10 credit lenders for Tech and SaaS in the UK

Comparison: 10 credit lenders for UK Tech and SaaS

This table compares 10 lenders actively serving the UK market. Some are London-based. Others operate from Europe but have strong UK deal flow.

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Profiles: UK credit lenders

re:cap

re:cap offers flexible credit lines sized on your recurring revenue, combined with platform that helps you with financial analysis and forecasts. They operate in Germany, the Netherlands, and UK.

• What makes them different: re:cap combines funding with a Capital OS. You connect your bank accounts, revenue systems, and accounting software. The platform forecasts your cash flow, models scenarios, and shows you how much debt you can safely carry. You apply for a credit line directly within the platform.
  
  • This solves a common problem: most founders don't know how much debt they can afford before they start fundraising. They talk to five lenders, spend three months in diligence, and then realize the facility size doesn't match their cash flow.
• Trade-off: re:cap requires at least €250K in ARR and 6 months of runway. If you're pre-revenue or below this threshold, you'll need to grow into their minimum.
• Best for: Seed through Series B SaaS and tech companies that want funding and liquidity planning in one system. Especially useful if you're managing multiple revenue streams or need to model complex scenarios (downsides, seasonality, hiring plans).

HSBC Innovation Banking

HSBC Innovation Banking (formerly Silicon Valley Bank UK) offers venture debt and revolving credit facilities to VC-backed tech companies. They typically serve Series A and beyond, with facility sizes from £2 to £20M+.

• What makes them different: HSBC bundles debt with a full banking relationship. You get treasury management, FX services, and access to a global network. This matters if you operate across Europe and the US and need multi-currency accounts and payment infrastructure.
• Trade-off: Slower decision-making than independent debt funds. HSBC has credit committees and approval layers. Expect 6-12 weeks from first conversation to term sheet. They also prefer larger deals (£5M+) and companies with tier-1 VC backing.
• Best for: Series A and B companies that need both capital and banking infrastructure, especially if you're expanding internationally.

Columbia Lake Partners

Columbia Lake Partners is a London-based venture debt fonds focused on European tech. They fund Series A+ companies with $2-20M.

• ‍What makes them different: Columbia Lake structures bespoke facilities. They'll tailor covenants, draw schedules, and security to your business. This flexibility helps if your cash flow is lumpy or you need staged draws tied to milestones.
• Trade-off: Selective. They focus on companies with strong VC backing and clear paths to profitability. If you're pre-revenue or burning heavily without a credible plan to break even, they'll pass.
• Best for: Series A and B tech companies with tier-1 or tier-2 VC investors and a 12–18 month path to positive unit economics.

Atempo Growth

Atempo Growth operates from London and Luxembourg, providing venture debt to high-growth tech companies in Europe and the UK. They focus on Series A and B, with typical facilities of €2 to €15M.

• What makes them different: Atempo has deep experience in SaaS and B2B tech. They understand recurring revenue models and will underwrite based on cohort economics, not just backward-looking financials.
• Trade-off: They expect VC backing. If you're bootstrapped or raised only angel capital, Atempo is likely not a fit. They also prefer companies with at least €5M in ARR.
• Best for: VC-backed SaaS companies with strong net revenue retention (110%+) and CAC payback under 18 months.

Bootstrap Europe

Bootstrap Europe provides venture debt to sustainability-focused and tech scale-ups across Europe and the UK. They operate from Luxembourg, London, and Zurich.

• What makes them different: Bootstrap has a sustainability lens. If your company addresses climate, energy, circular economy, or ESG themes, they're more likely to engage. They also have experience with hardware-enabled SaaS and deep-tech, not just pure software plays.
• Trade-off: Niche focus. If your business doesn't align with their sustainability thesis, you'll struggle to get their attention. They also tend to move slower than pure fintech lenders because they evaluate impact alongside financials.
• Best for: Series A and B companies in cleantech, climate tech, or ESG-adjacent sectors with VC backing.

Growth Lending

Growth Lending is a UK-based lender offering term loans and receivables finance to fast-growing SMEs and tech businesses. They serve post-revenue Seed through Series B+ companies.

• What makes them different: Growth Lending doesn't require VC backing. They'll underwrite based on your revenue, customer base, and cash flow. This makes them accessible to bootstrapped or angel-backed companies.
• Trade-off: Smaller facilities. Growth Lending typically provides £500K to £3M, which works for early-stage working capital but won't extend runway for 18 months.
• Best for: Seed-stage or bootstrapped tech companies generating £1M+ in revenue and looking for working capital to fund growth.

