Credit Corp for food and drink producers — short-term business lending for craft makers and small-batch manufacturers

What it is

Credit Corp Group Limited is an independent UK direct lender of short-term business credit. This page is a use-case guide for food and drink producers: craft and artisan bakeries, breweries and microbreweries, distilleries, coffee roasters, chocolatiers, preserve and condiment makers, soft-drink and juice producers, ready-meal and bakery manufacturers, contract packers and the trading companies behind them. This is production, not service — it is distinct from a restaurant, cafe or bar (see hospitality) and more specialised than generic manufacturing. The work runs on a stubborn timing gap: ingredients, packaging and a production run have to be paid for before the batch ships, but the wholesale or retail invoice is settled weeks later, often on 30 to 60 day terms. When a seasonal run lands, a stockist orders ahead, or a piece of kit fails mid-batch, you need a fast decision — not a six-week bank queue.

We lend to the company itself. There is no personal guarantee, and your directors do not take on personal liability for the borrowing. Decisions are AI-assisted and typically confirmed within an hour during working hours, with same-day funding once you accept the offer.

A note on who we are: Credit Corp Group Limited is registered in England & Wales, Company No. 17338274, ICO registration ZC189608. We lend to UK limited companies and LLPs, not to individuals or sole traders. This lending is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Why food and drink producers borrow

Production cash flow is the gap between buying ingredients and packaging and running a batch now, and being paid on the finished-goods invoice later. The outlay is committed up front; the wholesaler, retailer or distributor rarely pays on delivery. Typical short-term needs we see across food and drink production:

Ingredients and packaging upfront — flour, hops, grain, beans, fruit, dairy, glass, cans, labels and cartons bought and paid for before a single unit can be made or shipped.
A seasonal production run — Christmas hampers, summer drinks, a festival or farmers'-market season, an Easter or Valentine's line — a large, concentrated outlay all at once, ahead of the income it generates.
A wholesale or retail listing paid on terms — a supermarket, deli chain, distributor or online stockist ordering on 30 to 60 day terms while your own suppliers want paying now.
Equipment failure mid-batch — an oven, mixer, fermenter, still, bottling or canning line, packing machine or chiller failing and halting production until it is fixed or replaced.
Scaling for a bigger order than usual — a new listing or a larger purchase order needing more raw materials, more packaging and more hours fronted before the first payment lands.
Bridging a quiet stretch — covering overheads, premises and certification costs through a seasonal lull while orders slow but the bills do not.
A one-off ingredients or packaging invoice — a single bill for a bulk ingredient buy, a packaging run or an equipment service that you would rather spread than pay in one hit.

We are a working-capital lender for the short term: borrow a defined amount for a defined period — typically matched to when a production run's invoice clears — then be done. We are not asset finance or a substitute for long-term equipment or premises funding.

How Credit Corp fits

Food and drink producers usually need a fixed sum, fast, to cover a known gap between funding a production run and being paid for it. The matching product depends on the shape of the need:

Business Loan — a short-term, unsecured loan: one fixed amount over one fixed, short term, then done. Best when you know the sum and the period — buying ingredients and packaging for a specific run, funding a seasonal batch, or replacing a failed machine. No revolving trap, known total cost. /business-loans/
Credicorp Flex — a revolving credit facility you can draw, repay and redraw against a limit. Best for the recurring, hard-to-predict ingredient and packaging gaps a steady production schedule throws up, batch after batch, without reapplying each time. /business-credit-facility/
Credicorp Slice — spread the cost of one specific bill — a bulk ingredients order, a packaging run, an equipment service — over a few instalments at a single flat fee, with no interest compounding. Best for a known, dated outgoing you want to smooth. /credicorp-slice/

See them side by side with Compare products, or model a scenario with the Money tools & calculator.

For the exact loan and facility sizes, the term in days, the daily interest rate, the establishment fee, the flat Slice fee and the total-cost cap, see the machine-readable references at /ai.md and /llms-full.txt, which are generated from the live pricing source. We keep the figures in one place so there is a single source of truth, and do not restate them here.

