Little Business Loans

What Little Business Loans does

Little Business Loans is a UK-based, FCA-regulated alternative lender (FCA Registration No: 656221) operating as a trading name of The Buyback Service Limited, with registered offices in Birmingham. Founded in 2016 and operating with approximately seven employees, the company originates short-term business loans of between £1,000 and £20,000 with terms of up to 12 months, targeting small limited companies in England and Wales that are unable to access funding under £5,000 or short-term working capital from traditional banks.

The product is built around manual, human-led underwriting. Each application is reviewed by a named loan manager (submissions are accepted online, by telephone, or via broker-introducers), with final documentation, AML and fraud-prevention checks completed through a video call and funds transferred within one hour of approval. Repayments are structured as daily, weekly, or monthly fees on top of principal rather than disclosed interest rates, with early-repayment discounts and a top-up mechanic for returning borrowers. The company's operational stack combines third-party data and payment providers — LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Company Searches Made Simple, HPI Limited, Worldpay, and Key IVR — alongside Barclays-settled repayment collection.

The business model is a fee-on-principal direct lending model with a dual go-to-market: direct-to-consumer via the website and inbound phone line, and a paid broker/introducer channel paying 25% of fees on first business and 12.5% on repeat business. The company has cumulatively funded over 8,000 businesses and facilitated over £42 million in borrowing, with no external equity or debt funding rounds disclosed. Customer segmentation is horizontal across SMB verticals (hair salons, accountants, jewellers, restaurants, convenience stores, engineering businesses, clothing retailers), and the company holds both FCA registration and AABF trade association membership as its principal regulatory and industry credentials.

Name

Little Business Loans

Legal name

The Buyback Service Limited

Website

https://littlebusinessloans.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Little Business Loans is a UK-based, FCA-regulated lender providing short-term loans of £1,000–£20,000 (up to 12 months) to small limited companies in England and Wales. Using manual underwriting, the firm has cumulatively funded over 8,000 businesses and £42 million in borrowing via direct online/telephone intake and a broker introducer network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (52229)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

SME Term Loans & Growth Capital (FSAKAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small-Dollar Short-Term Installment Loans (Non-payday) (FSAKAMAI)

Keywords

• Short-term business loans
• Small business lending
• Working capital finance
• Alternative business finance
• SME cash flow loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Short-term Business Loans: Provides short-term loans up to £20,000 for up to 12 months. Charges set daily/weekly/monthly fees in addition to principal amount. No registration or application fees. Early repayment (7+ days early) results in fee discount.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Little Business Loans provides short-term secured business loans of £1,000 to £20,000 for terms of up to 12 months to small limited companies in England and Wales. Loans are underwritten manually by dedicated loan managers, secured against business assets with a personal guarantee from the main applicant, and offer flexible daily, weekly, or monthly repayment schedules. Funds are transferred within one hour of final approval via video-call verification.

Product overview

Little Business Loans offers a single short-term business loan product providing funding up to £20,000 for terms up to 12 months. The product features flexible repayment options (daily, weekly, or monthly), asset-backed security, and personal guarantee requirements. The service includes a video call verification process for loan finalization and funds transfer within 1 hour of approval.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 8,000 businesses funded
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Barclays BankcoreOthersBarclays Bank is used for loan repayments via bank transfer. Sort Code: 20-07-82, Account Number: 53986527. Repayments can be made via Faster Payment which clears same working day.
• Key IVR LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment services provider for handling financial transactions. Processes card payments for loan repayments.
• Worldpay (UK) LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment services provider for processing payments and refunds. Handles card payment processing for loan transactions.
• Association of Alternative Business Finance (AABF)minorOthersIndustry association membership displayed on website footer. Represents alternative business finance providers in the UK.
• The Buyback Service LtdcoreOthersParent company and legal entity trading as Little Business Loans. Registered in England and Wales under company number 08457011. FCA Registration: 656221.
• LexisNexis Risk Solutions UK LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationClient and company reference agency used for identity verification, credit checks, and fraud prevention during loan application process.
• Company Searches Made SimplecoreTechnology or IntegrationCompany reference agency providing business verification, director checks, and company information during underwriting process.
• HPI LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationVehicle checking service used when vehicles are used as security for loans. Conducts HPI checks and registers vehicle log-books.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Funding Circle: UK SME lending platform (publicly listed) serving small businesses with term loans. While larger ticket sizes, directly competes for the same SMB customer base in the UK alternative finance market.
• iwoca: UK-based small business lender providing flexible short-term loans (£1,000-£500,000) to SMBs, directly competing with LBL in the sub-£20,000 short-term working capital segment. Operates with a hybrid human/algorithmic underwriting model.
• Capital on Tap: UK-based fintech providing small business credit cards and loans to SMBs, with heavy focus on small limited companies similar to LBL's target customer segment.
• Fleximize: UK alternative business finance provider offering flexible loans to SMBs, with AABF membership and direct overlap in the short-term working capital lending space.
• Liberis: UK revenue-based financing provider offering working capital to small businesses, with similar merchant-facing point-of-need lending serving the SMB cash flow gap.
• MarketFinance (now YouLend): UK alternative business finance provider offering short-term working capital and loans to SMBs, competing in the same cash flow funding space as LBL.
• ThinCats: UK-based alternative finance platform providing loans to established SMBs, with direct overlap in the SME term lending space and similar broker/introducer distribution model.

Broad incumbents

• Bibby Financial Services: Established UK-based invoice finance and business lending provider offering a broader suite of financial services to SMBs, competing with LBL in the working capital space as a larger incumbent.
• OakNorth Bank: UK challenger bank (now operating in the US as well) with a strong SME lending focus, competing in the broader UK SMB lending market at typically larger ticket sizes.

Emerging players

• Spotcap: Online SME lender offering flexible short-term business loans to UK SMBs, using automated underwriting for similar ticket sizes to LBL in the working capital gap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/little-business-loans

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Little Business Loans