capify business loans

If you are looking at Capify for fast working capital or a flexible top-up to your cash flow, you are not alone. Capify offers unsecured and secured business finance plus merchant cash advances to established UK SMEs, with short to medium loan terms and frequent repayments. This review walks through how Capify business loans work, what they really cost, who they suit, and how to compare them against other lenders before you commit.

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Capify business loans at a glance

Capify is a non-bank lender specialising in short to medium-term business funding for UK SMEs. Its core offering is a flexible small business loan, with additional options through secured loans and merchant cash advances. You can check basic eligibility online, then speak to an underwriter before accepting an offer.

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How Capify's Business Loans actually work in practice

Capify positions its small business loans as fast, flexible working-capital finance. Typical use cases include smoothing cash flow, paying tax or VAT bills, purchasing stock, buying equipment, investing in marketing, refurbishing premises, or seizing a time-sensitive opportunity such as a bulk discount from a supplier.

The journey usually starts with an online enquiry on the Capify business loans page. You choose how much you’d like to borrow and share some basic details about your business. Capify runs a quick eligibility assessment, which is designed to give an indication without leaving a footprint on your credit file at this stage.

If the initial checks look positive, an underwriter will request supporting documents such as your last 12 months of business bank statements and proof of ID, then talk through your requirements on the phone. For most unsecured business loans, the key drivers are your turnover, trading history, sector, existing borrowing, and affordability based on your historic cash flow.

Once approved, Capify will make a tailored offer showing the amount you can borrow, the term, the regular repayment amount, and the total you will repay (including all interest and fees). For unsecured business loans, repayments are normally collected via daily or weekly direct debits from your business bank account, meaning your balance reduces steadily over the agreed term.

To make this more tangible, imagine you borrow £50,000 on a 12‑month unsecured loan. Rather than paying one large instalment each month, you might make fixed daily or weekly repayments. Over the year those frequent payments add up to the agreed total, which could be significantly higher than the amount you borrowed depending on the risk and term. Capify will confirm the exact figures before you sign, so you should focus on the total repayable and how the cash flow impact fits your business.

Capify also offers merchant cash advances, where you borrow a lump sum and repay it as a percentage of your card sales. If your takings are higher one week, you pay back more; if they dip, your repayment falls too. This structure suits card-heavy sectors such as hospitality and retail, but you will usually need strong card turnover and the effective cost can still be high compared to traditional bank lending.

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Rates, fees and what this Business Loans product really costs

Capify does not publish a single representative APR for its business loans. Pricing is bespoke, based on your business’s risk profile, turnover, sector, credit history, and the exact product and term chosen. Instead of a simple interest rate, you will usually be quoted a total repayment amount or a fixed cost added on top of the amount borrowed.

In practice, this means two similar businesses could be offered noticeably different pricing even for the same loan size and term. Third‑party reviews and comparison sites consistently describe Capify’s unsecured loans and merchant cash advances as more expensive than traditional bank loans, reflecting the higher risk and speed of funding. That does not make them a bad option, but you should be prepared for a higher overall cost of finance than you might see from your main bank, especially on shorter terms.

On top of the core finance cost, you may see additional fees such as processing or origination fees, and in some cases ongoing service or administration charges. The key is to look at the total repayable figure and the effective cost per £1 borrowed, not just the headline rate or daily/weekly repayment amount.

Capify is generally open to early settlement. There are typically no formal early repayment penalties on its small business loans, but any discount for repaying early will depend on the lender’s current policy and the wording in your agreement. Always ask your account manager to confirm, in writing, how early repayment is treated before you accept an offer.

As an example, if you borrowed £50,000 and were quoted a total repayment of £62,500 over 12 months, the extra £12,500 is the cost of finance before any fees. That is just an illustration; your own quote could be cheaper or more expensive. What matters is whether the benefit of the funding (extra profit, avoided costs, or growth) comfortably outweighs that cost.

Because pricing varies so much between lenders, and some (like Capify) use fixed‑cost or factor‑rate style pricing, it makes sense to benchmark any Capify offer against several alternatives. That is where a broker like Funding Agent can help you see the bigger picture before you commit.

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Eligibility, who Capify is a good fit for

Capify is designed for established, revenue‑generating SMEs rather than brand‑new startups. While exact criteria can change over time and by product, you can expect the following broad requirements for a Capify business loan:

• Business type: UK‑based limited companies, partnerships and some sole traders.
• Minimum trading history: At least 12 months’ trading for most products.
• Minimum turnover: Typically £10,000+ per month for a business loan, and around £20,000+ per month in card takings for a merchant cash advance.
• Credit profile: Capify is more flexible than high‑street banks and will consider a range of credit histories, but you are likely to get better terms with stronger credit.
• Security and guarantees: Unsecured business loans generally require a personal guarantee from the majority owner. Secured loans require suitable property security plus guarantees.
• Sectors: Many mainstream sectors are accepted, including professional services, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and trades. Very high‑risk or highly regulated sectors may find it harder to qualify.

Capify is usually not a fit for pre‑revenue startups, businesses with very low or highly volatile turnover, or owners who are unwilling to give a personal guarantee or use property as security on larger facilities.