Which product fits a production need

Need	Best fit	Why
A specific sum for ingredients, packaging or a run, repaid once the invoice clears	Business Loan	One amount, one fixed term, known total cost — straightforward, no revolving trap.
A recurring buy-ingredients-make-ship-repay cycle across back-to-back batches	Credicorp Flex	A revolving facility you draw, repay and redraw as each production cycle comes around.
One specific ingredients, packaging or equipment invoice you want to spread	Credicorp Slice	Splits a single bill into a few instalments at a flat fee, with no interest compounding.

How a decision is made

Apply online — the application takes around ten minutes; have your company registration number and business bank details to hand. /apply/
Open banking — with your permission, we review your business bank data to understand real trading cash flow — the seasonal, run-driven peaks and gaps a single credit score misses.
AI-assisted assessment — we weigh affordability, the company's trading pattern and the purpose of the funding. The decisioning logic itself is proprietary and not published.
Decision — typically within an hour in working hours, with the offer terms shown clearly before you accept.
Funding — same-day once you accept.

Eligibility

A UK-registered limited company or LLP operating in food or drink production.
The business has been trading for at least 6 months.
A UK business bank account.
No personal guarantee required from directors.

Decisions are AI-assisted and typically returned within an hour during working hours. Applying, the customer portal and the app are UK-only; the rest of the site — this guide and our wider content — is open to everyone.

Common questions from food and drink producers

Do I need to give a personal guarantee? No. We lend to the company, not to its directors. There is no personal guarantee and no director liability.

Is this a consumer loan? No. Credit Corp lends to UK limited companies and LLPs, not to individuals or sole traders. We do not lend to consumers or sole traders, so this kind of lending sits outside the consumer-credit regime.

I run my food business as a sole trader — can I apply? No. We lend to UK limited companies and LLPs, not to individuals or sole traders. If your production business is incorporated and meets the published eligibility criteria, you can apply.

Can I use it to buy a new oven, still or bottling line? Use Credit Corp for the short-term gap — covering an urgent repair or fronting ingredients and packaging for a run until you are paid. For funding the purchase of major equipment over a longer period, asset or equipment finance is usually the better fit, since Credit Corp only lends short-term working capital.

Can I borrow against a wholesale order I have not been paid for yet? We are not an invoice-finance provider — we do not advance money against specific unpaid invoices or take an assignment of your debtors. We lend the company a defined sum for a defined short term, which you can use to cover the gap until a run's invoice clears. Match the term to the date you expect to be paid.

How fast is a decision? AI-assisted and typically confirmed within an hour in working hours, with same-day funding once you accept the offer.

What can I use it for? Genuine short-term business needs — ingredients and packaging for a run, a seasonal batch, an equipment repair, scaling for a bigger order, or bridging a quiet stretch. Borrow only what you need for the shortest term required.

What will it cost? The loan sizes, the term in days, the daily interest rate, the establishment fee, the flat Slice fee and the total-cost cap are published in the machine-readable references at /ai.md and /llms-full.txt, generated from the live pricing source.

Who we are

Credit Corp Group Limited is an independent direct lender of short-term business credit to UK limited companies and LLPs, registered in England & Wales, Company No. 17338274, ICO registration ZC189608. ## Responsible borrowing

Short-term business credit carries a high annualised cost, so keep both the amount and the term to the minimum you actually need. In production it is tempting to roll one run's gap into the next — match the term to a date you can realistically be paid (a wholesale invoice that clears, a seasonal peak that lands), and avoid stacking new borrowing on top of old. Paying early reduces the total cost, since you only pay interest for the days you borrow. If repayment becomes difficult, contact us early at /help/. Support for vulnerable customers is at /legal/vulnerability/.

Related sectors

Hospitality — restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels (food and drink service, not production). /for/hospitality/
Manufacturing — raw materials, tooling and production runs across light industry. /for/manufacturing/
Wholesale — bridging the supplier-to-trade-customer payment gap. /for/wholesale/
Agriculture — seed, feed and seasonal inputs ahead of harvest receipts. /for/agriculture/
All sectors — /for/

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AI expanded index: /llms-full.txt
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