Accredo review: secured business loans for UK limited companies

Accredo is a specialist secured business lender that has been arranging property-backed loans for UK companies since 2000. It is best known for underwriting each case by hand rather than by credit score, which makes it a name worth knowing if your company has a complicated history, is newly formed, or simply needs a lender that will listen. Smart Funding Solutions is an independent broker and is not part of Accredo, so we can set its terms alongside the rest of the market before you decide. You can read more on Accredo's own website.

01About Accredo

Accredo is a trading style of General Asset Management Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. It has been lending since 2000 and focuses on one thing: secured loans to businesses. Its website says it works with both professional introducers and borrowers directly.

The feature Accredo leans on most is its underwriting style. It states that there is no credit scoring and no computer-generated decision. Instead, each application is looked at by an experienced member of its team, who takes what it calls a pragmatic approach. For many directors that matters more than any headline figure: a person reading your case can weigh a one-off problem against years of solid trading, where an automated system may simply say no.

Accredo is one of the lenders on our panel for secured business loans.

02What Accredo funds

Accredo offers secured business loans that can be used for almost any commercial purpose. Its site lists examples such as funding a new start, expanding an existing business and consolidating business debt. Loans are secured on property, and the lender offers a choice of repayment profiles.

Product	What it is for	Typical size	Typical term
Secured loan, repayment basis	Capital and interest repaid over the term, so the debt is cleared by the end	Around £25,000 to £1,500,000	Up to around 10 years
Secured loan, interest only	Lower monthly payments, with the capital repaid at the end from a sale, refinance or other exit	Around £25,000 to £1,500,000	Case by case, often shorter than repayment loans

Accredo also mentions features such as break clauses and deferred payments, which can help where cash flow is uneven or where you expect to repay early. Exact structures depend on the case and the security offered.

03Who Accredo suits (and who it may not)

Accredo says it will consider any limited company regardless of sector or trading history, including new starts and companies with difficult or complex credit profiles. In practice it tends to suit:

• Limited companies whose directors or company can offer property as security.
• Newer businesses that do not yet have the two or three years of accounts a bank wants.
• Businesses with past arrears, a CCJ or a messy credit file where the story makes sense.
• Owners who need a decision quickly: Accredo says decisions are typically made in under one working hour.
• Deals that need a flexible structure, such as interest only for a period.

It is less likely to be the right fit if you have no property to offer, if you want a small unsecured sum, or if you have a clean credit file and strong accounts. In that last case a mainstream lender may offer cheaper money, and comparing first is sensible.

Accredo offers secured business loans that can be used for almost any commercial purpose.

04What Accredo looks at

Because every case is underwritten manually, Accredo looks at the whole picture rather than a score. For a secured business loan, lenders of this type typically want to understand:

• The security: the property, its value, any existing mortgage and how much equity is left.
• The purpose: what the money is for and how it helps the business.
• Affordability: recent bank statements, management figures or accounts where available.
• The exit: for interest-only loans, how the capital will be repaid.
• Credit history: what went wrong in the past, if anything, and why it will not happen again.

A short written explanation of any adverse credit, prepared before the lender asks, can make a real difference with a manual underwriter. Our guide on bad credit business loans explains what lenders want to see.

05Pros and cons

Pros

• Every case read by a person, not scored by a computer.
• Open to new starts and companies with complicated credit.
• Wide range of loan sizes and a long track record since 2000.
• Choice of repayment or interest-only structures, with flexible features.
• Fast decisions, typically within a working hour according to the lender.

Cons

• Property security is needed, so your home or premises may be at risk if you do not repay.
• Specialist secured lending usually costs more than mainstream bank borrowing.
• Lending is to limited companies, so sole traders will need to look elsewhere.
• Legal work and valuations add time and cost compared with an unsecured loan.

06Applying through a broker vs going direct

You can approach Accredo yourself. The benefit of using a broker is that you see Accredo next to other secured lenders before committing your property as security. Pricing and structure for secured loans vary widely, and a lender that suits a director with adverse credit may not be the cheapest option for one with a clean record.

We search the market, present your case in the way each lender prefers, and handle one application on your behalf. If a second charge business loan behind an existing mortgage is the better route, or a bridge is quicker, we will say so. It is free to enquire; any broker fee is disclosed separately before you proceed. To see what may be available, start with Instant Quotes and compare lenders in minutes.

07Alternatives to Accredo

• Together: a long-established specialist that lends against a wide range of property, often worth comparing for larger or more unusual security.
• 4Syte: offers secured business loans alongside invoice finance, which can suit a business that wants both from one lender.
• ThinCats: better suited to established, larger SMEs looking for bigger growth or refinancing facilities.

If you need to clear several existing debts, our page on business debt consolidation loans explains how lenders assess that purpose.