Learn · Affordability

How affordability
is assessed.

Before lending, a responsible lender works out whether a business can comfortably repay. This guide explains how that is done — the business bank statements, Open Banking, business bureaux and track record behind the decision, the people who review it, and your right to human review.

How it works, at credicorp.co.uk → Back to all guides →

Affordability is a simple question with a careful answer: can this company comfortably repay what it is asking to borrow, on the terms offered, without putting itself under strain? Getting that right protects the business as much as the lender.

Creditcorp is the growing name for the Credicorp group, and Credicorp Limited is the lender behind it. This page explains, in plain English, how the operating lender approaches that question. The assessment itself happens on the lender's own site — this page is a guide, not an application, and the exact requirements are set out at credicorp.co.uk.

The borrower is the company — a UK private limited company (Ltd), LLP or PLC — not the director who signs. The assessment looks at the business, not a director's personal file: no personal credit check on a director, and no personal guarantee. This is not consumer lending or sole-trader finance.

What the lender looks at

A few clear, business-focused sources, put together into one picture of the company.

Business bank statements

Recent business bank statements show how money really moves through the company — what comes in, what goes out, how steady the balance is, and how existing commitments are handled. They are the most direct read on whether a new repayment would sit comfortably alongside everything else.

Open Banking

Where you choose to connect it, Open Banking is a secure, regulated way to share read-only access to your business account data with your consent. It saves you sending statements by hand and gives a quicker, more accurate view of recent trading — and you control the access.

Business credit bureaux

Business credit-reference agencies hold information on how a company manages credit — payment behaviour, public filings, and similar business-level data. This is about the company's own credit standing, not a director's personal consumer file, which is not checked for this lending.

Trading track record

How long the company has been trading, the consistency of its income, and its history of meeting commitments all help build a rounded view. A steady, established pattern tells a fuller story than any single month can.

People, not just algorithms

Automated checks do useful work. They verify details against Companies House, pull the business credit picture together and flag the obvious, and they make the early stages quick. But a business is more than a set of data points, and a number on its own can miss the context — a one-off lumpy month, a seasonal dip, a large invoice about to be paid.

That is why real people are part of the process. A human review can take account of the circumstances behind the figures and reach a fairer decision than a rule applied blindly. It also means the lender may come back with a question or two before deciding, rather than simply declining on a threshold.

Your right to human review — UK GDPR Article 22

UK data-protection law gives you a specific safeguard around automated decisions. Under Article 22 of the UK GDPR, where a decision that produces legal effects or similarly significant effects would be based solely on automated processing, you have the right not to be subject to it in that form — and, where such processing is used, to obtain human intervention, to express your point of view, and to contest the decision.

In plain terms: you can ask for a person to be involved, put your side of the story, and challenge an outcome you think is wrong. The lender sets out how it handles personal data and these rights in its own privacy information; you can find that, and ask about a decision, at credicorp.co.uk.

What tends to help an assessment

None of this is a promise of approval — the lender decides — but a clear picture is easier to assess fairly.

Things that give a clear picture

Up-to-date business bank statements, or Open Banking connected, so recent trading is easy to see.
A steady trading history — consistency over time tells a fuller story than one strong month.
A clear purpose for the funding, with a realistic source of repayment in view.
Tidy company affairs — filings up to date, commitments handled as agreed.

Things worth knowing

Affordability is about comfortable repayment, not the maximum a company could just about manage.
A single odd month is context, not a verdict — it is exactly what human review is for.
The check is on the company; a director's personal credit file is not part of it.
The exact requirements live with the lender and can change — check the current detail before you apply.

See how it works at credicorp.co.uk →

One thing about who can borrow

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.

Affordability questions

The questions directors ask most. For anything specific to your business, the lender's team are at credicorp.co.uk.

What does the lender actually look at?

The business. In practice that means recent business bank statements, the picture from Open Banking where you connect it, business credit-bureau information, and the company's trading track record. The aim is a fair read on whether the company can comfortably repay what it is asking for.

Is my personal credit file checked?

No personal credit check is run on a director for this lending. The assessment is of the company, not of a director's own consumer credit file.

Is the decision made by a computer?

Automated checks help speed things up, but real people are part of the process and review decisions. Where a decision that significantly affects you would be based solely on automated processing, UK GDPR Article 22 gives you the right to ask for human involvement, to express your point of view and to contest the decision.

What is Open Banking, and do I have to use it?

Open Banking is a secure, regulated way to share read-only access to your business bank data with your consent, so the lender can see the account activity without you sending statements manually. It is there to make the picture quicker and more accurate. The lender sets out what it needs at application; check the detail at credicorp.co.uk.

Why assess affordability at all if there is no personal guarantee?

Responsible lending means only lending what a business can realistically repay — that protects the company as much as the lender. Because there is no personal guarantee, the assessment rests on the company's own trading position, which is exactly why a clear view of the business matters.

Where to go next

To see how the lending itself is priced and repaid once approved, read how business bridging loans work and what a revolving credit facility is. To understand why the assessment rests on the company alone, see no personal guarantee — what it means. The whole series sits on the Learn hub.