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A loan,
or a facility?
Before the amount or the rate, there is a more basic choice: do you want a fixed sum for one job, or a credit line you dip into as you go? Credicorp gives you both — the Business Bridging Loan and the revolving Flex facility — and on either one, the company borrows, never you personally.
"Loan" and "facility" get used loosely, but in short-term business finance they mean two genuinely different things. One is a single sum with a beginning and an end. The other is a limit that stays open while you draw against it, pay it down and draw again. Picking the right shape matters more than shaving a little off the rate.
Creditcorp is the growing name for the Credicorp group, and Credicorp Limited is the lender behind it. Two of its three products map onto this choice: the Business Bridging Loan is the fixed loan, and Credicorp Flex is the revolving facility. This page is a guide, not an application — when you are ready, applying happens on the lender's own site, credicorp.co.uk.
In both cases the borrower is the company — a UK private limited company (Ltd), LLP or PLC — not the director who signs. No personal guarantee, no charge over a home, no personal credit check on a director. Neither is a personal loan, a payday loan or sole-trader finance.
What a loan is
The Business Bridging Loan: one sum, one term, and then it is done.
A loan is a single, fixed amount. You agree how much and over what term up front; the full sum lands in your business bank account in one go; and from that day you repay it in instalments across the term until the balance reaches zero. There is nothing to redraw — once it is repaid, it is finished. Interest accrues on the principal still outstanding, so as you pay it down, the daily cost comes down with it.
Because it is one sum for one purpose, a loan suits a need you can put a figure on: a confirmed order's stock, a supplier deposit, a repair that cannot wait. You know the amount, you know roughly when the cash to repay it will arrive, and you want the certainty of a fixed end date. The full mechanics are in how business bridging loans work.
What a facility is
Credicorp Flex: an agreed limit you draw, repay and draw again.
A facility is not a lump sum — it is a credit limit that stays open. You are approved for a ceiling, then you draw what you need when you need it, repay it, and draw again, all within the same limit. The defining point is that you pay interest only on the balance you have actually drawn, not on the headroom sitting unused above it. Draw nothing in a quiet week and there is nothing to pay that week.
That makes a facility suit a need that is ongoing and uneven rather than a single event — the everyday ebb and flow of a trading company, where small gaps open and close month to month and you would rather not apply afresh each time. The Flex cycle and how drawing works are set out in what a revolving credit facility is.
The terms of each, in plain English
The lender's published terms for both products. These are the lender's figures and can change, so always check the live product pages before you apply.
Business Bridging Loan — the fixed loan
- Amount: £50 to £500, taken as one sum.
- Term: 14 to 84 days, fixed at the outset.
- Interest: 0.25% per day on the outstanding principal.
- Establishment fee: a one-time £5, charged once.
- Cost cap: the total cost never exceeds 100% of the principal.
Credicorp Flex — the revolving facility
- Limit: £50 to £500, drawn and redrawn within the limit.
- Interest: 0.25% per day on the drawn balance only.
- Fee: a £5 fee on the first drawing.
- Cycle: a 14-day repayment cycle, with a minimum repayment of 10% or £20, whichever is greater.
- Cost cap: the total cost never exceeds 100% of what you draw.
Which shape fits your need
Neither is better in the abstract. It comes down to whether the need is one defined event or an ongoing, uneven pattern.
A loan fits when…
- The need is one-off and time-boxed — you can name the amount and roughly when you will repay.
- You are funding a single known cost: a confirmed order's stock, a deposit, an unavoidable repair.
- You want one fixed end date and the certainty of a sum that simply finishes.
- There is a clear source of repayment in sight — a customer payment, a sale, a season's takings.
A facility fits when…
- The need is ongoing and uneven — small gaps open and close month to month.
- You want to draw only what you use, when you use it, and pay interest on that alone.
- You would rather not reapply each time a short gap appears.
- Predicting the exact amount in advance is hard, so headroom you can dip into is more useful than a set sum.
Many directors end up using both for different jobs — a Bridging Loan for a one-off project, a Flex facility kept open for the everyday wobble. If you would rather spread a single supplier bill into instalments instead, that is a third product, Credicorp Slice.
A worked example of the choice
An illustration, not a real customer and not a quote — just to show how the same company might pick differently for two different needs.
A small homewares company, trading as a UK limited company, lands a confirmed trade order. To fulfil it, the company must pay a supplier for stock now, and the buyer settles a few weeks later. The gap is clear, one-off and time-boxed: money out today, money in within the month. For that, a Bridging Loan is the natural fit — a single sum over a single fixed term, the supplier paid, and the loan cleared when the buyer pays, with nothing left open.
Three months on, the same company keeps hitting smaller, less predictable gaps — a slow-paying customer one week, a top-up of packaging the next — none big enough to plan a loan around. Here a Flex facility fits better: the company draws a little when a gap opens, repays it when cash arrives, and pays interest only on what it has drawn. Same business, two different needs, two different shapes of money. Both are illustrations of the fit, not quotes — real amounts, pricing and terms are set by the lender at credicorp.co.uk.
One thing that is true of both
Loan or facility, the borrower is the same: the company. Credicorp lends only to bodies corporate — UK limited companies and LLPs. Under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001, lending to a body corporate is not a regulated consumer-credit agreement, so this is business credit rather than consumer credit, and it is not for sole traders or for borrowing in a personal name. The full position is set out on lending and regulation.
Loan-or-facility questions
The questions directors ask when weighing the two. For anything specific to your business, the lender's team are at credicorp.co.uk.
What is the difference between a loan and a facility, in one sentence?
A loan is a single fixed sum, paid in full into the company account and repaid over one short fixed term; a facility is a credit limit you draw against, repay and draw again, paying interest only on what you have actually drawn.
Which one is cheaper?
Neither is cheaper in the abstract — it depends on how you use it. Both charge 0.25% a day, but the Bridging Loan charges on the outstanding principal of one drawn sum, while Flex charges only on the balance you have drawn at the time. For a single known cost a loan is clean and predictable; for an on-and-off need, a facility can cost less because you are not paying for money you are not using. Both carry the same 100% cost cap.
Can I switch from one to the other later?
They are separate products, so this is not a setting you toggle — you would apply for whichever fits the need in front of you. Many directors use a Bridging Loan for a one-off project and keep a Flex facility open for the everyday ebb and flow. The lender sets out the current detail of both at credicorp.co.uk.
Does either one need a personal guarantee?
No. Both the Business Bridging Loan and the Flex facility are agreements between Credicorp Limited and your company. There is no personal guarantee, no charge over a home and no personal credit check on a director. The company is the only borrower in either case.
Where do I actually apply?
This site is the Creditcorp brand front door and does not take applications. Applying for either a Bridging Loan or a Flex facility, drawing down and managing the account all happen on the operating lender, credicorp.co.uk.
Where to go next
To go deeper on either side of the choice, the companion guides cover the detail: how business bridging loans work walks through the fixed loan, and what a revolving credit facility is covers drawing and redrawing on Flex. To see the live cost of each before you decide, the calculators let you model a Bridging Loan or a Flex facility side by side. The full terms for all three products are on the products page, sector notes are under industries, and the whole series sits on the Learn hub. The deeper group and legal story lives at creditcorpgroup.co.uk.
Ready when you are
Whichever shape fits, applying, drawing down and managing your account all happen on the lender's site, credicorp.co.uk.