How much can a limited company borrow?
A UK limited company can typically borrow up to around one month's annual revenue as an unsecured loan - a company turning over £600,000 might borrow £40,000-£60,000. Security, strong profitability and longer trading history stretch this significantly; asset-backed lending can reach £500,000+.
The one-month rule (and when it bends)
Unsecured lenders across the UK panel converge on a similar rule of thumb: comfortable lending sits around one month of annual turnover. It bends upward with strong margins (profit services the debt, not revenue), clean filing history, 3+ years of trading, and low existing debt. It bends downward with thin margins, recent bounced payments, or debt already in place.
Routes past the ceiling
- Security - property or asset charges can multiply capacity, at finer rates.
- Asset finance - buying kit? The asset itself secures the deal, largely bypassing the revenue rule. £10k to £500k+.
- Invoice finance - capacity scales with your sales ledger, not a multiple of revenue: up to 90% of outstanding invoices, growing automatically as you do.
- Merchant cash advance - typically around one month's card takings, judged on terminal data alone.
Affordability is the real test
Whatever the headline capacity, lenders sanity-check one thing: can the monthly repayment absorb into your cash rhythm without strain? A £50,000 loan over 24 months at representative panel rates runs about £3,073/month - if that number would make a quiet month frightening, the term is wrong or the amount is. Our calculator shows every term side by side so you can find the shape that fits before anyone runs a check.
Get the real number, not the rule of thumb
Rules of thumb are for orientation. A soft-search check turns your actual filings and figures into a real indicative capacity across the panel, in about two minutes, without touching your credit file.
Straight answers
For ltd-company lending it is secondary to company performance, but a clean director profile helps - especially where a personal guarantee is involved.
You will pay credit cost on the whole amount. Borrow to the need; many facilities allow top-ups later once repayment history exists.
Not automatically - it counts within affordability like any debt. Plenty of companies layer new facilities alongside legacy scheme loans.