Business loan quotes: how to get one and compare them (UK)

Published and reviewed 31 October 2026. General information, not advice. Figures are illustrations, not lender quotes.

The short version

A business loan quote moves through stages: a calculator estimate, an indicative quote or eligibility check, a personalised offer after a full application, and the loan agreement. Only the signed agreement commits the lender, and many quotes before it can change.
You can usually get an indicative quote without a hard credit search. NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC must offer an online price and eligibility tool for unsecured loans up to £25,000 under a Competition and Markets Authority order, and many online lenders soft search at quote stage. Ask before you apply.
The headline rate is not the price. On four illustrative quotes for the same £50,000 over three years, the order by headline rate was the reverse of the order by cost: a 5.5% flat rate cost about £9,250 and a 9.5% bank rate with no fee cost about £7,660.
Read every quote for the cash you receive, each repayment, the total repayable, fees, early repayment terms, security and personal guarantees. One published online calculator example for £100,000 shows a £6,900 fee and works out at an APR of about 15.9%, against a “from 6.9%” headline.
Most loans to limited companies are not regulated consumer credit, so lenders do not have to show an APR. Ask every lender for the APR, a repayment schedule and the total repayable in pounds, and compare like with like.

What a business loan quote actually is

When you ask for a business loan quote, you want three answers: will a lender say yes, how much will it cost each month, and how much will it cost in total. Unlike a personal loan, there is rarely a single published price. Each lender prices each business, so the answers firm up in stages as the lender learns more about you.

The stages of a business loan quote
Stage	What it is	Credit search	Is it binding?	Typical timing
Calculator estimate	A repayment figure from an amount, rate and term that you enter. Lender calculators often use their lowest headline rate.	None	No. It is arithmetic, not a decision.	Instant
Indicative quote or eligibility check	A lender’s or broker’s first view of whether you are likely to qualify, and at roughly what rate, from a short form about the business. Also called a quick quote, a decision in principle or a price and eligibility check.	Usually none, or a soft search	No. The lender can change or withdraw it.	Minutes to 24 hours
Personalised offer	A specific amount, rate, fee and term after the lender has seen bank statements, accounts and credit files. Online lenders often issue it within a day. Banks can take a few days to a few weeks.	Usually a hard search on the company and the directors	No, until you accept and sign. Some offers expire within days.	Same day to three weeks
Loan agreement	The contract setting out every term, fee, repayment, security, guarantee and condition. You sign it, often electronically, together with any personal guarantee.	Completed by this stage	Yes, once signed by both sides. Money is usually released within one to three working days.	Once you accept the offer

Most disappointment with business loan quotes comes from treating an early stage as if it were the last. An indicative rate is a fair guess at where the price will land if everything you have told the lender is confirmed by your bank statements and credit files. It is not an offer, and it is not reserved for you.

Names vary between lenders. One lender’s quick quote is another’s pre-approval or decision in principle. What matters is the stage the document represents, so ask two questions every time: has the lender checked my credit files and bank statements yet, and what could still change this?

Where to get a quote without a hard credit search

You can see whether you are likely to qualify, and at roughly what price, before any search that other lenders can see. The routes differ in how many lenders they show you and how firm the figure is.

The big four banks must offer an online quote tool

Few business owners know this. Under Part 9 of the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017, the Competition and Markets Authority requires the groups behind NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC to offer a price and eligibility tool in a prominent place on their websites. It covers unsecured loans and standard overdrafts for small and medium-sized businesses borrowing up to £25,000. The tool must tell you how likely you are to be eligible and give an indicative APR, and it must return a result within 24 hours.

The order also makes these banks show, when you apply, how often their indicative quotes hold up. They must publish the share of customers whose final quote was the same as, better than, or no more than 10% above the indicative quote. On its small business loan page, NatWest says 84.93% of its business customers fell into that range, and that an indicative quote does not affect your credit score while a full application may.

Worked example: what “no more than 10% above” means in pounds

Say an indicative quote gives 9.5% APR on £25,000 over three years. A final quote 10% higher would be about 10.45%. The monthly payment rises from about £801 to £812, and the total interest from about £3,830 to about £4,230, so about £400 more over the term. That is the range the published figure covers. About 15% of customers fell outside it.

