We recognise that using locally produced or sustainable food, and implementing high environmental standards, can make for just as ethical a business as one serving organically-certified food. Therefore we are considering adopting a policy based on accreditation schemes for catering businesses, such as the Soil Association’s Catering Mark and the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

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

Yes. It’s the only way we can be sure you fit with our and (more importantly) our savers’ ethics. We do, however, lend to those in the process of converting to organic.

‘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 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.

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.

Yes, we see this as part of our commitment to supporting affordable housing projects. Learn more about lending for housing, including co-housing, community-led housing and housing associations.