Business Loan Calculator (UK)
Repayments on a UK small-business loan — personal guarantees, Growth Guarantee Scheme context and challenger-bank pricing.
Formula
Disclaimer: Indicative math for comparison only. Actual instalments vary with lender rounding, fees, insurance, daily vs monthly reducing methods and rate resets. This is not financial advice — confirm the final schedule with your lender.
Disclaimer: This tool is for general informational and estimation purposes only and is not professional financial, tax, accounting or legal advice. All figures are estimates — verify with a qualified professional before making decisions. Read the full disclaimer.
Need business loan calculator results fast? Skip the spreadsheet and get a clear, defensible answer in one step — free, private and instant, recalculating live as you change any input.
About Business Loan Calculator (UK)
UK SME lending spans high-street banks (cheapest, slowest), challengers and fintechs (Funding Circle, iwoca — days to decision, mid-teens pricing), and the government-backed Start Up Loans programme (fixed 6% personal loans to £25k per founder for young businesses). The default — £50,000 at 9.5% over 5 years — sits where a trading SME with decent accounts lands at a challenger. The British Business Bank's Growth Guarantee Scheme (successor to RLS) gives lenders a 70% government guarantee on eligible facilities to £2m — it widens approval, but note the guarantee protects the LENDER; you typically still sign a personal guarantee, and PGs are the rule across UK SME lending. PG insurance exists (≈ covering a portion of crystallized liability) and is worth pricing on larger facilities. UK quotes may come as flat monthly rates from some fintechs or as APRs — normalize everything to APR before comparing, and watch arrangement fees of 2–6% on challenger products, which this calculator's rate input should absorb (add fee ÷ term to your mental rate). Interest is corporation-tax deductible, softening the effective cost by 19–25%.
How to use Business Loan Calculator (UK)
- 1Enter Loan amount, Interest rate (per year, reducing balance) (%), Tenure (years) into the Business Loan Calculator.
- 2The result is computed automatically using EMI = P · r · (1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n − 1) where r = annual rate ÷ 12, n = months — there is no button to press; it updates live as you type.
- 3Change any input to model a different scenario, then use “Copy result link” to share the exact numbers.
Why use Business Loan Calculator (UK)?
- ✓Computes business loan calculator instantly with the correct formula — no spreadsheet needed
- ✓100% free and unlimited, with no sign-up, login or paywall
- ✓Runs entirely in your browser, so the figures you enter are never uploaded or stored
- ✓Shows the formula, a live worked example and references so you can defend the number
Frequently asked questions
Will I always need a personal guarantee for a UK business loan?+
For SMEs, almost always — limited company or not, directors typically guarantee facilities personally; unsecured no-PG lending is rare above trivial amounts. Mitigations: negotiate PG caps (e.g. 50% of facility), avoid joint-and-several where multiple directors sign, and consider PG insurance. Treat the PG as the real risk document.
What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme and do I apply for it?+
You don't apply directly — accredited lenders apply it to eligible deals: UK businesses under £45m turnover, most sectors, facilities to £2m. It makes marginal approvals possible rather than making loans cheap (pricing is commercial). Ask shortlisted lenders whether your deal is being written under GGS and how that changes terms.
Start Up Loan or bank/fintech borrowing for a new business?+
Under 3 years trading with modest needs: the government Start Up Loan is hard to beat — fixed 6%, no fees, no PG beyond the personal liability inherent in its personal-loan structure, plus mentoring. Needs beyond £25k/founder or established trading: compare challenger quotes here against bank terms.
Are repayments on a business loan tax-deductible in the UK?+
Interest, yes — it's an allowable expense against corporation tax (19–25%) or income tax for sole traders; principal repayments are not. A 9.5% rate effectively costs a profitable company ~7.1–7.7%. Arrangement fees are generally deductible too, spread per accounting treatment.
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