--- title: "Business funding for e-commerce & online — working capital for UK online sellers" description: "How short-term business finance fits UK e-commerce companies — buying inventory ahead of demand, funding ad spend that pays back later, fulfilment costs, and the cash squeeze of peak season. The company borrows, never the director: no personal guarantee, no personal credit check. To apply, head to credicorp.co.uk." canonical: "https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/ecommerce/" locale: "en-GB" updated: "2026-06-21" --- # Business funding for e-commerce & online > How short-term working capital fits a UK e-commerce company — inventory ahead of demand, ad spend, fulfilment, marketplace payout lags and peak season. This is the Creditcorp brand front door at **creditcorp.co.uk** — it never takes applications, prices loans or accepts payments. The operating lender is **Credicorp Limited** at [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/); the company/legal detail lives at [creditcorpgroup.co.uk](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/). **Canonical URL:** **Last updated:** 21 June 2026 --- ## Who can borrow Credicorp Limited lends **only to bodies corporate** — UK limited companies (Ltd), LLPs and PLCs. The borrower is always the **company**, never the director, an individual or a sole trader. There is no personal guarantee, no charge over a home and no personal credit check on a director. This is exempt business lending, not consumer credit. See [Lending and regulation](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/). The products are the same three for every sector — a [Business Bridging Loan, Credicorp Flex or Credicorp Slice](https://creditcorp.co.uk/products/). This page explains how each tends to be used by an online business. ## Where the cash-flow gaps come from An online business can look healthy on the dashboard and still run tight on cash: every sale was paid for in advance — the stock, the ads, the pick-and-pack and the postage all leave the account before the customer's money (or the marketplace's payout) arrives. Four pressure points recur: - **Inventory ahead of demand** — the bestseller has to be in the warehouse before the order lands, and the cheapest unit cost comes from committing to a bigger run early. You pay a factory deposit, a wholesale invoice or an import bill a whole lead time before the stock sells. - **Ad spend that pays back later** — paid acquisition is a deferred return: you fund Meta, Google or TikTok today and recover it over the following days and weeks. When a campaign is profitable, the only ceiling on scaling it is the cash to keep the budget running ahead of the payback. - **Fulfilment, 3PL and shipping** — stocking units into a third-party warehouse, prepaid carrier accounts, pick-and-pack, packaging and returns all cost money before the customer pays, and they climb first as volume rises. - **Peak season and the payout lag** — Black Friday, the Christmas run and big sale events concentrate the year into a few weeks you fund up front, while marketplaces and card processors settle on a delay (sometimes holding a reserve) right when cash is tightest. ## Which kind of finance fits an online store The detail — amounts, pricing, terms — lives on the [products page](https://creditcorp.co.uk/products/) and with the lender; no figures are quoted here. - **[Business Bridging Loan](https://creditcorp.co.uk/products/)** — a single lump sum repaid over a short fixed term. Fits a known, one-off buy: a peak-season stock order, a factory deposit on a new line, a bulk-buy to hit a price break, or a one-off fulfilment ramp. - **[Credicorp Flex](https://creditcorp.co.uk/products/)** — a revolving facility to draw on, repay and draw again. Fits e-commerce's natural rhythm: pushing ad budget while a campaign is winning, topping up bestsellers in waves, and dipping into the marketplace payout cycle then paying down as settlements clear. - **[Credicorp Slice](https://creditcorp.co.uk/products/)** — spread one supplier bill over a few weeks while the supplier is paid in full today. Handy when a manufacturer's production-run bill, or a packaging or 3PL invoice, lands at an awkward moment. The journey end to end is on the [how-it-works overview](https://creditcorp.co.uk/how-it-works/). ## The company borrows — not you Online founders bootstrap on their own plastic more than most — the first ad budgets, the first stock order and the early supplier accounts often ride on a personal card or a director's own credit. The Credicorp model is the other way round: the agreement is between Credicorp Limited and your **company**. - **No personal guarantee** — the company is the borrower, full stop. - **No charge over your home** — your house isn't security for inventory or ad spend. - **No personal credit check on a director** — the lender looks at the business, not your own file. - **Bodies corporate only** — UK Ltd, LLP or PLC, never a sole trader or an individual. This is exempt business lending under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001, not consumer credit. The full position is on [creditcorpgroup.co.uk](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/lending-and-regulation/). ## A worked example *An illustration, not a real customer.