Every route to a quote compared

Ways to get a business loan quote compared
Route	How the quote works	Strengths	Watch for
Your own bank	Online price and eligibility tool for unsecured loans up to £25,000 at the big four, or a conversation with a relationship manager for larger loans.	Knows your account history. Often the cheapest for established, profitable businesses. Usually no arrangement fee on small loans.	One lender’s view only. Larger and secured loans take longer, and decisions can take weeks.
Online and challenger lenders	A short form, often with your bank statements connected through Open Banking. Many show an indicative rate within minutes and a decision within a day.	Fast. Some soft search at quote stage. Some lend to younger or less profitable businesses than banks will.	Headline rates are “from” rates. Completion fees can be large and are often added to the loan. Some quote a monthly rate.
Comparison and marketplace sites	One form passed to several lenders, with indicative offers shown side by side.	Several quotes from one form, often with no effect on your credit score at first.	They are usually credit brokers paid by lenders. Your details may be shared with many firms. The lenders shown may not be the whole market.
A commercial finance broker	A broker reviews your case and approaches lenders it works with.	Useful for larger, secured or unusual cases, and saves you approaching lenders one at a time.	Ask for any broker fee and any lender commission in writing before you proceed.
Bank Referral Scheme platforms	If a designated bank declines you, it must offer, with your consent, to pass your details to a designated finance platform that matches you with other lenders.	Free, and a route to lenders you might not find yourself.	Only follows a decline by a designated bank. The platform introduces you; it does not lend.

Many online lenders also quote without a hard search. iwoca says applying will not affect your credit score, and Funding Circle says limited companies and LLPs can get a loan decision without affecting their credit score. Check the wording on any site you use, because practice varies.

Two points apply to every route. First, “no impact on your credit score” usually describes the quote stage only. Accepting an offer normally leads to a hard search. Second, a soft search on a director’s personal file is still a search. It is visible to you and to the lender that ran it, but not to other lenders. The Information Commissioner’s Office explains how credit reference agencies record each kind.

What a lender needs to give you a real quote

A quote is only as good as the information behind it. A lender quoting from an amount and a turnover band is guessing. A lender quoting from twelve months of bank statements and filed accounts is pricing. Have this ready before you ask.

Information for a business loan quote
Area	What lenders usually ask	Why it changes the quote
The company	Company name and number, date of incorporation, sector, and the directors and shareholders.	Trading history is often the first filter. Many online lenders want at least one year of trading, and some banks want two.
Turnover and profit	Annual turnover, the latest filed accounts and recent management figures.	Many lenders cap unsecured loans at about 20% to 25% of turnover, then test whether profits can cover the repayments.
Bank statements	Usually three to twelve months of business bank statements, often shared through Open Banking.	Shows real cash flow, regular commitments, returned payments and how close the account runs to its limit.
Existing borrowing	Every loan, overdraft, card, lease, merchant cash advance and HMRC payment plan, with balances and monthly payments.	Existing repayments come off the amount the business can afford to take on.
The loan	Amount, term, what the money is for and when you need it.	The purpose guides the product. Equipment may suit asset finance, unpaid invoices may suit invoice finance.
The directors	Home addresses for three years, personal credit history, and willingness to give a personal guarantee.	Most unsecured business loans need a director’s guarantee. Personal credit problems can change the price or the answer.
Security	Any property or equipment that could be offered as security, and any charges already registered.	Security can raise the amount, lengthen the term and lower the rate, but puts the asset at risk.

Before asking anyone, work out roughly what the business can afford. Lenders usually do two sums: a cap based on turnover, and a test of whether the earnings cover the repayments with room to spare.

Worked example: estimating your own quote before you ask

These are assumptions for the illustration. A limited company turns over £600,000 a year, earns about £70,000 before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and already pays £12,000 a year on a van lease. The lender wants earnings of at least 1.25 times all yearly repayments.

Turnover cap at 25%: about £150,000.
Room for new repayments: £70,000 divided by 1.25 is £56,000. Less the £12,000 lease, that leaves about £44,000 a year, or about £3,670 a month.
Largest loan that fits at 9.5%: about £114,500 over three years, or about £174,600 over five years, where the turnover cap of £150,000 then becomes the limit.

