How do UK term loan lenders differ?
Every term loan lender sells the same object, a lump sum repaid on a schedule, so the differences that matter are appetite: how much they lend, how much history they need, how fast they move and what security they want. This guide compares the lenders; for how term loans themselves work, start with our business loans guide.
| Lender | Indicative range | Speed | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| iwoca | Up to £500,000 | Decisions in hours, funds in 24–48 hours | Fast, data-driven, strong for younger SMEs |
| Funding Circle | Into the millions for established businesses | Days | Broad appetite across sectors and sizes |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | Into the millions | Days | Secured and unsecured, flexible structures |
| OakNorth | Larger facilities for established businesses | Weeks, bespoke underwriting | Property-backed and growth lending at scale |
| Allica | Established SMEs, often secured | Days to weeks | Bank lending with a specialist SME focus |
All ranges are indicative only and subject to individual lender assessment. The panel behind a Fundably application is 50+ lenders; these five illustrate how differently the market underwrites the same application.
What is each lender’s sweet spot?
iwoca built its book on speed and data. Underwriting is largely automated, decisions arrive in hours, and facilities up to £500,000 suit SMEs that need funds this week rather than this quarter. It is often the strongest match for younger businesses with a few months to a few years of history.
Funding Circle is one of the largest SME lenders in the UK, with appetite across most sectors and loan sizes from small working capital facilities to larger multi-year loans for established businesses. Its scale makes it a default comparison point for almost any term loan application.
Nucleus Commercial Finance structures both secured and unsecured lending and is comfortable with cases that need shaping: longer terms, security mixes, or businesses whose story takes a paragraph rather than a form field.
OakNorth operates at the larger end, underwriting established, growing businesses individually rather than by model. Facilities take longer to complete but reach sizes the automated lenders do not.
Allica is a bank focused specifically on established SMEs, typically lending secured and often to businesses the high street has drifted away from serving. For asset-rich trading businesses it can price strongly.
Which term loan lender suits your business?
Appetite maps roughly onto business stage:
- Under 2 years trading, need under £500,000, need it fast: the data-driven lenders, iwoca first among them
- Established, profitable, borrowing for growth: Funding Circle and Nucleus Commercial Finance will both usually engage, and their offers are worth comparing directly
- Established with property or significant assets: Allica and OakNorth, where security unlocks larger facilities and sharper pricing
- Declined by your bank: the panel disagrees with banks routinely; see our guide to funding after a bank rejection
The practical point is that these appetites overlap. A three-year-old business borrowing £200,000 might receive offers from four of the five, at rates that differ by more than the cost of comparing them, which is to say the rate table in our interest rates guide is a range precisely because lenders disagree.
Why compare lenders through one application?
Applying to lenders one at a time has two costs: weeks of sequential form-filling, and hard credit searches accumulating on your file. Applying through Fundably inverts both. One application is matched against the 50+ lender panel using a soft credit check at the matching stage, which does not affect your credit score and is not visible to other lenders. Our matching engine mimics each lender’s underwriting before anything is sent, so the offers that come back, typically within hours, are from lenders whose actual criteria your business meets. A hard search happens only when you choose a specific lender’s offer and proceed.
As a commercial finance broker and NACFB member, Fundably is paid by lenders on completion, and the comparison itself costs you nothing.
Compare term loan offers from 50+ lenders
