UK business loan decline decision tree

1.1 Is the CCJ satisfied?

Check on the Trust Online register (£4 per search). Satisfied CCJs are recorded as such within four weeks of payment. If yours says "satisfied", you skip a tier of underwriting friction.

1.1.a Yes, satisfied:

• If satisfied more than 12 months ago: route to mainstream MCA. Capify and 365 Business Finance both engage with satisfied historic CCJs against card flow.
• If satisfied less than 12 months ago: route to specialist post-decline. Bizcap and JPM Capital underwrite recent-but-satisfied CCJs at a higher rate than mainstream MCA.

1.1.b No, unsatisfied:

• First step: try to satisfy. Even a small CCJ left unpaid blocks most UK underwriting; an unsatisfied £600 judgment can stop a £100k facility. If you can settle the judgment debt, do so and update the Trust Online record before reapplying.
• If you cannot satisfy: route to specialist post-decline only. Bizcap and JPM Capital are the realistic UK options. Pricing is materially higher (factor rates 1.30 to 1.50) than mainstream alternatives.
• If multiple unsatisfied CCJs total more than £5k: see Branch 7 (winding-up risk).

2.1 What is the use of proceeds?

2.1.a General working capital, no specific asset:

• If you take card payments and have six months of card history: route to MCA. Capify, 365 Business Finance, Liberis and YouLend all underwrite against card flow rather than filed accounts.
• If you have at least 12 months trading and decent bank-statement quality: iwoca flexi-loan engages from 12 months.
• If you are an online or marketplace seller: revenue-based finance from YouLend, Liberis, Wayflyer or Outfund routes against marketplace data.

2.1.b Specific equipment purchase:

• Asset finance prices the asset, not the trading history. Aldermore, Close Brothers, Time Finance, Haydock Finance and Propel all underwrite asset finance for sub-2-year traders against the equipment itself.
• Cross-link: see /by-product/asset-finance/ for the full asset-finance routing.

3.1 Do you take card payments?

3.1.a Yes, card payments are part of your sales mix:

• Route to MCA against card flow. The underwriting is on six months of card-machine takings, not annual turnover. £30k of card flow per quarter is enough to support a £20k MCA from Capify or 365 Business Finance.

3.1.b No, you do not take card payments:

• If under three years trading and Ltd or sole-trader: the British Business Bank Start Up Loans Company underwrites £500 to £25k per founder (up to £100k across four founders), 6% fixed APR over one to five years. Route there first; it is the cheapest realistic option below the mainstream turnover threshold.
• If you invoice on terms (B2B): route to invoice finance against the debtor book. Coverage on our sister site MarketInvoice.
• If neither fits: review whether the ticket itself can be reduced. A £10k requirement against a £60k turnover business is materially easier than a £40k requirement.

4.1 Which sector?

• Hospitality, retail, salons: not usually a sector exclusion but often a credit-policy decline. Route to MCA specialists. See /by-sector/.
• Construction: contract-stage finance via specialist lenders. Ultimate Finance, IGF Invoice Finance and 4Syte price construction-sector receivables.
• Recruitment and consultancy agencies: contractor-pay funding from Sonovate or invoice finance from Bibby Financial Services.
• Excluded sectors (gambling, adult, CBD): mainstream lenders will not engage. The realistic UK route is bespoke specialist finance, often through a broker panel rather than a direct lender. We do not list a named lender for excluded sectors because the panel changes; Our broker panel can route on a case-by-case basis via /get-quotes/.
• Regulated trades without permissions (FCA-authorised activity, alcohol licence, gaming licence): resolve the permission first; finance follows the licence, not the other way round.

5.1 Thin or weak?

5.1.a Thin (no UK credit history):

• Route to lenders that weight company data over director data. Capify, 365 Business Finance and iwoca all engage where the company picture is strong even when the director file is thin.
• Build the personal file in parallel: a credit-builder card, a UK utility account in your name and on-time direct debits all add to thin-file coverage within six months.

5.1.b Weak (defaults, missed payments, low score):

• Route to specialist post-decline. Capify for MCA-led, 365 Business Finance for direct-MCA, Bizcap for short-term post-decline.
• If the weakness is a single recent missed payment: wait three months before reapplying. The single recent miss falls out of underwriting weight quickly; a stacked decline against it does not.

6.1 Is the arrears under formal demand?

6.1.a No, debt is acknowledged but not under demand:

• Negotiate a Time-to-Pay (TTP) arrangement directly with HMRC. The Business Payment Support Service line is the route. A signed TTP agreement neutralises the underwriting concern at most UK lenders within 30 days of signing.
• Once TTP is in place: route to mainstream alternatives. iwoca, Funding Circle and Capify will engage with a TTP-covered HMRC balance, especially where the new finance retires the HMRC debt.
• Cross-link: see /hmrc/ for the full HMRC-pressure routing.

6.1.b Yes, formal demand or 7-day demand letter received:

• The window is short. A 7-day demand precedes a winding-up petition and once a petition is presented, finance options collapse (see Branch 7). Move fast on TTP or specialist post-decline finance specifically structured to retire the HMRC balance before petition.
• Realistic UK lenders at this stage: Bizcap and JPM Capital for fast specialist post-decline. Pricing is high. The trade-off is short-term cost vs petition.

7.1 Is the petition presented or just threatened?

7.1.a Threatened only (statutory demand or 7-day letter):

• Route is Branch 6 above (HMRC TTP) or settlement of the underlying debt before petition. Specialist post-decline finance can fund the settlement if the numbers work.

7.1.b Presented and active:

• Route to a licensed insolvency practitioner (IP) immediately. R3, the UK insolvency trade body, lists qualified IPs by region. The IP will advise on Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), administration, pre-pack or liquidation as appropriate.
• This is not a finance route. Any UK SMB lender who advances funds to a company under petition does so at their own risk; reputable lenders will not. We list this branch so the routing is explicit, not because there is finance available.
• After the petition is resolved (dismissed, withdrawn, or restructured under a CVA), finance options reopen. The route at that point usually starts at Branch 5 (director credit) and Branch 1 (CCJs) because both will likely be in play.