If the company asked for £150,000 over three years, most lenders would either reduce the amount or lengthen the term. Asking for a realistic amount from the start gives a firmer quote and avoids a decline on your credit file. Our guide to how much you can borrow covers these tests in more detail.

How to read a business loan quote, line by line

Every lender lays its quote out differently, but almost every quote, offer and loan agreement covers the same ground. Use this table as a checklist. A line that is missing is a question to ask, not a sign that it does not apply.

The lines in a business loan quote and what to check
Line	What it means	What to check
Loan amount	The amount the agreement is for.	Whether it matches the cash you will receive. A fee deducted from the advance means you receive less than the loan amount.
Amount received	The cash that reaches your bank account.	Ask for it in pounds. It is the starting point for the true cost.
Interest rate and how it is expressed	An annual rate on the reducing balance, a flat rate, a monthly rate or a factor rate.	Which kind it is. The next section shows why the same number can mean very different costs.
APR	The annual percentage rate, which spreads interest and compulsory fees over the term.	Whether one is shown at all. For most loans to limited companies, lenders do not have to give one, so ask.
Arrangement or completion fee	The lender’s fee for setting up the loan, often 0% to 5% of the loan, sometimes more for short terms.	Whether it is paid upfront, deducted from the advance or added to the loan, where it also attracts interest.
Broker fee	A fee to the broker, if you used one, on top of any commission the lender pays it.	Both amounts in writing, and when the fee becomes payable.
Term and repayment frequency	How long the loan runs and whether payments are monthly, weekly or daily.	Weekly and daily payments take cash sooner and raise the true cost compared with the same total paid monthly.
Repayment amount and total repayable	Each payment and the sum of all of them.	Total repayable less the amount received is the full cost of the loan in pounds.
Fixed or variable rate	Whether the rate can change during the term.	For variable rates, the margin over Bank Rate, which is 3.75%, and any minimum rate.
Early repayment	What you pay to settle early.	Any charge, how settlement interest is worked out, and an example in pounds for repaying after one year.
Personal guarantee	A director’s promise to repay if the company cannot.	Whether it covers the whole debt or a capped amount, and whether it is joint and several. Our guide to personal guarantees explains the difference.
Security	A charge over property, equipment or all company assets through a debenture.	A debenture can make other borrowing harder. Check what the lender takes, and whether it is registered at Companies House.
Conditions and validity	Things that must happen before the money is released, and how long the offer stands.	The expiry date, and anything that depends on a third party, such as a landlord’s consent.

Two lines catch people out more than any others. Fees added to the loan make the borrowing look cheaper than it is, because the headline rate is quoted on a bigger balance than the cash you receive. And the personal guarantee can make a director liable for the whole debt even though the borrower is a limited company. Read both before you accept.

Worked example: decoding a published online loan quote

The Funding Circle loan calculator shows this example for £100,000 on 31 October 2026, with rates “from 6.9% per year”:

A completion fee of £6,900, interest of £9,252, monthly repayments of £4,840 and a total repayable of £116,152.
The figures fit a two-year term with the fee added to the loan. That is an interest rate of about 8.1% a year on £106,900, the loan plus the fee.
Measured against the £100,000 the business actually receives, the cost of about £16,150 over two years is an APR of about 15.9%.

None of this is hidden: the page shows every figure, and it says the calculation is indicative. It shows why the headline rate alone tells you little. A fee of 6.9% is spread over only two years, so it adds roughly eight points a year to the true cost. The same fee spread over five years would add much less.

Flat, monthly, factor and APR: four ways to say a price

Business lenders quote prices in several ways, and the same number can mean very different costs. Before you compare quotes, turn each into an APR and a total in pounds.

