Once your application is submitted, a named bizbritain Business Advisor reviews it in full and assesses it against the scheme's requirements. If it's approved, our finance partner runs its final checks, you sign your loan agreement electronically, and the money is paid into your personal bank account.
Your advisor reviews your application
Your advisor reads everything you've submitted. If anything is missing or unclear, they'll ask you for more information and talk it through with you.
The assessment
Your application is assessed against three things:
- Eligibility: you and your business meet the scheme's criteria.
- Affordability: your personal survival budget shows you can live and repay the loan.
- Viability: your business plan and cash flow forecast show the business can work and carry the loan.
The outcome is to approve, withdraw or decline the application. Every approval and every decline gets a second internal review before it's final.
Final checks and your loan agreement
Approved applications go to our finance partner for its final checks. Our finance partner then issues your loan agreement, which you sign electronically. Read it carefully: it sets out the full terms of your loan.
Getting the money
Once your agreement is signed, the loan can be drawn down within 24 hours. It's paid into your personal bank account, and your 12 months of free mentoring begins.
If you change your mind
You can withdraw from the loan agreement within 14 calendar days, starting the day after you receive your signed agreement. This isn't a waiting period: you can receive and use the money straight away. If you withdraw, you repay what you've received, and there's no interest to pay. Your loan agreement sets out exactly how.
If your application is declined
Last reviewed: 8 October 2026