Whether it’s an unexpected opportunity or part of a structured growth plan for your business, you may find yourself in need of more finance. It’s a natural part of building a business and that’s why we offer our Start Up Loan recipients the chance to apply for a Second Loan.

Hundreds of individuals have already taken up this opportunity. For some it has meant the ability to buy a new piece of equipment to speed up business operations, while for others, the additional finance has allowed them to expand their business into new markets and take their sales plan to the next level.

Whatever your reason, with the ability to access additional finance at the same fixed interest rate of 6% per annum and a loan repayment term of one to five years, Second Loans are an affordable way to continue building your business.

They’re just one more way we help new business owners thrive, after receiving their first loan.

The application process

A Second Loan is a personal loan used for business purposes. Our application process considers your personal circumstances, your repayment history for your first loan, your business’ trading history and your future business plans.

Pre-application

To support your application and prior to reaching a Business Adviser, if eligible, you will need to prepare and be able to discuss the following:

• A summary of your business
• A breakdown of how the Second Loan will be used
• A summary of how the business has performed since receiving the first loan
• An up to date Personal Survival Budget

There are four key stages of the Second Loan application process:

Stage 1: Personal Details

We first check eligibility, you will then be required to confirm and/or update the personal information that you provided for your First Loan.

Stage 2: Credit Check

Here, you will be required to enter you proposed loan amount and loan term, as well as your bank account details. We will use this information to complete a credit check, helping us to determine your suitability for a Second Loan.

If you pass the credit check you will be taken straight to Stage 3 where you can continue your application. If you do not meet out lending criteria you will be informed straight away.

Stage 3: Your Business information and key documents

If you are eligible to proceed, you will need to provide a range of documents to help us assess your current personal situation and business progress since taking on your first Start Up Loan. This will include:

• An up-to-date Personal Survival Budget
• Actual Business Cash Flow – Covering the last 6 months or from your start trading date, if less than 6 months
• 12-month Cash Flow Forecast
• Three months’ consecutive business-related bank statements

Note: Where you have used your personal bank account for business transactions, it is important that we understand which transactions relate to the business in order for us to assess your application for a second loan. To do this you will need to clearly mark on the bank statements each transaction that is business related. This will speed up the assessment of your application and enable you to obtain funds more quickly.

We have created templates for each of these documents that specifically outline what information we require. Download our Second Loans templates which includes a Personal Survival Budget, Actual Business Cash Flow and Cash Flow Forecast

Please note, you may also be required to provide other forms of verification documents, including but not limited to personal bank statements, proof of ID, proof of address and visa (if applicable).

Assessment

As part of our commitment to treating customers’ fairly, your application will be assessed by both your Business Adviser and at least one other qualified individual.

Please note, subject to this final assessment, you may be required to provide further information to support your application.

Please note, subject to this final assessment, you may be required to provide further information to support your application.

Outcome

Once your application has been assessed, your Business Adviser will contact you via phone and email with the outcome of your application. If your application has been successful, you will be assigned to a Finance Partner who will send your Loan Agreement by post for signing and once you have returned this, your loan funds will be distributed.

If you are eligible to start a Second Loan Application this option will be available to you in the Customer Portal. Please Log in to find out:

Apply today

Submit your application form and we’ll be in contact within two working days.

Whether it’s an unexpected opportunity or part of a structured growth plan for your business, you may find yourself in need of more finance. It’s a natural part of building a business and that’s why we offer our Start Up Loan recipients the chance to apply for a Second Loan.

Hundreds of individuals have already taken up this opportunity. For some it has meant the ability to buy a new piece of equipment to speed up business operations, while for others, the additional finance has allowed them to expand their business into new markets and take their sales plan to the next level.

Whatever your reason, with the ability to access additional finance at the same fixed interest rate of 6% per annum and a loan repayment term of one to five years, Second Loans are an affordable way to continue building your business.

They’re just one more way we help new business owners thrive, after receiving their first loan.

Pre-application

To support your application and prior to reaching a Business Adviser, if eligible, you will need to prepare and be able to discuss the following:

• A summary of your business
• A breakdown of how the Second Loan will be used
• A summary of how the business has performed since receiving the first loan
• An up to date Personal Survival Budget

The application process

A Second Loan is a personal loan used for business purposes. Our application process considers your personal circumstances, your repayment history for your first loan, your business’ trading history and your future business plans.

There are four key stages of the Second Loan application process:

Stage 1: Application form

We first check eligibility, you will then be required to provide both personal and business information, including your bank account details and we will use this information to complete a credit check, helping us to determine your suitability for a Second Loan.

It should take no longer than fifteen minutes to complete this application form and, once submitted, we will contact you within two working days to let you know if you’re eligible to proceed.

Stage 2: Your key documents

If you are eligible to proceed, you will need to provide a range of documents to help us assess your current personal situation and business progress since taking on your first Start Up Loan. This will include:

• An up-to-date Personal Survival Budget
• 6-month Actual Business Cash Flows – This should align with your business transactions from your business related bank statements
• 12-month Cash Flow Forecast
• Three months’ consecutive business-related bank statements

Note: Where you have used your personal bank account for business transactions, it is important that we understand which transactions relate to the business in order for us to assess your application for a second loan. To do this you will need to clearly mark on the bank statements each transaction that is business related. This will speed up the assessment of your application and enable you to obtain funds more quickly.

We have created templates for each of these documents that specifically outline what information we require and will send these to you to complete.

Please note, you may also be required to provide other forms of verification documents, including but not limited to personal bank statements, proof of ID, proof of address and visa (if applicable).

Stage 3: Business Adviser review

Once you have submitted your key documents, your application will be passed on to the Delivery Partner that processed your first loan application. Your Delivery Partner will assign you to a Business Adviser who will provide support to finalise your application for assessment.

Please note, if your Delivery Partner is no longer affiliated with the Start Up Loans scheme, we will assign you to another partner who will provide support and assess your application.

Stage 4: Assessment

As part of our commitment to treating customers’ fairly, your application will be assessed by both your Business Adviser and at least one other qualified individual.

Please note, subject to this final assessment, you may be required to provide further information to support your application.

Outcome

Once your application has been assessed, your Business Adviser will contact you via phone and email with the outcome of your application. If your application has been successful, you will be assigned to a Finance Partner who will send your Loan Agreement by post for signing and once you have returned this, your loan funds will be distributed.

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility criteria

Frequently asked questions

If you have any further questions about applying for a Second Loan, contact our Customer Service team online or call 0344 264 2600, weekdays 9.00am to 6.00pm, excluding bank holidays.

Building your business

We work to give you the support you need to build your business at every stage of your journey.