How long does business loan approval take?

What drives the timeline

Approval speed comes down to three things: the lender's process, the size and complexity of the facility, and how ready your information is. Smaller, short-term working-capital facilities are assessed faster than large secured term loans, because there is simply less to underwrite. A lender that reads your business bank data directly through Open Banking can score affordability in minutes rather than waiting for posted statements to arrive. The slowest step is almost always missing or stale information — unfiled accounts, a mismatched bank account, an unanswered question. So the single best thing you can do to speed things up is have everything to hand before you start, and respond quickly to anything the underwriter asks.

How Credicorp approaches it

Credicorp lends short-term working capital to UK limited companies, and that narrow focus keeps decisions quick. Because we lend to the company rather than asking a director to sign a personal guarantee, the assessment centres on the business itself — trading history, turnover and cash flow — not your personal assets or credit file. There is no property to value and no personal-guarantee paperwork to draft, both of which slow secured lending considerably. A typical application moves from submission to an in-principle decision within hours to a working day or two, with funds following shortly after you accept. Larger or less straightforward cases may need a short manual review, but the common path is fast.

How to get approved faster

You can shave days off the process by preparing in advance. Make sure your Companies House filings are current, your registered details match your bank, and the account you connect is the one you actually trade through. Connect your bank data when asked rather than uploading PDF statements, which take longer to review. Apply for a realistic amount your cash flow genuinely supports — over-asking invites extra scrutiny. And answer any underwriter questions the same day, because each round-trip adds delay. See what documents you need and how to apply for the full checklist before you begin.

Approval versus funding

It helps to separate two stages that people often blur together. Approval is the credit decision — the lender's commitment to offer you a facility on stated terms. Funding is the money actually landing in your account, which happens after you accept the offer and any final checks complete. With a short-term lender these stages are usually close together, often the same day, but they are not automatically the same instant. If your need is time-critical, build in a small buffer rather than assuming approval and cash arrive simultaneously. Tell the lender up front that timing is tight, so the case can be prioritised and the offer turned around without avoidable waiting.

What this means for your company

If you need funds for a near-term opportunity — stock for a big order, a looming VAT bill, payroll cover between client payments — speed matters, and a specialist short-term lender will usually beat a high-street bank comfortably. The trade-off rarely favours waiting weeks for a marginally cheaper rate when the opportunity itself is time-sensitive. Treat preparation as the lever you control: clean filings, the right bank account, a sensible amount and prompt replies will consistently produce the quickest decision. Do that, and approval in hours rather than weeks is a realistic expectation, not an optimistic one. Register to start.