Claret Capital Partners

Claret Capital Partners is a London-based growth and venture debt fund focused on VC-backed tech and life sciences companies. They typically serve Series A through B+.

• ‍What makes them different: Claret has dual expertise in tech and life sciences. If you're a health-tech or bio-tech company with SaaS economics, they understand both the regulatory environment and the subscription model.‍
• Trade-off: They prefer larger deals (£3M+). Smaller facilities are possible but less common. They also expect clear VC backing and a credible path to cash-flow positivity within 18–24 months.‍
• Best for: Series A and B companies in health-tech, bio-tech, or regulated tech verticals with strong VC support.

BlackRock Venture & Growth Lending (ex-Kreos)

BlackRock acquired Kreos Capital in 2023 and rebranded it as BlackRock Venture & Growth Lending. They're one of the largest venture debt providers in Europe, operating from London.

• What makes them different: Scale and speed. BlackRock can deploy €5 to €50M+ facilities, which few European lenders can match. They also have relationships with every major VC in Europe, which can accelerate diligence.
• Trade-off: They're selective. BlackRock focuses on later Seed through Series B+ companies with tier-1 VC backing. If you're early-stage or have a cap table without recognizable names, they'll likely pass.
• Best for: Series A and B companies raising large venture debt facilities (€10M+) to extend runway or fund acquisitions.

Capchase

Capchase is a US-based platform offering recurring revenue credit lines to SaaS companies. They operate across the US, UK, and EU.

• What makes them different: Speed and simplicity. Capchase connects to your billing system (Stripe, Chargebee, etc.) and underwrites based on your MRR, churn, and retention. You can get a term sheet in days, not months.
• Trade-off: Capchase optimizes for velocity, not customization. Their facilities are standardized, with limited flexibility on structure. If you need bespoke covenants or staged draws, traditional venture debt might fit better.
• Best for: Seed through Series B SaaS companies with strong MRR growth (20%+ year-over-year) and net revenue retention above 100%.

Uncapped

Uncapped is a UK-based lender offering fixed-term loans to revenue-generating startups and scale-ups. They focus on marketing, inventory, and working capital use cases.‍

• What makes them different: Uncapped uses revenue-based underwriting but structures repayment as fixed monthly installments (not a revenue share). This makes costs more predictable than traditional RBF.
• Trade-off: Expensive. Uncapped's effective APR ranges from 12%-25%, depending on your risk profile. It's faster and more flexible than venture debt but costlier.
• Best for: Seed through Series B companies that need capital for short-payback use cases (performance marketing, inventory) and can afford higher costs in exchange for speed.

Detailed comparison: structure and fit

The table above gives you a snapshot. This section goes deeper on structure, pricing, and fit.

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How to pick the right lender (and not waste months of fundraising)

Most founders approach debt fundraising wrong. They start with the lender list. They reach out to five lenders, spend three months in diligence, and then realize the facility doesn't match their cash flow or use case.

Here's a better process:

1. Start with your liquidity plan, not the lender list

Build an 18-24 month cash flow forecast. Model your burn, revenue growth, and cash balance month by month. Run scenarios: base case, upside, downside.

This tells you:

• How much runway you have today. Months of cash left at current burn.
• When you'll need more capital. The month your cash balance drops below three months of burn.
• How much debt you can afford. Based on your revenue and burn, how much monthly debt service can you handle?

Tools like re:cap let you connect your bank accounts and revenue systems, automate this forecast, and model scenarios in real-time. This avoids the Excel hell of manually updating forecasts every week.

If you don't have a liquidity plan, you're flying blind. You don't know if you need €500K or €2M. You don't know if you can afford venture debt (with covenants) or need a flexible line. You'll waste months talking to the wrong lenders.

2. Decide how much risk you're willing to take

Debt introduces two kinds of risk:

• Covenant risk. If you breach covenants (e.g., revenue growth drops below 20% or cash falls below €500K), the lender can call the loan.
• Security risk. If you default, the lender can enforce security over your assets, including IP.

Ask yourself:

• Are you comfortable giving a lender security over your code and IP?
• Can you reliably hit revenue and cash targets for the next 12–18 months?
• Do you have a Plan B if your growth slows or a key customer churns?

If the answer is "yes," venture debt is viable. If the answer is "no" or "maybe," stick with recurring revenue lines or fixed-term loans that don't include covenants or security.