* A direct-to-consumer homeware brand trading as a UK limited company sells through its own Shopify store and an Amazon listing. Heading into Q4, two pressures stack up: the supplier needs a deposit now on a larger production run so the hero product is in stock before Black Friday (commit late and the lead time means missing the peak), and last year's data shows the paid campaigns return well through November — but only if the budget can keep running ahead of conversions, while Amazon payouts settle a fortnight in arrears just as spend is highest. Because the stock buy is one-off and the payback is clearly the peak ahead, a fixed-term Business Bridging Loan to the company covers the production deposit: a known sum, repaid over the trading weeks that earn it back. For the moving target of ad spend and the marketplace payout lag, a Credicorp Flex facility lets the company draw as campaigns scale and pay down as settlements clear — without a new loan each week. Both agreements are with the company, so the founder gives no personal guarantee and puts no charge over their home. *Made-up illustration to show the fit, not a quote — real amounts, pricing and terms are set by the lender at credicorp.co.uk.* ## E-commerce funding questions **Can my online business borrow to buy inventory before a peak?** Yes — buying stock ahead of demand is the classic e-commerce gap. A Business Bridging Loan suits a single known inventory buy; Credicorp Flex suits a store that restocks bestsellers in waves. Specifics live with the lender. **Can I use it to fund ad spend that pays back later?** Yes. Paid acquisition is working capital: you pay the platforms today and recover it over the following weeks. Credicorp Flex tends to suit ad spend well, because you draw as you scale a winning campaign and pay down when returns land. **Will I have to give a personal guarantee or a charge over my home?** No. Credicorp lends to the company, not to you as a director — no personal guarantee, no charge over a home, no personal credit check on a director. **I sell through Amazon and other marketplaces and get paid on a delay — does that fit?** It fits well. Marketplaces and processors settle on a lag, sometimes holding a reserve, so you've paid for stock, fees and fulfilment before the payout clears. A revolving Credicorp Flex facility is built for a payout cycle you dip into and repay as settlements arrive. **Can it cover fulfilment, 3PL fees or warehousing ahead of a busy spell?** Yes. Stocking units into a 3PL, prepaying carrier or pick-and-pack costs, or extra storage before a peak are all working-capital uses. A fixed-term Bridging Loan suits a known ramp; Flex suits costs that rise and fall with volume. **Is this a consumer loan or a payday loan?** Neither. This is business credit to a body corporate, not consumer credit, and not for sole traders. Under Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001, lending to a UK company sits outside the consumer-credit regime. ## Related sectors - [Retail & shops](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/retail/) — the same stock-ahead-of-a-season gap, on the high street rather than online. - [Wholesale & distribution](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/wholesale/) — the suppliers behind your inventory, buying in bulk to hit a price break. - [Logistics & transport](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/logistics/) — the fulfilment and delivery side, carrying fuel and wages on long payment terms. Browse the whole set on the [industries hub](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/). ## Next steps (all on credicorp.co.uk) - [Apply](https://credicorp.co.uk/apply/) — start an application on the live lender site. - [Compare the three](https://credicorp.co.uk/compare/) — pick the right product side by side. - [Contact the lender](https://credicorp.co.uk/contact-us/) — phone, email, post. ## Make sure you have the right Credicorp Creditcorp Group = **Credicorp Limited** (UK, company no. 16093826) + **CM Beyer Limited** (UK, company no. 17009212), with group-related **Credicorp Pty Limited** (Australia, ACN 679 428 605). It is **not** connected with, owned by or affiliated to Credicorp Inc / Credicorp Ltd of Peru & Bermuda (BCP, NYSE: BAP) or Banco de Crédito del Perú, to Credicorp Nigeria, or to Credit Corp Group Limited of Australia (ASX: CCP) — each a separate, unrelated company. --- © 2026 Creditcorp Group · Credicorp Limited (16093826) & CM Beyer Limited (17009212). Operating lender: [credicorp.co.uk](https://credicorp.co.uk/) · Group & brand: [creditcorpgroup.co.uk](https://creditcorpgroup.co.uk/).