Published ranges
Acquisition loan lenders: published ranges from 7 UK lenders
Updated
Seven lenders publish a loan range on their own pages; the median minimum is £30,000.
Talk to a specialist The price, your deposit and the target's EBITDA. The lending limits come from lenders' own pages.
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How this calculator works
- The leverage cap. Spark Finance: the standard leverage multiple for UK SME acquisitions is 2 to 4 times EBITDA for senior debt, with some specialist lenders stretching to 5 times. The calculator lends the smaller of that cap and what the price needs after your deposit. (Spark Finance: business acquisition finance in the UK)
- The deposit. Novuna: in the UK, deposit requirements typically range from 10% to 30% of the purchase price. Capitalise puts lenders' share at between 70% and a maximum of 90% of the price for a well established, profitable target. (Novuna: business loans for buying a business, a complete UK guide)
- The repayment. A capital-and-interest loan repaid monthly over the term at the rate you enter: no arrangement fees, no interest-only period, no balloon. The default rate is the 7.5% the government's Start Up Loans charge, a reference point and not an offer. (Start Up Loans terms, as listed on this site's government-backed finance dataset)
- Stamp Duty and SDLT. A purchase of shares pays 0.5% duty. An asset purchase pays none on shares, but any freehold or lease in it pays SDLT at the non-residential rates (nothing up to £150,000, 2% on the next £100,000, 5% above £250,000), which the calculator does not add. (GOV.UK: SDLT non-residential and mixed rates)
- Not an offer. Lenders also weigh the target's customers, the buyer's experience and the security available. The figure frames the conversation with a lender; it is not a decision.
Ranges, from each lender's own page
| Lender | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| iwoca | £1,000 to £1 million | iwoca: its own loans page |
| Fleximize (acquisition loans) | £10,000 to £250,000 | Fleximize (acquisition loans): its own loans page |
| Clifton Private Finance | from £10,000 | Clifton Private Finance: its own loans page |
| Virgin Money | £30,000 to £10m | Virgin Money: its own loans page |
| Mercia (NPIF II) | £100,000 to £2m | Mercia (NPIF II): its own loans page |
| FW Capital | from £100,000 | Business purchase lenders' published loan ranges: every lender, with its own page |
| Shawbrook (buy-outs) | £3m to £25m | Shawbrook (buy-outs): its own loans page |
What they do not publish
None of these pages publishes an acquisition-specific rate card. Rates and leverage are set per deal, which is why the calculator takes them as inputs.