3. Match instrument to use case

Different debt instruments solve different problems. Here's how to map your use case to the right structure:

• Use case: Extend runway to next equity round→ Choose flexible credit line. You need 6-12 months of additional cash to hit better milestones before Series B. Flexible credit lines give give you up to €5M with 5 year terms.
• Use case: Fund performance marketing with fast payback→ Choose recurring revenue lines or fixed-term loans. You're spending €200K on ads in Q1 and expect payback by Q3. Draw from a credit line, repay when revenue hits.
• Use case: Hire a sales team and cover burn until they ramp→ Choose flexible credit line. Sales reps take 3-6 months to ramp. Draw €300K to cover salaries and expenses, repay when they hit quota and generate pipeline.
• Use case: Bridge to profitability→ Choose flexible credit line or venture debt. You're 9 months from break-even. Layer in €1–2M to avoid raising dilutive equity right before you hit cash-flow positive.‍
• Use case: Acquire a competitor or buy out a co-founder→ Choose venture debt or flexible credit line. You need a large one-time facility (€3M+). Venture debt funds or flexible credit lines can structure these deals. Recurring revenue lines are too small.

The key principle: borrow for investments with clear ROI and payback periods. Don't borrow to cover structural losses without a plan to fix unit economics. Lenders will sniff this out in diligence and pass.

4. Prepare a debt data room

Before you contact lenders, assemble the data they'll request. This accelerates diligence and signals you're organized.

Your debt data room should include:

Financial statements:

• Monthly P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow for the last 12 months
• 18–24 month forecast with assumptions documented
• Cap table with all shareholders and option pools

Subscription metrics (for SaaS):

• Monthly MRR and ARR for the last 12 months
• Cohort analysis showing retention by month or quarter
• Gross and net revenue retention
• Customer concentration (% of revenue from top 10 customers)
• Churn rate (gross and net)

Unit economics:

• CAC by channel
• LTV by cohort
• CAC payback period
• LTV:CAC ratio
• Gross margin by product or segment

Liquidity and runway:

• Cash balance
• Monthly burn rate
• Months of runway remaining
• Scenario analysis (base, upside, downside)

Use of funds:

• Specific breakdown of how you'll deploy the capital
• Expected ROI and payback timeline
• Sensitivity analysis (what happens if growth is 20% lower?)

Most lenders will ask for this within the first two meetings. If you have it ready on day one, you move faster and look competent.

re:cap automates much of this by connecting to your accounting software, bank accounts, and revenue systems. The platform generates liquidity forecasts, cohort analysis, and scenario models automatically.

5. Negotiate beyond the headline rate

The interest rate is important, but it's not the only variable. Here's what else to negotiate:

Covenants:

• Revenue growth minimums (e.g., "must grow ARR by 15% per quarter")
• Cash balance floors (e.g., "maintain €500K minimum cash")
• Burn multiples (e.g., "burn must stay below 2x net new ARR")

Push for realistic covenants with headroom. If your burn is €400K per month, don't agree to a €500K cash floor. That gives you one month of runway before you breach. Negotiate for €1M or add a cure period.

Security:

• Does the lender take a charge over all assets, including IP?
• Is there negative pledge language that restricts future borrowing?
• Can you carve out certain assets (e.g., trademarks)?

Fees:

• Arrangement fees (upfront)
• Exit fees (upon repayment)
• Non-utilization fees (if you don't draw the full facility)
• Legal fees (who pays for lender's counsel?)

Draw conditions:

• Can you draw the full facility on day one, or are there milestones?
• If staged, what are the conditions for subsequent tranches?

Prepayment:

• Can you repay early without penalty?
• If there's a prepayment fee, is it flat or declining over time?

Example negotiation: A lender offers you €2M at 10% interest with a €500K cash covenant. Your current cash balance is €1.2M and your monthly burn is €300K. You counter:

• "I'll accept 10% if we move the cash covenant to €600K and add a 30-day cure period. If I breach, I have 30 days to raise capital or cut burn before you can enforce."
• "I also want the ability to prepay without penalty after 12 months. If we raise Series B early, I don't want to carry expensive debt."

Most lenders will negotiate on covenants and fees. The interest rate is usually less flexible, especially if they're a fund with fixed return targets.

