Business finance in Edinburgh
CoreFi is a commercial finance broker that arranges funding for Edinburgh limited companies. We work across a whole-of-market panel to place asset finance, development finance and invoice finance. We do not lend ourselves; we introduce your case to lenders, who decide and price each deal.
CoreFi is a commercial finance broker working with Edinburgh limited companies across the city's mixed economy, from the fund managers and insurers around Lothian Road and St Andrew Square to the tech and life-sciences firms out at BioQuarter and the hospitality operators packed into the Old Town and around the Royal Mile. We do not lend. We arrange and introduce funding, matching your case to lenders on our whole-of-market panel, and we are paid a commission by the lender if a deal completes.
Edinburgh is one of the UK's largest financial-services centres, but that headline hides a broad base of trading businesses that all need working capital, equipment and property funding on very different terms. A New Town accountancy practice, a Leith food producer and a Fountainbridge software company do not want the same product. Our job is to understand what your business actually does, then approach the lenders most likely to say yes. Every rate, limit and timeline we mention is indicative only; the lender makes the final decision on approval and pricing.
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Tell us about your Edinburgh business
Share what your business does, where it trades in the city and roughly what you need to fund. A short call is usually enough to point you at the right product, whether that is asset, development or invoice finance.
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We approach the right lenders
We match your case to lenders on our whole-of-market panel with appetite for your sector and situation, then prepare and submit the case. The lender assesses it and decides on terms.
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You compare and complete
We bring back the offers, explain the differences in plain terms, and support you to completion. Rates and limits are set by the lender; nothing is guaranteed until they issue terms.
The Edinburgh economy we work with
Edinburgh's economy leans heavily on financial and professional services. Fund management, banking, life and pensions insurance and their supporting legal and accountancy firms cluster through the New Town, around St Andrew Square, George Street and the Exchange district off Lothian Road. Those firms tend to ask for cash-flow lending, professional practice funding and occasional office fit-out finance rather than heavy plant. Alongside that sits a genuine tech and fintech scene, much of it around CodeBase and the University of Edinburgh's informatics and data spinouts, plus life sciences at the Edinburgh BioQuarter at Little France. Tourism and hospitality are a huge employer: hotels, restaurants and licensed venues across the Old Town, Grassmarket, Cowgate and around the Festival season carry seasonal cash-flow swings that shape what they can borrow. Add high-value residential and student property, a busy events calendar and a strong food and drink sector out in Leith, and you get a city whose businesses ask for almost every commercial finance product there is. That breadth is exactly why a whole-of-market approach matters here.
What Edinburgh businesses ask us for
The mix of enquiries we see from Edinburgh reflects that economy. Professional services firms in the New Town look for VAT loans, partner capital and short-term working capital to smooth billing cycles. Hospitality operators around the Royal Mile and Grassmarket want equipment finance for kitchens and refurbishment funding ahead of the Festival, plus flexible facilities to cover the quiet January to March stretch. Tech and life-sciences firms at BioQuarter and CodeBase often need lab or IT equipment finance and revenue-based or growth lending rather than traditional secured debt. Trade, manufacturing and food producers in Leith and the industrial estates at Sighthill and Newbridge lean on asset finance and invoice finance to fund stock and equipment. Property developers and investors, active across regeneration sites like Granton Waterfront and the wider Leith redevelopment, come to us for development and bridging finance. We take each of these to the lenders on our panel with the right appetite, rather than pushing every enquiry down the same route.
How we work and what we are not
CoreFi is a broker, not a lender, and it is worth being clear about what that means. We are not FCA-regulated for the commercial finance we arrange, because it is unregulated business finance for limited-company borrowers. We do not hold your money, we do not decide your application, and we cannot promise a rate or an approval; the lender does all of that. What we do is understand your Edinburgh business, prepare a sensible case, and introduce it to the lenders most likely to fund it, then help you compare the offers that come back. Because we sit across a whole-of-market panel rather than a single funder, we can approach challenger banks, independent asset-finance houses, invoice financiers and specialist property lenders in the same process. Everything we quote is illustrative until a lender issues terms. If a deal completes, the lender pays us a commission, so there is normally no separate cost to you for the introduction.
Asset finance in Edinburgh
Development finance in Edinburgh
Invoice finance in Edinburgh
Bridging finance in Edinburgh
Commercial mortgages in Edinburgh
Business loans in Edinburgh
Frequently asked questions
Does CoreFi lend money to Edinburgh businesses?
No. CoreFi is a commercial finance broker, not a lender. We arrange and introduce funding by matching your case to lenders on our whole-of-market panel. The lender decides whether to approve your application and sets the rate and terms.
What types of finance can you arrange for Edinburgh firms?
Mainly asset finance, development finance and invoice finance, along with working capital and other commercial products. The right option depends on your sector, whether you are a New Town professional firm, a Leith producer or a hospitality operator in the Old Town.
Is CoreFi FCA-regulated?
The commercial finance we arrange is unregulated business lending for limited-company borrowers, so it does not fall under FCA regulation for that activity. We are a broker introducing your case to lenders, not the party that lends or makes the credit decision.
How much does it cost to use CoreFi?
When a deal completes, the lender pays us a commission, so there is usually no separate charge to you for the introduction. Any fees that do apply are always explained upfront before you commit to anything.
Can you help hospitality businesses with seasonal cash flow?
Yes. Edinburgh hospitality operators around the Royal Mile, Grassmarket and Old Town often face sharp seasonal swings around the Festival and a quiet winter. We can approach lenders whose facilities suit that pattern, though approval and terms remain the lender's decision.
Get matched with lenders for your Edinburgh business
Tell us what your business needs and we will match you with lenders whose criteria fit. No obligation, no cost to start the conversation, and a straight answer about what is realistic for your situation.
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