Buy the business. We'll fund the deal.

Our advisory fees follow a marginal-rate model. On the first £250,000 of your facility we charge 3%, falling to 2.5% on the next £250,000, 2% to £1m, 1.5% to £5m, and 1.25% on the £5m–£10m band. You pay nothing unless a lender issues an Agreement in Principle (AIP) and you sign our engagement letter, which we issue once a lender has issued an AIP. A retainer of £500 to £5,000 (depending on facility band) is then payable on signing. It's non-refundable once paid and credited in full against the success fee at completion. The success fee is only payable on drawdown. For acquisitions, an abort-fee schedule applies if you decide not to proceed after a lender has issued a credit-approved offer. The full schedule is set out on our commission policy page.

No. Every acquisition is an advisory transaction, and bizbritain accepts zero introducer commission, procuration fees, or arrangement income from lenders on any advisory transaction. We are paid by you, not by lenders, which means we recommend the right lender for your deal, not the one that pays us the most. Our full commission policy is published here.

If no lender issues an Agreement in Principle (AIP), or you choose not to sign our engagement letter, you pay us nothing. If you've signed and no lender makes a credit-approved offer, no success fee and no abort fee are charged, and the retainer is the only fee. You keep the work product — deal packaging, financial analysis, lender proposal — and you keep our findings on why the market declined. bizbritain carries the time and expertise risk alongside you.

Most acquisition facilities complete within six to twelve weeks from engagement letter to drawdown, depending on deal complexity, target diligence, and lender response times. We give you a realistic timeline at the end of the initial conversation.

The abort fee compensates bizbritain for advisory work invested in an acquisition that doesn't complete. Nothing is payable before a lender issues an Agreement in Principle (AIP), or if you don't sign our engagement letter. Once you've signed, and before a credit-approved offer, only the retainer is retained (Stage 1). If you decide not to proceed after a lender has issued a credit-approved offer, the abort fee applies: at Stage 2 (first credit-approved offer issued) it's 0.5% of the credit-backed facility, capped at 33% of the success fee; at Stage 3 (deal in legal phase after Heads of Terms) it's 1.0%, capped at 50% of the success fee. Caps apply to the percentage charge, and the retainer is payable in addition. The full schedule and worked example are set out on our commission policy page. The abort fee does not apply if no lender issues a credit-approved offer, or if the transaction does not complete for any reason other than your decision not to proceed, for example the seller or the lenders withdrawing.

Not to start working with us. We work with clients at every stage, from open searches with sector and size criteria to fully identified targets in legal phase. To apply to a lender, you will need a specific target. Earlier engagement lets us structure the funding approach alongside the deal, which often produces a better outcome than running the funding process after Heads of Terms are signed.

From £25,000 up to £10,000,000 across the panel. The right amount depends on the target's earnings, the deal structure, your sector experience, and security available. We'll come back with two or three structured options so you can compare.

Often, yes. The scheme supports any legitimate business purpose, and each accredited lender applies its own credit policy to acquisitions. It gives the lender a 70% government-backed guarantee on facilities of up to £2m, which can unlock a yes on deals that sit just outside standard credit policy. The guarantee protects the lender, not you: you remain liable for the full loan. bizbritain arranges GGS-eligible facilities as one layer of the capital stack.

Sources: British Business Bank: Growth Guarantee Scheme

Typically 10–30% of consideration, depending on the target, your experience, and how much vendor support you have. That percentage is of the purchase price, not of the loan amount. Strong cashflow and a meaningful vendor loan can bring buyer equity below 15%. Asset-light service businesses tend to require more.

Yes — provided you have meaningful sector experience, a credible plan, and the right capital structure. MBI lenders fund first-time owner-operators every week. We'll be honest with you on day one about whether your profile fits the target.

Yes. The government-backed Start Up Loan scheme allows you to buy an existing business, provided you have not personally owned it for more than 60 months. It is a personal loan for business purposes: £500 to £25,000 per founder at 7.5% fixed over 1 to 5 years, up to £100,000 per business. You will need the target's financial accounts with your application. Larger deals combine it with the structures on this page.

Sources: GOV.UK: apply for a Start Up Loan · Start Up Loans: am I eligible?

Submitting your details on this page is an enquiry, not a formal application — it does not affect your credit score. A formal application later in the process may involve a hard credit check by the lender we introduce you to. We'll always tell you which checks happen, and when, before they happen.