How business loan prices are quoted
How it is quoted	What it means	Example	Roughly what it means as an APR
Annual rate on the reducing balance	Interest is charged on what you still owe, so it falls as you repay. Most bank loans work this way.	9.5% a year, repaid monthly	About 9.9% with no fees
Flat rate	Interest is worked out on the original loan for every year of the term, even though you repay as you go.	5.5% flat a year over three years	About 10.7% before fees, or about 12.2% with a 2% fee deducted
Monthly rate	A rate per month, often on the reducing balance. Common with online lenders.	1.4% a month	About 18.2%, not 16.8%, because monthly interest compounds
Factor rate	A multiple of the advance that you repay in total, common with merchant cash advances. There is no interest rate as such.	1.18 on £50,000, so £59,000 repaid	About 50% if repaid over nine months, or about 37% over twelve

A flat rate looks about half as expensive as it is, because you pay interest on money you have already repaid. A factor rate gets more expensive the faster you repay it, because the cost is fixed in pounds. Our guide to business loan interest rates explains each conversion with more examples, and our guide to short-term business loans covers daily and weekly repayments.

The APR is a useful common measure, not a perfect one. It assumes the loan runs to the end of its term. If you might repay early, also work out the cost over the period you expect to keep the loan, as the next section does.

How to compare business loan quotes: four quotes on £50,000

The fairest comparison puts every quote on the same amount and term, then measures the cash you receive against everything you repay. Here is what that looks like with four quotes of the kinds a limited company commonly receives.

Worked example: four quotes on the same £50,000 over three years

These are illustrative quotes, not real offers. Each is for £50,000 over 36 months with monthly repayments. Quote A is a bank loan at a fixed annual rate on the reducing balance with no fee. Quote B is an online lender’s lower rate with a 5% completion fee added to the loan. Quote C comes through a broker at a flat rate, with a 2% fee taken from the advance and a 3% charge for early settlement. Quote D is an online lender’s monthly rate with no fee.

Four illustrative business loan quotes compared
	Quote A: bank	Quote B: online, fee added	Quote C: flat rate	Quote D: monthly rate
Headline rate	9.5% a year	7.9% a year	5.5% flat a year	1.4% a month
Fee	None	5% (£2,500) added to the loan	2% (£1,000) deducted	None
Cash received	£50,000	£50,000	£49,000	£50,000
Monthly payment	£1,602	£1,643	£1,618	£1,778
Total repayable	£57,659	£59,139	£58,250	£63,996
Total cost over three years	£7,659	£9,139	£9,250	£13,996
APR	About 9.9%	About 11.8%	About 12.2%	About 18.2%
Cost if repaid after one year	About £4,100	About £6,070	About £6,460	About £7,360

Cost means everything repaid less the cash received. For Quote C, early settlement assumes the lender rebates future interest at the loan’s true rate and adds its 3% charge. Some flat-rate lenders rebate less.

By headline rate, the order is C, B, A, D. By cost, it is A, B, C, D. The cheapest-looking quote is the second most expensive.
Quote B’s fee turns a 7.9% rate into an APR of about 11.8%, and because the fee is paid whatever happens, repaying after a year makes it worse, at about 14.7% a year.
Quote D costs about £6,300 more than Quote A over three years. It can still be the right choice if it is the only offer, if it arrives in hours when the bank would take weeks, or if the business only needs the money for a few months and can repay without charge.

The lesson is not that banks are always cheapest. It is that you cannot rank quotes until each is in pounds. A bank may decline a younger business or take three weeks, and an online lender’s certainty and speed can be worth paying for. Test any quote in the business loan calculator.

A checklist for comparing quotes

Same amount, same term. Ask every lender to quote the same loan and term, or recalculate their figures yourself.
Same stage. Compare indicative quotes with indicative quotes, and offers with offers. An early quote from one lender is not comparable with a credit-checked offer from another.
Cash received and total repayable. Write both down in pounds. The difference is the cost.
APR and the cost if repaid early. Ask for the APR, then work out the cost over the period you realistically expect to keep the loan.
The monthly cash. A longer term lowers the payment but raises the total. Check the payment still fits in a quiet month.
The terms that are not price. A personal guarantee, a debenture or a covenant can matter more than a point on the rate.

Our guide on how to compare business loans sets out the like-for-like approach in brief, and our guide to unsecured business loans compares bank, online and merchant cash advance offers on the same amount.

