Growth capital

Growth capital: funding the next stage without dilution

Growth capital via debt (rather than equity) preserves ownership and control — but structuring it around a scaling business's cashflow and covenant needs specialist attention, not a generic term loan.

Audience: Scale-up business owners

Situation: The business is scaling and needs capital to hire, market, or expand — but you'd rather fund it than dilute equity.

Primary: Business Loans

The situation

Scale-up businesses have specific cashflow patterns: high growth, thin margins in the short term, upside in year 2-3. Standard bank lending often can't underwrite the story; specialist growth-focused lenders can.

How we approach it

We route growth-stage cases to lenders comfortable with scaling businesses — usually specialist growth funders, some challenger banks, and increasingly institutional debt providers. Blended structures (term loan plus revolving facility) common.

What that looks like in practice

Growth-stage term loans from specialist lenders
Revolving credit facilities for scaling working capital needs
Mezzanine finance for larger growth capex
British Business Bank-guaranteed routes where applicable
Structuring around milestone-based drawdowns where growth is stepped

Typical timeline

Weeks 1-3
Growth plan, cashflow model, lender introductions.
Weeks 3-8
Application, credit, structuring.
Weeks 8-12
Facility live.

Common questions

Growth debt vs equity?

Preserves ownership but adds fixed cost. Right where growth is predictable and margin supports service; equity often better where growth is speculative.

How do lenders assess a scaling business?

Forward plan, cohort economics, run rate, and management quality. Historic accounts matter less than the trajectory and the plan.

What if growth stalls?

Covenants trigger. Structuring includes reasonable headroom and covenant-holiday provisions where sensible.