‘Local’ is a difficult area for us to define and monitor. We require all our producers to be organic, but are currently introducing the Soil Association standard for catering businesses – which allows a mix of local and organic foods. We’re unlikely to accept a project purely on the basis of local.

Yes, we do have projects that are part certified. Our general rule of thumb is that more than 70% of the business is organic.

We have now developed a policy for lending to businesses involved in tourism (accommodation providers / campsites / visitor attractions / recreation).

We are pleased to be working in conjunction with the Green Tourism . Green Tourism is the national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK, and businesses opting to join Green Tourism are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas, like energy and water efficiency, waste management and biodiversity. Businesses are awarded a business Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation depending on the outcome of their assessment.

It is a condition of any lending (loan or overdraft) that a business is accredited to a minimum standard of Silver within a specified period of the facility being made available

Yes, we see this as part of our commitment to supporting affordable housing projects.

We would look at each proposal on it’s own merits. However the cost of setting up a small loan and taking security may make it uneconomic in some instances.

A property that meets the requirements of code 5 or 6 of the code for sustainable homes (or equivalent).

Only for long-term funding. We don't fund build-and-sell projects.

If you’re an existing business customer, please contact your relationship manager to discuss your requirements.

Start your application

Complete our enquiry form – this tells us about your organisation and borrowing requirements, which helps us establish whether they fits with our minimum criteria. One of our relationship managers will contact you within a few days to discuss next steps and to confirm what information we require if we’re able to progress your application.

We’ll make a decision

Once we’ve received the required information, we’ll assess this and propose the potential terms of a loan. If you accept these, your relationship manager will prepare a formal credit proposal for the bank to consider and they will let you know the outcome as soon as the decision has been made.

If your application is declined, at any stage, you have the right to appeal the decision and for your appeal to be considered at the appropriate level.

If your application is successful, we will carry out identification checks on all signatories to the proposed agreement.

We’ll complete the facility agreement and transfer funds

Once all checks have been carried out, we will send you the official facility agreement, which you will need to read, sign and return alongside any other documentation we ask for.

We offer a fully non-advised service and recommend you seek independent legal advice before signing the agreement.

Your facility agreement may include conditions which need to be met before we can transfer funds. This is likely to include arranging a valuation and legal due diligence for any property provided as security.

Your relationship manager will let you know what information is needed and estimated timescales for release of funds. You will need to meet all valuation and legal costs.

Once all pre-drawdown requirements have been satisfied, we will transfer your funds to your requested bank account, after the deduction of any facility arrangement fee, disbursement costs and payment transfer fee.