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Pros, cons and when Capify is a good idea

Like most specialist lenders, Capify sits somewhere between a bank and a pure fintech. The trade‑off is straightforward: you get speed, flexibility and higher approval chances in exchange for paying more than you would on a secured bank loan.

Pros

• Fast decisions and funding: Online eligibility checks and streamlined underwriting mean many unsecured loans can be approved and funded within around 24 hours, which is much quicker than a typical bank.
• High potential loan amounts: For qualifying businesses, facilities can reach into the hundreds of thousands and, for certain products, up to the low millions.
• Flexible structures: Choice of unsecured business loans, secured loans, and merchant cash advances, so you can align the product with how your business generates cash.
• Frequent repayments: Daily or weekly repayments, or card‑linked repayments on merchant cash advances, can be easier to manage than one large monthly direct debit.
• Broader credit appetite: Capify looks beyond just your credit score and may consider businesses that have struggled to get approval from their bank.
• No formal early repayment penalties on many loans: Useful if you expect to refinance or repay early from profits or other funding.

Cons

• Higher overall cost: The effective cost of Capify’s short‑term unsecured loans and merchant cash advances is usually higher than bank overdrafts or secured term loans.
• Minimum turnover and trading history: Newer and smaller SMEs may not meet the £10k+ monthly turnover and 12‑month trading requirements.
• Personal guarantees are standard: Most loans require the majority owner to sign a personal guarantee, which puts your personal assets at risk if the business cannot repay.
• Frequent repayments cut both ways: Daily or weekly debits can help with budgeting when cash flow is strong, but can quickly become painful if revenue drops.
• Secured loans put property on the line: If you opt for a secured facility, your residential property may be used as collateral.
• Pricing transparency: Because there is no simple published APR, it can be harder to compare the true cost against other offers without doing some maths.

Best for

• Short‑term working capital gaps: A profitable SME that needs a quick cash injection to cover seasonal dips, tax or VAT, or lumpy supplier bills and expects to repay within 3–18 months.
• Growth projects with clear ROI: Businesses investing in stock, marketing campaigns or refurbishments where the additional profit is likely to outweigh the higher interest cost.
• Card‑heavy sectors: Retailers, restaurants, bars or salons with strong card takings that prefer a merchant cash advance where repayments flex with sales.

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Real world examples of how SMEs use this Business Loans product

Example 1: Retailer stocking up for Christmas
A multi‑site fashion retailer with £150k average monthly turnover wants to increase stock levels ahead of the Christmas season. The business takes a £120,000 unsecured Capify loan over 12 months, with daily repayments. The extra stock helps them negotiate better supplier discounts and increase sales over peak season, comfortably covering the finance cost and leaving higher net profit.

Example 2: Restaurant smoothing cash flow
An independent restaurant group experiences sharp swings in cash flow between busy weekends and quieter weekdays. They use a £60,000 merchant cash advance from Capify, repaid as a fixed percentage of each card transaction. When trade is strong in summer, they repay faster; during quieter periods, the repayment automatically eases, giving them more breathing room than a rigid bank loan.

Example 3: Professional services firm funding growth
A digital marketing agency with £80k per month turnover wants to hire three new staff members and invest in lead generation. The firm secures an £80,000 unsecured business loan over 18 months. The daily repayments are baked into their cash‑flow forecast, and as new retainers land, the increased revenue more than offsets the cost of borrowing.

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How Funding Agent can help you compare Capify against other lenders

Capify can be a useful option if you need funding quickly and your business is strong enough to absorb frequent repayments and a higher cost of capital. But it is rarely the only option. Different lenders price risk differently, and the same business can see a wide spread of offers across unsecured loans, secured borrowing, invoice finance and merchant cash advances.

Funding Agent works as an independent broker for UK SMEs. We speak your language, understand how products like Capify’s actually behave in the real world, and compare offers from a panel of specialist lenders. That can include Capify where it fits, but also other providers that might offer cheaper pricing, longer terms, or structures that better match your cash flow.

If you want to see how Capify stacks up, compare business finance options with Funding Agent before you sign.

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Alternatives to Capify's Business Loans

Capify is one of many non‑bank lenders in the UK market. Before you accept any offer, it is worth comparing alternative routes to make sure you are not overpaying or forcing your business into the wrong structure.

• High‑street bank term loans and overdrafts: If you have strong financials, major banks may offer cheaper, longer‑term loans or overdrafts, albeit with slower decisions and more paperwork.
• Other unsecured lenders via a broker: Many lenders compete in the same space as Capify. Our panel and guides on Unsecured Business Loans can help you benchmark different offers, terms and fee structures.
• Merchant cash advances from a wider pool: If card‑linked repayments appeal, you can compare multiple providers rather than going straight to Capify. Our Mca Loans page explains how these work and who they suit.
• Short‑term unsecured products with flexible terms: Some lenders specialise in ultra‑fast, short‑term working capital with more transparent pricing or early repayment discounts. See our guide to Quick Unsecured Business Loans for examples.
• Options for weaker credit: If your credit profile is challenged, or your business has had recent issues, you might be better served by products designed specifically for that situation. Our Bad Credit Unsecured Business Loans hub covers the trade‑offs.

The right alternative depends on how quickly you need funds, how long you want to borrow for, how steady your cash flow is, and how comfortable you are with personal guarantees or property security.

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