Ocean Finance
Ocean Finance is a UK FCA-regulated credit broker founded in 1991 that matches consumers—especially those with poor credit or rejected elsewhere—with lenders across credit cards, personal loans, secured loans, car finance, insurance, and remortgages via its online platform and a panel of 25+ lenders.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersTrafford Park, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Ocean Finance does
Ocean Finance is a UK-based credit broker operating as a trading style of Intelligent Lending Limited, founded in 1991 and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 310069). The company operates an online platform that matches UK consumers with credit products from a panel of lenders, specializing in serving customers who have been rejected by mainstream lenders or who have poor, thin, or no credit history. Its core products include credit cards (offered through an exclusive partnership with Capital One, with limits from £200 to £8,000), unsecured personal loans (£1,000-£15,000), and secured/homeowner loans (£10,000-£500,000 over 3-30 years), alongside car finance, car insurance comparison (120+ insurers), business loans (via Binq partnership), and remortgages. The company's technology centers on a soft search eligibility checker that provides acceptance likelihood in 60 seconds without impacting the customer's credit score. Revenue is generated through broker commissions paid by lenders upon completion of applications, with the company emphasizing accessibility, FCA compliance, and 35 years of brand heritage (over 1.5 million customers accepted for credit since inception). Distribution is exclusively digital via the Ocean Finance website, supported by content marketing, SEO, and social media channels. The company employs 101-250 staff and is headquartered at a registered office in London with operations based in Trafford Park.
Ocean Finance firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ocean Finance
- Legal name
- Intelligent Lending Limited
- Website
- https://oceanfinance.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Ocean Finance is a UK FCA-regulated credit broker founded in 1991 that matches consumers—especially those with poor credit or rejected elsewhere—with lenders across credit cards, personal loans, secured loans, car finance, insurance, and remortgages via its online platform and a panel of 25+ lenders.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Ocean Finance is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Trafford Park
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ocean Finance business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Broker Commission: Ocean Finance receives payment from lenders or brokers upon completion of a loan or credit card application. This is a commission-based model where they earn revenue by matching customers with appropriate financial products from their lender panel.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Ocean Credit Card - Credit Limit £200 to £8,000 |
| Other | Monthly | Bad Credit Credit Card - Credit Limit £200 to £3,000 |
| Other | Monthly | Personal Loans - £1,000 to £15,000 over 1-5 years |
| Other | Monthly | Secured/Homeowner Loans - £10,000 to £500,000 over 3-30 years |
| Other | Monthly | Balance Transfer Offers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ocean Finance product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ocean Finance is a UK FCA-regulated credit broker (trading style of Intelligent Lending Limited) that matches UK consumers with a panel of lenders for credit cards, personal loans, secured/homeowner loans, car finance, business loans, car insurance, and remortgages. The company does not lend directly but earns commission by brokering applications to its lender panel, including an exclusive credit card partnership with Capital One. Ocean focuses on accessibility, serving consumers across all credit histories including those rejected by mainstream lenders.
Product overview
Ocean Finance is a UK-based credit broker (trading style of Intelligent Lending Limited) offering a portfolio of credit and lending products. The core offering consists of credit cards (in exclusive partnership with Capital One) and various loan products. Credit cards range from £200 to £8,000 limits and include standard, bad credit, and credit builder variants, supported by eligibility checking and interest calculation tools. Loan products span personal loans (unsecured, £1,000-£15,000) and secured/homeowner loans (£10,000-£500,000 over 3-30 years), including specialised variants for debt consolidation, joint applicants, bad credit situations, and home improvements. Additional services include car finance (£3k-£50k), car insurance comparison (120+ insurers), and remortgages. The company serves all credit histories and has facilitated over 1.5 million acceptances since 1991.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ocean Credit Card
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1.5 million people accepted for credit since 1991
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Ocean Finance
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ocean Finance technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ocean Finance partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Capital One (Europe) plccoreCapital One is the exclusive lender for the Ocean Credit Card. Ocean Finance acts as credit broker, marketing and processing applications, while Capital One provides the credit facility and issues cards.
- BinqminorBusiness loans partnership providing instant access to hundreds of business loans from specialist lenders through a single application process via Ocean Finance.
- SantanderminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel. Provides loan products through Ocean Finance's broker platform.
- M&S BankminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- Shawbrook BankminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- LendableminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- UpdraftminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- Oakbrook LoansminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- PlataminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- BamboominorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- 118 118 MoneyminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- EvlominorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
- My Community FinanceminorOne of multiple lenders in the secured/homeowner loan panel.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ocean Finance competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Compare the Market: Major UK price comparison site spanning insurance, credit cards, loans, and energy. Competitor for top-of-funnel consumer intent on credit and loan products, with significantly larger marketing and brand investment.
- MoneySupermarket: UK's largest financial price comparison site covering credit cards, loans, mortgages, and insurance. Competes with Ocean for organic demand across overlapping product categories but at much broader scale and with established brand spend.
- Moneyfacts: UK financial data and comparison service for savings, mortgages, loans, and credit cards. Overlaps with Ocean in facilitating credit product discovery and comparison for UK consumers.
- Experian UK: UK credit bureau and consumer credit services platform offering free credit scores and product matching. Comparable to Ocean in the credit-eligibility and matching space, with deep credit-data infrastructure and broader consumer reach.
- Confused.com: UK price comparison site covering insurance, credit cards, and loans. Comparable in offering credit product comparison but with much broader vertical coverage.
- GoCompare: UK financial comparison platform offering credit card, loan, and insurance comparison. Adjacent competitor capturing similar consumer search demand through broad comparison mechanics.
Direct peers
- 118 118 Money: UK specialist lender focused on bad-credit and non-prime personal loans, also part of Ocean's secured-loan lender panel. Directly comparable in targeting underserved borrowers with higher-APR products.
- TotallyMoney: UK credit broker and eligibility-checking platform connecting consumers with credit card and loan providers. Comparable to Ocean in targeting credit-eligible UK consumers through a soft-search eligibility funnel and lender-panel commission model.
- ClearScore: UK credit broker and comparison platform offering free credit scores, eligibility checking, and matching of consumers with lenders across cards, loans, and mortgages. Direct competitor in UK credit comparison brokerage with similar soft-search mechanics.
Emerging players
- Zopa: UK digital bank and lender offering credit cards, personal loans, and savings. Competes with Ocean for UK consumer credit demand, with a digital-first product model and recent banking license.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Ocean Finance social profiles
Digital presenceOcean Finance compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Ocean Finance financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ocean Finance leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ocean Finance funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ocean Finance M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ocean Finance
What does Ocean Finance do?
Ocean Finance is a UK FCA-regulated credit broker (trading style of Intelligent Lending Limited) that matches UK consumers with a panel of lenders for credit cards, personal loans, secured/homeowner loans, car finance, business loans, car insurance, and remortgages. The company does not lend directly but earns commission by brokering applications to its lender panel, including an exclusive credit card partnership with Capital One. Ocean focuses on accessibility, serving consumers across all credit histories including those rejected by mainstream lenders.
Is Ocean Finance a public or private company?
Ocean Finance is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Ocean Finance founded?
Ocean Finance was founded in 1991. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Ocean Finance based?
Ocean Finance is headquartered in Trafford Park, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Ocean Finance make money?
One revenue line is on record: broker Commission.
Who are Ocean Finance's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Compare the Market, MoneySupermarket, Moneyfacts, Experian UK, Confused.com and GoCompare. Direct peers are 118 118 Money, TotallyMoney and ClearScore. Zopa is listed as an emerging player.
Does Ocean Finance have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ocean Finance.