | Self-sourced split | |---|---| | From day one | 55% | | £50,000 | 60% | | £1,000,000 | 65% | | £2,500,000 | 70% |
There is no cap on total earnings. Where CoreFi provides you with a lead rather than you sourcing it yourself, the split is lower, starting from around 45% on referrer-sourced leads and around 35% on organic platform leads, again rising with your lifetime commission earned. The principle is simple: the more of the deal you bring yourself, and the more you have earned over time, the larger your share.
An illustrative worked example
The figures below are illustrative only and are not a promise of income. Actual commissions vary by lender, product, facility size and the specifics of each deal, and many enquiries never complete.
Take a bridging deal where the lender pays CoreFi a gross commission of around £7,500. On a self-sourced deal at the entry split of 55%, your share of that single commission would be around £4,125. A different deal, a different lender or a different product would pay a different amount. Your actual earnings depend on how many deals you place, whether you sourced them yourself or worked a CoreFi-provided lead, and where you sit in the split structure. There is no guaranteed monthly or annual figure, because there is no salary; you earn from the deals you complete.
What CoreFi gives self-employed brokers
CoreFi is not a franchise and there is no joining fee. What you get is the infrastructure that would otherwise take years and significant capital to build.
Lender panel. A curated panel of specialist lenders across unsecured lending, asset finance, invoice finance, bridging and development finance, with per-product criteria built in. CoreFi's existing relationships carry you in, so you are not cold-calling lenders to get on their books.
Deal CRM. A purpose-built pipeline that tracks every enquiry from first contact through submission to funding, with stage history and an action queue so nothing slips.
Lender-matching engine. Enter a deal's key parameters and the engine scores your panel against lender appetite and product criteria, so you approach the right lender first and protect your client's credit file.
Document handling. Borrower onboarding packs, submission documents and file uploads are managed inside the platform. Your client completes one digital pack; you review and submit.
Broker training. Structured training covering products, deal packaging, lender selection and the regulatory boundary. Commercial finance broking does not require CeMAP, which is a residential mortgage qualification, but it does require solid product knowledge.
The regulatory boundary you need to understand
Broking unregulated commercial finance to limited companies does not require FCA authorisation. That covers the core SME lending products most self-employed brokers place: unsecured business loans, asset finance, invoice finance, bridging and development finance to limited company borrowers.
Where it changes: broking to sole traders or partnerships can require FCA permission even for otherwise-exempt business loans, under Article 36A(4) of the Regulated Activities Order. Regulated products, including consumer credit, residential mortgages and Start Up Loans, always require FCA authorisation or an appointed representative arrangement, whatever the borrower type. So the honest rule is: unregulated commercial finance to limited companies needs no FCA authorisation; lending to individuals and sole traders, or placing regulated products, can.
CoreFi is a broker platform, not an FCA-authorised firm, and does not hold itself out as regulated. CoreFi's training and compliance guidance helps you identify which deals fall where, and there is a dedicated guide covering the boundary in full.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a job or self-employment?
It is self-employment. You are not a CoreFi employee. There is no salary, no guaranteed hours and no employee benefits. You operate through your own limited company, invoice for the commission you earn, and handle your own tax and National Insurance. Your income is variable and depends entirely on the deals you place.
How much can I earn as a self-employed broker?
There is no guaranteed figure because there is no salary. You keep a share of the commission CoreFi earns from the lender, starting at 55% on self-sourced deals and rising with your lifetime commission earned, with no cap. What you actually earn depends on how many deals you place and complete. Some months you may earn nothing.
How is my commission split calculated?
You keep a split of the lender commission on each completed deal, not a percentage of the loan and not a fixed fee. Self-sourced deals start at 55% and rise to 60% at £50,000 lifetime commission earned, 65% at £1,000,000 and 70% at £2,500,000. Leads provided by CoreFi carry lower splits, from around 45% for referrer-sourced and around 35% for organic leads.
Do I need FCA authorisation?
Not for the core model. Broking unregulated commercial finance to limited companies does not require FCA authorisation. Serving sole traders or partnerships, or placing regulated products such as consumer credit or residential mortgages, can require additional permissions. CoreFi is a broker platform, not an FCA-authorised firm, and covers the boundary in its training.
Do I need CeMAP or another qualification?
No. CeMAP is a qualification for residential mortgage advisers and is not required for commercial finance broking. CoreFi provides its own broker training covering the product knowledge and compliance understanding you need to place commercial deals correctly.
Is there a franchise fee or joining cost?
No. There is no franchise fee, no territory licence and no joining cost. You keep a share of the lender commission on the deals you complete, and your split rises with your lifetime commission earned.
Start working for yourself as a commercial finance broker
No franchise fee and no FCA barrier for the core model of broking to limited companies. Keep a share of the lender commission on every deal you complete, starting at 55% and rising with your lifetime commission earned. Income is self-employed and not guaranteed; what you earn depends on the deals you place.
Apply to join CoreFi