Business funding for hospitality

Start a funding search

Tell Swoop what the money is for, how much you need and how the business trades. Swoop searches its panel of lenders and comes back with the options that fit. We prepare the accounts, the management figures and the cash flow forecast the lender reads.

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Swoop Finance Limited is a credit broker and not a lender, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 936513). Buzz Accounting Ltd introduces businesses to Swoop and may receive a fee from Swoop when funding is arranged. Sole traders and partnerships borrowing £25,000 or less apply for a Start Up Loan instead.

Funding by what the money is for

Buying a pub, restaurant, café or hotel

Commercial mortgageSecured on the building, for a freehold purchase or to refinance one. A lender reads the valuation, three years of trading accounts and your own record of running the trade.
Bridging loanCompletes a purchase or a refurbishment before a mortgage is agreed, then the mortgage repays it.
Franchise financePays the joining fee and the set-up costs of a franchised outlet.

Fitting out, refurbishing or opening a second site

Asset finance and leasingRanges, extraction, refrigeration, coffee machines, tills and furniture paid for over time, with the equipment as the lender's security.
Development financeNew bedrooms, an extension or a kitchen built out, released in stages as the work is done.
Business term loanA fixed sum for a refit or a new site, repaid monthly, secured or unsecured depending on what the business owns.

Getting through the quiet months

Merchant cash advanceRepaid as a share of each day's card takings, so you pay less in a quiet week. Compare its total cost with a loan before you sign.
Revolving credit or overdraftDrawn in January and repaid in the summer, up to an agreed limit.
Asset refinanceReleases cash from equipment the business already owns outright.

Paying a tax bill or a corporate account

VAT loanThe lender pays HMRC and you repay over three, six, nine or twelve months.
Invoice financeCash against unpaid invoices from corporate guests, events and functions on account.
Business credit cardA card in the company's name for smaller, short-term spending.

Restaurant dining room with red leather banquettes and tall windows

What a lender reads

Lenders treat hospitality as a trade where a small rise in food, energy or wages takes a large share of the margin, so they test your figures at next year's costs. The National Living Wage rises from £12.71 to £13.21 an hour in April 2027, and a lender will ask whether the repayment still fits.

Two or three years of filed accounts, and management accounts for this year
Card terminal and bank statements for the last six to twelve months
VAT returns for the last four quarters
The lease or the title, with the rent and any break clause
Quotes for the kitchen, the refit or the equipment
A twelve-month cash flow forecast that includes the new repayment
The premises licence and your food hygiene rating

Start Up Loans

The government backs Start Up Loans of £500 to £25,000 for businesses trading for less than five years. Each is an unsecured personal loan at a fixed 7.5% a year, repaid over one to five years, with no application or early repayment fee and up to twelve months of free mentoring.

Start Up Loans on GOV.UK

Growth Guarantee Scheme

The British Business Bank guarantees 70% of an accredited lender's loan, overdraft, asset finance or invoice finance, generally up to £2m for a business group and £1m in Northern Ireland. Term loans run up to six years, or ten for facilities up to £1.1m. You remain liable for the whole debt, and the lender cannot take your main home as security under the scheme.

The scheme on the British Business Bank site

Funding guides for each kind of business

Funding for pubs and bars
Freehold, lease and tied pubs, what each gives a lender to secure against, and the licence checks before money is released.
Funding for restaurants and cafés
A kitchen on hire purchase worked through, card takings, and the documents a lender asks a restaurant for.
Funding for hotels
Buying a 20-bedroom hotel worked through, how a valuer prices the trade, and stamp duty on the property element.

These guides are on Buzz Financial Services. Business funding there is arranged through Swoop for Buzz Accounting Ltd.

Common questions

Can I get funding to buy my first pub or restaurant?

Lenders do fund first-time buyers, and they read your experience, your deposit and your business plan closely. A buyer who has not run the trade before may be asked for a larger deposit or for an experienced manager.

Is a Start Up Loan a business loan?

No. GOV.UK describes it as an unsecured personal loan of £500 to £25,000, for a business that has been trading for less than five years, at a fixed 7.5% a year over one to five years.

What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme?

A British Business Bank scheme that gives an accredited lender a 70% government guarantee on a loan, overdraft, asset finance or invoice finance facility, generally up to £2m a business group. The business stays 100% liable for the debt and the lender decides.

Do you choose the lender?

No. Swoop is a credit broker and searches its panel of lenders, investors and grant bodies, and each provider sets its own terms. We prepare the accounts, the forecast and the documents the lender asks for.

Will a lender ask for a personal guarantee?

Often, where the company's assets do not cover the loan. Under the Growth Guarantee Scheme a lender cannot take your main home as security.