Why a quote changes before the offer

Plenty of business loan quotes change between the first indication and the offer. Knowing why helps you plan for it, and helps you tell a fair change from a bait-and-switch.

The bank statements tell a different story

An indicative quote relies on what you typed in. The offer relies on what your bank statements show. Lower average balances, returned direct debits, gambling transactions on a business account, or heavy use of an overdraft can all reduce the amount or raise the rate. Make sure the turnover you enter matches what goes through the account.

The credit files show something

A hard search can find a missed payment, a county court judgment or a high level of existing debt on the company or a director. Mention anything you know about at the start. A problem disclosed upfront is often priced in. A problem found later can end the application. Our guide to bad credit business loans explains which finance is realistic with past problems.

The lender wants more protection

A lender may offer the same rate but add a personal guarantee, ask for a second director to guarantee too, or ask for a debenture. These are changes to the deal, not paperwork. Weigh them as carefully as a change in price.

The amount or term moves

Lenders often offer less than you asked for, or the same amount over a shorter term, if affordability is tight. Check the monthly payment again, because a shorter term can raise it sharply.

Interest rates change

Bank Rate is 3.75%, and the Bank of England’s next decision is due on 5 November 2026. A change moves variable-rate quotes straight away and can feed into new fixed-rate pricing. The Bank of England’s figures put the average rate on new bank loans to small and medium-sized businesses at 6.63% in August 2026, though smaller unsecured loans are usually priced higher. If a lender reprices, ask it to show you what changed.

Will getting a quote affect my credit score?

Getting an indicative quote usually does not. Applying for the loan usually does. The difference is between a soft search and a hard search.

Soft and hard credit searches compared
	Soft search	Hard search
When	Indicative quotes, eligibility checks and some comparison sites.	Full applications, usually once you accept an offer or ask a lender to proceed.
Who can see it	You and the lender that ran it. Other lenders cannot.	You and other lenders, typically for twelve months.
Effect on future applications	None.	One search rarely matters. Several in a short time can suggest a business is struggling to get credit.
Whose file	Often a director’s personal file, the company’s commercial file, or both.	Usually both. For most limited company loans, the directors’ personal files are checked too.

Three habits protect your files. Ask each lender, in writing, which kind of search it will run and at what stage. Get indicative quotes from several lenders, then apply to one at a time, starting with the one most likely to say yes. And check your own files before you start, so nothing in them surprises you or the lender. If a designated bank declines you, ask for a referral under the Bank Referral Scheme rather than applying everywhere at once.

The government is consulting on changes to how business credit data is shared and how bank referrals work. HM Treasury published its response in May 2026, and both schemes continue to operate while changes are developed. The Bank Referral Scheme regulations set out which banks must offer referrals.

Warning signs and your protections

Most quotes are what they seem. A few are not. Watch for these.

A fee before any lender has seen your case. An upfront fee to “secure” or “release” a loan, especially paid by bank transfer, is a common sign of loan fee fraud. Genuine lenders take fees from the advance or at completion, not before a decision.
Guaranteed approval or a firm rate before anyone has seen your bank statements or credit files.
A rate with no total. If a lender will not give the total repayable in pounds and an APR, assume the price is worse than it looks.
Pressure to sign today, especially with a personal guarantee you have not had time to read.
A firm that is hard to identify. Check the company on Companies House, and if it says it is authorised, check the FCA Register for its firm reference number.

Is a business loan quote regulated?

Usually not. Lending to a limited company is generally outside the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer credit rules, so the rules on representative APRs in adverts do not apply and a lender does not have to show you an APR. Loans to sole traders and small partnerships of up to £25,000 are usually regulated, which brings more protection. The CMA order still makes the four largest banking groups show representative APRs for unsecured business loans up to £25,000.

Many banks and lenders follow the Lending Standards Board’s Standards of Lending Practice for business customers, and micro-enterprises and some small businesses can take complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Outside those protections, the loan agreement and any guarantee are the contract, so read them, and take legal advice on a guarantee you do not understand.

Where Business Loan Advice fits

We are not a lender or a broker and we do not give personal advice. We are preparing a service that will introduce UK limited companies directly to lenders. No lenders are confirmed yet, so we cannot currently obtain quotes or make introductions. You will not pay us a fee. If a lender pays us commission after the service launches, we will tell you before asking your permission to refer you.

