Posted: Monday, 10 March 2025 @ 11:08
Whether you go to a major bank or an alternative lender, there are some things that every lender will look at when you apply for a business loan - the numbers. However, businesses are about more than the balance sheet.
The numbers are essential, there's no denying that, but they're not the whole picture. Being a good lender means using your head and thinking about the story behind the numbers to provide relevance, context and understanding for what can otherwise be a two-dimensional tale.
At Rivers our 'storybook' lending approach offers a range of different loan options to suit different wants, needs, and circumstances. Meanwhile, our processes are underpinned by experienced human underwriting combined with technological due diligence.
The result is greater flexibility to listen, understand, and provide responsible lending to help businesses handle the daily practicalities of cashflow and business development.
The normal business loan process and its limitations
Every lender will want to know details including (but not limited to) your revenue, profitability, cashflow, any equity or assets that the business or individuals have, and they will probably want to know what the loan is for. That's fair and reasonable - it's how they assess risk.
More often than not, this information is funnelled into a preordained approval process, and if the computer says no, that's the end of the discussion. While technology is essential for ensuring security and data analysis, it hasn't got human understanding or experience.
Furthermore, the rigours of major banks means that they simply don't have the flexibility to adapt to requirements that don't fit a specific mould. For example, traditional banks have very linear processes when it comes to loans, with binary yes and no outcomes.
How Rivers looks at the big picture when it comes to business loans
By contrast, a core part of Rivers’ lending process is understanding the businesses we're speaking to. We are not just loan experts; we're Business Finance Specialists and trusted business advisors. Not only are we interested in what loan you want, but why you want it. The reason for that isn't because we're nosy; it's because we want to make sure you get the right business funding to achieve your goals.
Sometimes that means that while we might say 'no' to the application you sent in, we're able to offer an alternative approach which we believe will be more sustainable and beneficial for your business. That might mean more money, less money, a longer loan term or a combination of adjustments. You might even find that the offer we make is better than what you expected!
In short, while we always adhere to careful due diligence to ensure responsible lending, we also look for what is possible rather than what isn't and that's because, as an SME ourselves, we understand the demands and realities of other SMEs.
For example, a recent TrustPilot review said: "We have been referring business to Rivers Leasing for a number of years and have always found them helpful and understanding. They look for reasons to help a client as opposed to declining a client. There is always somebody in the office that will help if our main point of contact, Rishi, is busy. A refreshing lender. Thank you."
In practice, that means a constant focus on the quality of the agreements written through the following values:
Personal service:
Each application is assessed by an individual. Rivers is also currently developing a hybrid human/systems credit scoring model for future efficiencies.
A focus on financials:
Underwriting criteria are focused on the strength of the financial covenant rather than the value of the asset underlying the agreement. We do not write sub-prime business.
Speed of delivery:
Excellent customer service based on efficiency of turnaround from proposal to pay-out for introducers and support for end users.
Commercially minded:
We will always seek to do a sensible deal.
How to apply for a Rivers business loan
At Rivers we start by asking for key criteria and information so we can give you a quick answer as to whether a loan offer is likely. Then we get into more detail to confirm the specifics of what that might look like.
To get you started, here's a reminder of our business eligibility criteria:
- The business needs to be registered in England or Wales It must be a Limited Company or LLP
- At least one of the business owners must be a homeowner
- Minimum trading times for short-term corporate loans are from three months trading onwards
- For medium-term loans minimum trading times are from six months trading times onwards
- All business sectors will be considered
- All loan purposes will be considered
At Rivers we believe that good deal is about a lot of things, and that takes human understanding.
Find out more about Rivers business loans