Declined? Match by reason.
Most UK SMB declines have a specific reason: CCJ, missed payments, thin file, sector, affordability. Specialist lenders exist for each. Pick the reason that matches your decline and we route to lenders that accept it.
Director, FundBiz
Oliver leads FundBiz's specialty finance comparison and matching engine. With a background in UK commercial finance, he oversees lender partnerships, eligibility logic and post-decline routing.
Last reviewed: 12 June 2026
CCJ
A County Court Judgment registered against your business or against you personally as a director. CCJs sit on your credit file for six years, regardless of whether they are satisfied.
Missed payments
Recent (under 12 months) missed payments on existing business or personal credit. Particularly material if linked to existing business borrowing, asset finance or director credit.
Thin file
Insufficient credit history for the lender to underwrite. Common for newer Ltd companies, recent incorporations, or businesses without prior borrowing.
Sub-12-month trading
Your Ltd company has been trading for less than 12 months. Most UK SMB lenders set 12 to 24 months as a minimum.
Pre-revenue
Your business has not yet generated revenue or has recurring revenue under £5,000 a month. Affects pre-revenue tech, biotech, manufacturing pre-launch, and similar.
Low turnover
Your annual turnover is below the lender's minimum threshold. Most mainstream lenders set £100k to £200k as a floor; high-street banks often set £500k+.
Affordability ratio
Your existing debt service plus the proposed new repayment exceeds the lender's affordability ceiling (commonly 30 to 40 percent of free cash flow).
Sector
Your business operates in a sector the lender either does not underwrite or treats as high-risk. Common examples: gambling, adult, CBD, vape, firearms, transport (HGV, taxi), some hospitality verticals.
Recent director change
A director appointed within the last 6 to 12 months at the borrowing company. Mainstream lenders treat the change as a red flag because it disrupts the underwriting trail and can mask earlier issues.
Complex group
Group structures with overseas parents, multiple holding companies, opaque beneficial ownership, or recently restructured ownership. Mainstream lenders prefer simple Ltd structures with clear UK beneficial owners.
Overseas director
A director not resident in the UK. Mainstream lenders prefer at least one UK-resident director on a Ltd company they lend to.
Overdue accounts
Filed accounts more than 1 month overdue at Companies House. Mainstream lenders treat overdue filings as evidence of weak financial control and decline at the gate.
Existing debt
You already have an open facility with the lender you have applied to. Many UK SMB lenders cap exposure to one borrower at a fixed limit; reaching the cap means automatic decline on the new application.
No business account
You are operating through a personal bank account or a non-UK account rather than a UK business bank account in the company name.
Sole trader
You applied via FundBiz as a sole trader rather than as a Ltd company. FundBiz is a Ltd-only platform.
Recent restructure
The company has recently been through a CVA, administration, MVL, or material change of control. Mainstream lenders apply post-restructure cooling-off periods.
Declined by Funding Circle
Funding Circle has declined your unsecured term-loan application. Funding Circle is one of the largest UK SMB term-loan platforms; their decline patterns are well-known and most of them route cleanly to specialist alternatives without needing a second mainstream attempt.
Declined by iwoca
iwoca has declined your Flexi-Loan or term-loan application. iwoca is the largest UK SMB working-capital fintech and engages at lower thresholds than Funding Circle or the high-street banks, so an iwoca decline is a strong signal that mainstream alternatives will also decline.
Declined by Capify
Capify has declined your merchant cash advance or short-term loan application. Capify is one of the most CCJ-tolerant MCA providers on the FundBiz panel and engages on cases mainstream lenders will not touch, so a Capify decline narrows your route options materially.
Declined by 365 Business Finance
365 Business Finance has declined your merchant cash advance application. 365 is a top-tier UK MCA provider that engages case-by-case on credit issues mainstream lenders auto-decline, so a 365 decline is a strong indicator that the route needs to shift to specialist post-decline or asset-backed alternatives.
Declined by Liberis
Liberis has declined your merchant cash advance application. Liberis is one of the largest UK card-flow MCA providers, distributing through Barclaycard, Worldpay and other acquirer partnerships, so their underwriting leans heavily on card-machine flow rather than filed accounts.
Declined by YouLend
YouLend has declined your revenue-based finance application. YouLend is the largest UK marketplace and gateway-flow MCA provider, partnering with Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Just Eat and major payment processors to underwrite against transaction volume, so their decline patterns are specific to digital sales flow rather than traditional credit.
Declined by Allica Bank
Allica Bank has declined your commercial mortgage, asset finance or term-loan application. Allica is a specialist UK challenger bank focused on established SMBs with £500k+ turnover and meaningful asset cover, so their decline patterns differ materially from fintech declines and signal a different routing problem.
Declined by OakNorth
OakNorth has declined your commercial mortgage, growth-capital or asset-backed term-loan application. OakNorth is a specialist UK challenger bank focused on established SMBs and mid-market borrowers with £500k+ turnover and material asset cover, so a decline points to a structural mismatch between the ask and the lender model rather than to a credit problem.
Declined by Bizcap
Bizcap has declined your specialist short-term loan or MCA application. Bizcap is one of the most aggressive specialist post-decline lenders on the FundBiz panel, engaging on cases other lenders auto-reject, so a Bizcap decline is a strong signal that the file needs structural work rather than another application.
Declined by JPM Capital
JPM Capital has declined your specialist post-decline loan or MCA application. JPM Capital is one of the deepest-tolerance specialist lenders on the FundBiz panel, engaging on cases mainstream MCA providers and other specialists have already declined, so a JPM Capital decline is the strongest possible signal that the file needs structural work before any further credit application.
Declined by Aldermore
Aldermore has declined your asset finance, invoice finance or commercial mortgage application. Aldermore is an established UK challenger bank that sits between mainstream high-street lending and specialist fintech. Their underwriting leans on real asset cover and clean compliance, so a decline usually points to a documentation or asset-cover problem rather than a hard credit issue.
Declined by Start Up Loans Company
The British Business Bank Start Up Loans Company has declined your application. Start Up Loans is a government-backed scheme for pre-revenue and very-early-stage UK businesses, offering personal loans of £500 to £25,000 to founders rather than balance-sheet loans to companies. A decline points either to a structural mismatch (the business is too established for the scheme) or to specific eligibility or affordability issues at the individual director level.
Declined by Time Finance
Time Finance has declined your asset finance, invoice finance or unsecured loan application. Time Finance is a UK challenger lender focused on asset-backed and invoice-backed SME finance, sitting between mainstream banks and specialist post-decline lenders. A decline usually signals an asset-class or trading-position mismatch rather than a hard credit issue, since Time Finance is more flexible than the high-street and more conservative than Bizcap or JPM Capital.
Skip the reading and run the matcher
Two minutes. Soft search only. We score your application against each lender on our panel and surface the ones most likely to approve.
Open post-decline matcher →Quick pre-flight tools
Use these before the matcher to see where you sit on the two reasons most commonly behind a decline: affordability and lender-fit score.
Declined by a specific lender?
If a named lender turned you down, start from the alternatives: each page lists UK lenders that engage with the same profile. And before you reapply, check the lender-comfort signals underwriters weigh, including how recent filings and director changes read.