# Business finance & trade-mark glossary (A–Z) — Creditcorp

> A plain-English A–Z of the terms that come up around Credicorp business
> lending and the Creditcorp / Credicorp trade marks. General information for
> UK company directors, not legal advice. To borrow, apply or sign in, head to
> [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/).

Canonical: https://creditcorp.co.uk/glossary/

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**AML and sanctions check** — A standard anti-money-laundering and sanctions screen run on the borrowing company and its director as part of an application. It confirms identity and checks the parties against published sanctions lists. It is not a personal credit check.

**Application published** — The UK Intellectual Property Office status meaning a trade-mark application has met the formal requirements and has been published in the Trade Marks Journal for two months, during which third parties with prior rights can oppose. The newer Creditcorp mark is currently in this status.

**APR (annual percentage rate)** — A yearly cost figure designed to compare consumer credit held for months or years. Short-term business finance is priced by a small daily rate (0.25% a day here), so an APR looks dramatically large even when the actual pounds-and-pence cost is modest. Compare the real cash cost, not the APR, over a few days or weeks.

**Article 60B (FSMA RAO 2001)** — The article of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 that defines when entering into a credit agreement as lender is a regulated activity. A "credit agreement" within Article 60B requires the borrower to be an "individual" or a "relevant recipient of credit". Lending to a UK limited company or LLP falls outside it.

**Article 60L (FSMA RAO 2001)** — The definitions article that sits with Article 60B. It defines "relevant recipient of credit" as a small mixed partnership or unincorporated body, explicitly excluding bodies corporate.

**Automated decision (UK GDPR Article 22)** — A decision made solely by automated processing. Where an application is declined automatically, you have the right to ask for human intervention under section 14 of the Data Protection Act 2018; a person then reviews the file afresh.

**Body corporate** — A legal entity with separate legal personality from its members. UK private limited companies are bodies corporate under section 16 of the Companies Act 2006; UK LLPs under section 1 of the LLP Act 2000. Lending to a body corporate sits outside Article 60B — this is who Credicorp lends to.

**CCA 1974 (Consumer Credit Act 1974)** — Governs credit agreements made with individuals and small non-corporate partnerships. It does not apply to lending to a UK limited company or LLP.

**CCJ (County Court Judgement)** — A court order confirming a debt is owed. A company CCJ sits on the company credit file and is separate from any personal CCJ against a director. Satisfied judgements weigh more favourably than unsatisfied ones.

**Coexistence agreement** — A written agreement between two trade-mark holders. The agreement between Credicorp Limited and CM Beyer Limited was signed 30 April 2026, governed by English law, cross-licensing both the Credicorp and Creditcorp marks.

**Companies House** — The UK statutory register of companies. Credicorp Limited is company 16093826, incorporated 21 November 2024.

**Cost cap** — A hard ceiling on the total a borrower can ever repay. On every Credicorp product the total cost of credit is capped at 100% of the amount borrowed.

**Credit agreement (within Article 60B)** — A specific defined term in Article 60B(3). If the borrower is neither an individual nor a relevant recipient of credit, the agreement is not a credit agreement within Article 60B at all.

**Debenture** — A document that creates a charge over a company's assets to secure a debt, registered at Companies House. Whether a lender takes one depends on the product.

**Direct Debit** — An instruction that lets a business collect payments from a bank account on agreed dates, under the Direct Debit Guarantee. Credicorp Slice repayments are collected this way.

**Drawdown** — Taking part of an available credit limit as actual funds. With Credicorp Flex you draw down what you need and pay interest only on the amount drawn.

**Establishment fee** — A one-time fee charged when a facility is set up. On the Business Bridging Loan and Credicorp Flex this is £5 — charged once, and it counts toward the 100% cost cap.

**FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)** — The UK regulator for financial services. Credicorp Limited is not authorised by the FCA — lending only to bodies corporate is not a regulated activity, so authorisation is not required.

**FCA Firm Reference Number (FRN)** — The unique number the FCA gives each authorised firm. Credicorp does not hold FCA permissions for lending and has no FRN for that activity.

**Figurative trade mark** — A trade mark filed with a specific visual design rather than as pure text. Both group marks — Credicorp and Creditcorp — are figurative marks.

**Financial promotion (s.21 FSMA)** — A communication that is an "invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity". Promotions of body-corporate-only business lending sit outside the s.21 restriction.

**Fixed charge vs floating charge** — A fixed charge attaches to a specific asset; a floating charge hovers over a changing pool of assets and crystallises on default.

**FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service)** — A statutory dispute-resolution body for consumer complaints. It does not cover Credicorp's business lending.

**FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme)** — A statutory scheme that pays out if an authorised firm fails. It does not cover Credicorp's business lending.

**FSMA (Financial Services and Markets Act 2000)** — The principal UK Act governing financial services, read with the Regulated Activities Order 2001 (Articles 60B and 60L).

**LLP (Limited Liability Partnership)** — A UK body corporate under the LLP Act 2000. Not an "individual" for Article 60B purposes — so an LLP can borrow from Credicorp.

**Nice classification** — The international classification of goods and services for trade marks. The Credicorp mark is registered in Classes 36 and 45; the Creditcorp application is in Classes 35 and 36.

**No personal guarantee** — Credicorp does not take a personal guarantee. The company is the only obligor; there is no charge over a director's home.

**Open Banking** — A UK framework to share read-only bank-account data with a regulated third party. Credicorp uses it to read six months of business statements when assessing affordability — read-only, so it cannot move money.

**Opposition window** — The two-month period (extendable to three by a TM7A) from publication of a trade-mark application during which third parties can oppose. For Creditcorp it closes around 15 July 2026.

**Personal guarantee** — A contract under which a director agrees to be personally liable for a company's debt on default. Credicorp does not take one.

**Regulated activity** — An activity requiring FCA authorisation under FSMA. Lending is regulated under Article 60B only when the agreement meets the Article 60B definition, which excludes bodies corporate.

**Relevant recipient of credit** — Defined in Article 60L; bodies corporate are excluded.

**Sole trader** — An individual carrying on business in their own name. Credicorp does not lend to sole traders; incorporating is the route to qualify.

**TM7A** — The UK IPO form to extend a trade-mark opposition window from two months to three.

**Trade Marks Journal** — The UK IPO's weekly publication. The Creditcorp mark was first advertised in 2026/020, published 15 May 2026.

**UK IPO (UK Intellectual Property Office)** — The UK agency responsible for granting and maintaining trade marks.

**Wordmark** — A trade mark consisting of a name or short phrase. Both group marks are filed as figurative wordmarks.

**Working capital** — The cash a company needs to fund day-to-day operations. A gap opens when money goes out before it comes in; short-term finance bridges it.

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Go deeper: [Lending & regulation](https://creditcorp.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/) · [Trade marks](https://creditcorp.co.uk/trade-marks/) · [Learn guides](https://creditcorp.co.uk/learn/) · [Group & legal reference](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/glossary/)