Summary: UK credit lenders for tech and SaaS

• Traditional banks still struggle with SaaS and tech balance sheets. That’s why specialised venture debt funds and recurring-revenue lenders matter.
• For Seed–Series B in the UK, the key players include HSBC Innovation Banking, Columbia Lake, Atempo Growth, Bootstrap Europe, Growth Lending, Claret Capital, BlackRock Venture & Growth Lending, Capchase, Uncapped, and re:cap.
• Start with your capital plan. Use a financial planning software tool to model cash flow, test scenarios, and figure out what kind of debt you can safely carry.
• Then pick the lender whose instrument fits your use case – not just the one with the biggest brand. Non-dilutive debt is a powerful tool when it’s sized to your runway, payback periods, and risk appetite.
• Negotiate beyond the headline rate. Focus on covenants (realistic targets with headroom), security (carve-outs for critical IP), fees (minimize arrangement and exit fees), and prepayment terms (avoid long lock-ups).

Q&A: UK credit lenders for tech and SaaS

What's the difference between venture debt and a bank loan?

Venture debt is structured for high-growth, unprofitable tech companies. It's underwritten on your revenue growth, unit economics, and VC backing – not your P&L or tangible assets. Bank loans require profitability, collateral, and long track records. If you're burning cash to acquire customers, a bank will reject you. A venture debt fund will underwrite on your MRR growth and CAC payback.

Do I need VC backing to get debt?

It depends on the lender. Venture debt funds require VC backing, typically from tier-1 or tier-2 investors. Recurring revenue lenders and fixed-term lenders don't require VC backing. They underwrite on your revenue, retention, and cash flow.

How much does debt cost vs equity?

Venture debt costs 8%-12% interest plus 0.5%-2% in warrants. Over three years, a €2M facility might cost €500k-€700K total. Equity costs 15%–25% dilution at Series A. On a £€20M post-money valuation, that's €2-€5M in value transferred to investors. Debt is 5-10x cheaper when you factor in dilution.

Can I raise debt without giving up equity?

Most debt doesn't require equity. Recurring revenue lines are pure debt – no warrants, no dilution. Venture debt typically includes 0.5%-2% in warrants, which is minor dilution compared to a full equity round. Some lenders structure warrant coverage based on the facility size (e.g., 10% warrant coverage on a €2M loan = €200K in warrants at your last equity valuation).

What if I can't repay the debt?

If you miss payments or breach covenants, the lender can enforce their security. For venture debt, this means they can take control of your assets, including IP. In practice, most lenders prefer to restructure or negotiate before enforcing. They don't want to own your company – they want their capital back. If you see a cash crunch coming, talk to your lender early. Restructure the payment schedule, extend the term, or raise additional capital. Don't wait until you default.

How long does it take to close a debt facility?

Venture debt takes 6-12 weeks from first conversation to funding. Recurring revenue lines take 1-2 weeks. Fixed-term loans take 1-2 weeks. The timeline depends on how fast you provide diligence materials and how quickly the lender's credit committee moves.

Should I raise debt before or after my next equity round?

Most companies raise debt after equity. You close a Series A, then layer in venture debt 3-6 months later to extend runway. This gives you time to hit milestones and prove the equity capital is working before adding leverage. Some companies raise debt before equity if they're close to breaking even and want to avoid dilution entirely. This works if your unit economics are strong and you can repay debt from cash flow within 12-18 months.

What revenue or ARR do I need to qualify for debt?

It highly depends on the lender. Some start working at €250K ARR, others at €1M. It is up to their risk profile and credit policy.

Can I use debt to fund customer acquisition?

Yes, but only if your CAC payback is short (under 12 months). Lenders want to see that the revenue from acquired customers will cover the debt repayment within 12-18 months. If your CAC payback is 24 months, debt is risky – you're borrowing to fund losses that won't turn profitable for two years. If your CAC payback is 6 months, debt makes sense, you're funding a working capital gap, not structural losses.

What happens if my revenue growth slows?

If you have covenants tied to revenue growth, you'll need to renegotiate or cure the breach. Most lenders include grace periods (30-60 days) to give you time to course-correct. If growth slows permanently, you may need to cut burn, raise additional equity, or restructure the debt (extend the term, reduce the interest rate, or convert to a revenue share). Talk to your lender early if you see growth slowing. They'd rather restructure than enforce.

Is debt right for early-stage companies?

Debt works for early-stage companies if your revenue is predictable and growing. If you're pre-revenue or pre-product-market fit, debt is risky – you're adding fixed costs (interest payments) without reliable cash flow. Wait until you have at least €500k-1M in ARR with strong retention (90%+ gross revenue retention) before raising debt. At that stage, debt can fund working capital or extend runway without dilution.