Business loans
How much can I borrow with a business loan?
By Sam Wells · 21 July 2026
It depends on your turnover, profitability, trading history and whether the loan is secured. As a broad guide, unsecured lending is often sized against a few months of turnover, while secured facilities can go much higher against the value of the asset. The lender's view of affordability sets the real limit.
There is no fixed cap, because the amount is a judgement about what your business can comfortably repay. A few things drive it:
- Turnover and profitability. Lenders look at what the business earns and whether the repayments fit alongside your other commitments.
- Trading history. An established track record supports a larger facility than a young business can access.
- Security. A secured loan can be much larger, because it is sized against the value of the asset backing it, not just your cash flow.
As a broad rule of thumb, unsecured lending is often framed against a few months of turnover, while secured facilities can run considerably higher. Those are starting points, not promises, and the real figure comes from the lender’s affordability assessment.
The facilities we arrange span a wide range, from modest amounts up to substantial secured lines, so the useful next step is a quick conversation about your numbers and what the funding is for. That tells us which lenders to approach and what is realistic, rather than guessing at a figure.
Written by
Sam Wells
Director, FundingLinks
Co-founder and Director at FundingLinks with over 15 years of leadership experience in commercial finance. He works directly with SMEs across the UK to structure funding across the whole lender market.
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