Business loans in Edinburgh

The Edinburgh SME base we work with

Edinburgh's SME economy is broad, and different sectors reach for business loans for different reasons. Professional and financial-services firms clustered through the New Town and around St Andrew Square and Lothian Road often borrow for partner capital, VAT and tax bills, hiring ahead of growth and office fit-outs, smoothing the gap between winning work and billing for it. Tourism and hospitality, huge across the Old Town, Grassmarket, Cowgate and the Royal Mile, borrow to refurbish ahead of the Festival, invest in kitchens and covers and carry the quiet January to March stretch, so seasonality shapes what they need. Tech and fintech firms around CodeBase and Fountainbridge, and life-sciences companies at the BioQuarter, often want growth or revenue-based lending to fund hiring and product ahead of revenue. Food and drink producers in Leith and out at Newbridge borrow for stock, equipment and expansion. Retail and creative businesses across Stockbridge, Morningside and the city centre use loans for fit-out, stock and marketing. That range is why one product does not fit all, and why we look at what your business actually does before pointing you anywhere.

Unsecured, secured and working capital options

Business loans come in a few shapes and the right one depends on your situation. An unsecured business loan advances a lump sum without taking a charge over property, repaid over a fixed term, and suits established, profitable Edinburgh firms funding growth, a refit or a one-off cost; the lender relies on your trading strength and credit profile, so pricing reflects that. A secured business loan takes security, often over property or business assets, which can support a larger sum or a longer term but ties the borrowing to that asset. Working capital facilities, including revolving credit and flexible overdraft-style lines, exist to smooth day-to-day cash flow rather than fund a single purchase, which suits seasonal businesses like Old Town hospitality or a Leith producer buying stock ahead of orders. Revenue-based and merchant-cash options, repaid as a share of card or online takings, can suit retail and hospitality with steady daily sales. Each carries a different cost, term and risk profile. We help Edinburgh businesses weigh those, but the lender assesses your business and sets the amount, rate and terms, not us.

How CoreFi arranges it

As a broker, our role is to match your Edinburgh business to lenders whose criteria fit and to present a clean, honest case. High-street banks, challenger banks and specialist SME funders all take different views: some want two or three years of profitable accounts, some will consider younger or seasonal businesses, some like specific sectors and some price on cash-flow data or card takings rather than accounts alone. Because we work across a whole-of-market panel rather than one funder, we can take a New Town professional firm, a Royal Mile restaurant and a Leith producer to different lenders in the same process and compare what comes back. We help you pull together the accounts, management figures and bank data lenders expect, then explain the offers in plain terms so you can see the real cost. We do not lend and we do not make the credit decision; the lender assesses your business and sets the amount, rate and terms. If the loan completes, the lender pays us a commission, so the introduction usually carries no separate cost to you.

Frequently asked questions