In the meantime, the business loan calculator and these guides are free to use with no sign-up, so you can check any quote you receive elsewhere. If your limited company is planning to borrow, you can register its interest and we will contact you about the service launch. Read how we are paid for the details.

Common questions

How do I get a business loan quote?

Decide how much you need, for what and over how long. Gather your company number, turnover, recent bank statements and details of existing borrowing. Then get indicative quotes from your own bank, one or two online lenders, or a comparison site or broker, and compare them on the cash received and the total repayable before applying to one.

Does getting a business loan quote affect my credit score?

An indicative quote or eligibility check usually involves no search or a soft search, which other lenders cannot see. A full application usually involves a hard search on the company and the directors. Ask each lender which search it will run and when.

How accurate is a business loan quote?

It depends on the stage. NatWest publishes that 84.93% of its business customers received a final quote the same as, better than, or no more than 10% above their indicative quote. A quote based on your real bank statements and credit files is far firmer than one based on a short form.

Is a business loan quote binding?

No. Indicative quotes and offers can change or be withdrawn. Only the signed loan agreement is binding, and even then the lender may need conditions to be met, such as a signed personal guarantee, before releasing the money.

What do I need for a business loan quote?

Usually the company name and number, how long it has traded, annual turnover, the amount, term and purpose of the loan, and the directors’ details. For an offer, lenders add three to twelve months of business bank statements, the latest accounts and details of existing debts.

Which banks offer online business loan quotes?

Under a Competition and Markets Authority order, the groups behind NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC must offer an online price and eligibility tool for unsecured loans and overdrafts up to £25,000. Many online lenders and comparison sites also give indicative quotes online.

Why is my business loan offer different from the quote?

The usual reasons are that the bank statements or credit files differ from what was entered, affordability supports a smaller amount or a shorter term, the lender wants a personal guarantee or other security, or interest rates have moved. Ask the lender to explain the change in writing.

How do I compare business loan quotes?

Put every quote on the same amount and term. For each one, write down the cash you receive, each repayment, the total repayable and the APR. The difference between total repayable and cash received is the cost. Then check early repayment terms, guarantees and security.

What is a good interest rate for a business loan?

It depends on the business, the loan and the security. The Bank of England puts the average rate on new bank loans to small and medium-sized businesses at 6.63% in August 2026, with Bank Rate at 3.75%. Smaller unsecured loans commonly cost more, and online lenders more again.

Why do business loan quotes not show an APR?

Most loans to limited companies are not regulated consumer credit, so lenders do not have to show an APR. Ask for one anyway, along with a repayment schedule and the total repayable in pounds.

What is a flat rate on a business loan?

A flat rate charges interest on the original loan for every year of the term, even as you repay it. A 5.5% flat rate over three years works out at an APR of about 10.7% before fees, roughly double the headline figure.

How long does a business loan quote take?

An online indicative quote can take minutes, and the big four banks must return their price and eligibility result within 24 hours. A credit-checked offer often takes a day from an online lender and a few days to a few weeks from a bank.

Should I use a broker for a business loan quote?

A broker can help with larger, secured or unusual cases and save you approaching lenders one at a time. Ask what the broker charges you, what commission lenders pay it and how many lenders it works with, in writing, before you proceed.

Sources, checked 31 October 2026

Competition and Markets Authority: Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017, Parts 8 and 9

NatWest: small business loan, indicative quotes and quote accuracy

Funding Circle: small business loan calculator example, checked 31 October 2026

iwoca: Flexi-Loan pricing and credit search statement

Bank of England: Monetary Policy Summary, September 2026, Bank Rate held at 3.75%

Bank of England: upcoming Monetary Policy Committee dates

Bank of England: effective interest rates, August 2026

Information Commissioner’s Office: credit files and your rights

Legislation.gov.uk: Small and Medium Sized Business (Finance Platforms) Regulations 2015

HM Treasury: commercial credit data sharing and Bank Referral Scheme consultation and response

FCA Handbook CONC 3.5: financial promotions about credit agreements