--- title: "Business funding for import & export — working capital for UK importers and traders" description: "How short-term business finance fits UK import and export companies — stock paid before it sells, shipping and duty up front, FX timing and long container lead times. 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/import-export/" locale: "en-GB" updated: "2026-06-21" --- # Business funding for import & export > How short-term working capital fits a UK import or export company — stock paid before it sells, shipping and duty up front, FX timing and long container lead times. 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://credicorp.co.uk/products/). This page explains how each tends to be used in import and export. ## Where the cash-flow gaps come from Trade money leaves the business early and in big, lumpy commitments, then comes back slowly as stock is sold through. Four pressure points show up again and again: - **Stock paid for before it sells** — wholesalers and traders commit to a whole shipment up front. Overseas suppliers want a deposit to start production and the balance before goods leave, so the business funds an entire container long before a single carton is invoiced to a customer. - **Shipping and duty up front** — the goods are only part of the bill. Sea or air freight, insurance, import duty and the VAT at the port all fall due around arrival, before the stock has earned a penny, and they land all at once. - **FX timing** — pay a supplier in dollars or euros today, get paid in sterling weeks later, and the timing alone can force an awkward conversion just to free up cash. The simpler problem underneath the exposure is money going out in one currency well ahead of money coming in. - **Container lead times** — production time plus weeks at sea means cash can be locked away for months between paying a maker and selling what arrives. A delayed sailing or a customs hold stretches the gap, and the next order's deposit is often due before the last container has cleared. ## Which kind of finance fits a trader The detail — amounts, pricing, terms — lives on the [products page](https://credicorp.co.uk/products/) and with the lender; no figures are quoted here. - **[Business Bridging Loan](https://credicorp.co.uk/products/)** — a single lump sum repaid over a short fixed term. Fits a single shipment you can put a figure on: one container of stock, the freight and duty with it, a one-off bulk buy to hit a price break. - **[Credicorp Flex](https://credicorp.co.uk/products/)** — a revolving facility to draw on, repay and draw again. Fits a trader whose money is always part-way through a shipping cycle, with one container being paid for while the last is still selling through. - **[Credicorp Slice](https://credicorp.co.uk/products/)** — spread one invoice over a few weeks while it is paid in full today. Handy when a supplier's balance, a freight forwarder's account or a duty bill lands at an awkward point in the cycle. The journey end to end is on the [how-it-works overview](https://credicorp.co.uk/how-it-works/). ## The company borrows — not you Traders already put large sums on the line for suppliers, forwarders and HMRC, and many have signed personal guarantees they didn't love. 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 a container of stock. - **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.* An importer trading as a UK limited company brings in homeware and kitchenware from Asia and sells it on to independent retailers. To hit the supplier's price break it commits to a full container, paying a deposit to start production and the balance before the goods sail. On top of the goods, the freight, insurance, import duty and VAT all fall due around arrival — weeks before the retailers it supplies will settle their own invoices, and longer still before the container has sold through. Because this is one known shipment with a clear sell-through behind it, a fixed-term Business Bridging Loan to the company covers the goods, freight and duty as a single sum, repaid over the weeks the stock takes to clear. The agreement is with the company, so the owner gives no personal guarantee and puts no charge over their home. As the business settles into a steady rhythm of overlapping containers, a Credicorp Flex facility would let it draw against the next shipment while the last is still selling — without starting a fresh application each time. *Made-up illustration to show the fit, not a quote — real amounts, pricing and terms are set by the lender at credicorp.co.uk.* ## Import & export funding questions **Can my import company borrow to pay for a container of stock before it sells?** Yes — paying for goods, freight and duty before the stock clears your warehouse is the classic import working-capital gap. A Business Bridging Loan suits a single known shipment; Credicorp Flex suits an importer running a steady stream of containers. **Does the finance cover shipping, duty and VAT — not just the goods?** It is working capital, so the company decides how to use it. Importers face the supplier invoice, freight, insurance, duty and the VAT at the port more or less together, well before a customer pays — a short-term bridge can span that whole stack. **How does the long lead time on a container affect the funding I need?** Ocean freight can mean weeks at sea on top of production time, so cash can be tied up for months. The longer the lead time, the longer the gap a facility has to span — a revolving Credicorp Flex line tends to suit traders whose money is always part-way through a cycle. **We get paid in one currency and pay suppliers in another — can finance help with FX timing?** Credicorp does not deal in foreign exchange, but the cash-flow side of FX timing is exactly what short-term finance smooths. A bridge means you are not forced to convert at an awkward moment just to free up cash; pair it with your own FX provider. **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. **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 - [Wholesale & distribution](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/wholesale/) — the next link in the chain, buying in bulk to hit a price break and waiting on stockists to pay. - [Logistics & transport](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/logistics/) — the freight and haulage that move a container inland, carrying their own long payment terms. - [E-commerce & online](https://creditcorp.co.uk/industries/ecommerce/) — importing inventory before a peak, with marketplace payouts to wait on. 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/).