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Deciding what type of business funding works best for your SME is a tricky process. You need to think about whether you want to give away shares to investors, or whether you’d prefer to retain complete control of your business.
If you decide on a small business loan, it’s important to figure out how much you want to borrow, how long you need to repay it, and which lender would best suit you. With loads of options available from traditional lenders, such as HSBC business loans, it's crucial that you do your research before committing to a lender.
Business loans from HSBC
Here's a quick look at HSBC business loans:
- Small business loans: The HSBC small business loan is available from £1,000 to £25,000, repayable over a term of between 1-10 years.
- Larger loans: You can also opt for HSBC's Flexible Business Loan, suitable for limited companies borrowing over £10,000. Sole traders and partnerships can also borrow above £25,000.
- Application: You can apply for a small business loan with HSBC online, by phone or in a branch. You can also apply for a larger Flexible Business Loan over telephone or at a HSBC branch.
- Fees & charges: Small business loans come with an arrangement fee of £100.
- Rates: HSBC offers a fixed or variable flexible business loan for SMEs.
- Eligibility: SMEs don't need to have a HSBC business bank account to apply for a small business loan.
- Repayments: Customers can repay their small business loans monthly or quarterly over a term of 1-10 years. HSBC offers its customers a three-month repayment holiday at the beginning of the term, but interest is still charged during this period, increasing the size of future repayments.
- Overpayments: There are no charges for overpayments with a small business loan, but if the loan is repaid early the bank is entitled to deduct interest of 1 calendar month and 28 days.
- Specialist products: Accountancy and legal firms can apply for a HSBC partnership capital loan. It’s a specialist loan requiring repayments each month, quarter, six months or year. Funds from £25,001 are available for borrowers, who can repay over a term of up to 30 years and up to a year after retirement.
Alternatives to HSBC business loans
While HSBC business banking offers a range of financial products for SMEs, the bank's lending criteria often means its financial support is difficult to access. For example, you may need to submit a detailed business plan, have a glowing credit score and be prepared to wait a few weeks for a lending decision.
If you've struggled to get funding from the bank, you might have more luck with non-traditional lenders. Combining expert underwriting with cutting-edge technology, many of these alternative finance companies can give you an initial decision in minutes and have the money in your account within a couple of days.
Alternative business lenders like Fleximize typically offer an approval process that’s designed to support smaller enterprises. They know it’s essential that SMEs get the money quickly so they can focus on building their businesses. And to make things less costly for small businesses, Fleximize doesn't charge any arrangement fees, nor does it penalise companies for early repayment. In fact, you'll only pay interest for the time that you have a loan, so you could actually save money by repaying early.
Better still, alternative lenders can be a lot more flexible than banks, both on terms and criteria. For example, Fleximize's business loans are available on a secured or unsecured basis, with flexible features built in as standard. Here are the key details:
- Unsecured business loans of £10,000 - £250,000, on terms of 1-24 months
- Secured business loans of £10,000 - £500,000, on a maximum term of 60 months
- Funds deposited in as little as 48 hours, meaning no disruption to your business
- Take repayment holidays and top up your loan after three successful repayments
- No hidden fees or early repayment charges; only pay interest for the time you had the loan
- Flexible lending criteria – businesses don't need to have a perfect credit history
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Funding for all purposes
Instead of focusing too closely on past financial performance, Fleximize takes account of each company's current circumstances and future plans, with a view to saying 'yes' wherever possible. It can provide funding to companies in almost all sectors, and for practically any purpose. Here are just a few of the reasons that companies have applied for a loan with Fleximize:
If you require funding for any of the above purposes, or simply want to discuss your options, a member of the Fleximize team will be happy to chat on 020 7100 0110. Ready to apply? Simply click the button below.
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