Business Finance

How UK limited companies fund plant, machinery and equipment. Hire purchase versus finance lease versus operating lease, why new-or-used changes the tax answer, refinancing kit you already own, and a worked £80k HP-versus-lease comparison tied to full expensing.

Confidential invoice discounting (CID) lets your company draw cash against its unpaid B2B invoices while keeping collections in-house and your customers unaware a funder is involved. It is cheaper than factoring because you run your own credit control, but lenders reserve it for companies with the turnover, covenant and systems to manage their ledger to a funder's standard. This guide sets out how CID works, what it costs in 2026/27, the eligibility bar, and how it differs from factoring, selective discounting and supply-chain finance.

Invoice factoring turns your company's unpaid B2B invoices into cash, with the lender advancing most of the value and running credit control on your behalf. It is fast and flexible, but the real cost sits in the service fee, the discount margin, and the termination clauses most buyers never read. This guide sets out how factoring works, what it costs in 2026/27, and how to avoid the trailing-commission and notice-period traps on exit.

Contract cleaning runs on weekly wages but gets paid on 45 to 60 day terms by a handful of facilities-management primes. This guide shows UK limited-company cleaners how whole-turnover factoring closes that payroll-to-payment gap, how debtor concentration and TUPE on contract wins affect the funding, and when it is the right tool.

Construction subcontractors do not raise ordinary invoices. They submit applications for payment, wait through a certification and pay-less cycle, suffer 20 percent CIS deducted at source, and leave 5 percent retention locked up for a year or more. That is why standard factoring usually declines construction and why a specialist construction-finance facility that understands applications for payment and retention exists. This guide, written for limited-company subcontractors, shows how the funding works, what to watch, and where the true cash is trapped.

Invoice finance advances cash against unpaid B2B invoices. A patient-facing dental practice earns NHS UDA contract payments and private card income, which is not a trade-debtor book, so invoice finance rarely fits. It does fit dental laboratories and B2B dental suppliers that invoice practices on credit terms. This guide is honest about which is which and where a practice should look instead.

Most ecommerce cash is trapped in marketplace payout holds and unsold stock, not in a debtor book, so classic invoice finance rarely fits a B2C seller. Only the B2B and wholesale slice of your sales is factorable. This guide shows a limited-company seller which part qualifies, models the release on a £1.2m book, and routes the rest to the right product.

Haulage runs on a brutal timing mismatch: you pay for diesel, driver wages and tolls this week, but your shipper clients settle at 60 to 90 days. Invoice finance, and transport factoring in particular, releases most of an invoice's value the day you raise it. This guide explains how it works for UK limited-company hauliers, where fuel advances fit, and why the fleet itself is a separate asset-finance question.

Invoice finance releases cash tied up in unpaid business-to-business invoices, but most hospitality income arrives as card or cash at the point of sale, not as a trade-debtor book. That makes invoice finance the wrong tool for a typical restaurant, pub, cafe or hotel. It fits a narrower slice: contract and event caterers, corporate hospitality firms, and wholesale suppliers to venues, all invoicing other companies on credit terms. This guide is honest about the split, works through a caterer versus a restaurant, and points card-led venues to the finance that actually suits them.

A manufacturing company pays for raw materials in week one, builds for ten weeks, then waits another ten for a B2B customer to settle. That order-to-cash gap ties up cash you need for the next order. This guide explains where invoice finance helps a limited-company manufacturer, the one phase it cannot fund, and how it pairs with asset finance for plant.

Temp desks pay contractors every Friday but wait 45 to 60 days for clients to settle. This guide shows UK recruitment companies how pay-and-bill factoring closes that structural payroll gap, why perm placement fees behave differently, and how to choose a facility that funds the wage run without swallowing the margin.

SIA-licensed manned-guarding companies pay officers weekly on 24/7 rotas but wait 30 to 60 days for corporate and public-sector clients to settle. That structural gap, made worse by single-client concentration and thin margins, is exactly what invoice finance is built to close. This guide shows how factoring with payroll funding works for a limited-company guarding business, what advance rate to expect, and where concentration risk bites.

Wholesalers pay for stock long before their retail customers pay them. That double squeeze, made worse by seasonal builds and import lead times, is exactly what invoice finance was designed to bridge. This guide explains how factoring fits a wholesale debtor book of many small retailers, how it stacks with stock and trade finance, and how much cash your limited company could release.

A merchant cash advance lets a card-led company borrow against future card takings and repay as a fixed percentage of each day's settlement. This guide explains the holdback mechanic, factor rates versus APR, why an MCA is one of the most expensive facilities on the market, and when a revolving credit facility or invoice finance is the cheaper route. Company borrowers only.

A plain-English guide to the British Business Bank Growth Guarantee Scheme (the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme) for UK limited companies. What the 70% government guarantee actually protects, who is eligible, which facilities it covers, the personal-guarantee reality, and how it compares with a standard commercial loan. Company borrowers only. We introduce your company to a panel of commercial-finance brokers working with accredited lenders, we are not a lender.

A revolving credit facility lets your company draw, repay and redraw against a set limit, paying interest only on the balance actually drawn. This guide covers how an RCF works, what it costs (arrangement fee, interest, non-utilisation fee), how it compares to an overdraft and a term loan, and when it is the right tool for lumpy or seasonal company cash flow.

A secured business loan lets your limited company borrow larger sums at lower rates by giving the lender a legal charge over an asset, usually commercial property, plant or the whole business. This guide covers what can be used as security, why the rate is cheaper, the valuation and legal timeline, what a debenture actually gives the lender, and what happens if the company defaults. Written for company directors and finance leads, not personal borrowers.

A practical guide to small-business loans for UK limited companies in 2026/27: how much a small company borrows, secured versus unsecured, bank versus alternative lenders, eligibility on one or two years of accounts, and a worked cost example. Company borrowers only.

A new limited company can borrow, but the routes differ from the government Start Up Loan (which is personal, capped at £25,000). This guide maps the company facilities that fund fit-out, vehicles and stock, and how to improve your odds of approval.

Unsecured business loans give a UK limited company capital without pledging assets, but approval rests on trading strength and, almost always, a director's personal guarantee. We explain how lenders price the risk, what you will pay versus a secured loan, and when the higher rate is worth it.

A VAT loan spreads a lumpy quarterly VAT bill over 3 to 12 months so it does not drain your company's cash in one hit. Here is how the facility works, what it typically costs, how it compares with an HMRC Time to Pay arrangement, and how the same idea funds a corporation-tax bill.

Working capital finance is not one product, it is a shortlist. The right facility depends on what is actually causing your cash-flow gap: a slow debtor book points to invoice finance, a lumpy seasonal swing points to a revolving credit facility, a one-off tax bill points to a short-term loan. This guide maps your company's cash cycle to the facility that fits, compares the real cost of each on a worked £100k example, and shows where the cheap option and the expensive option diverge sharply.