Signs it's time to refinance
- Your lender is tightening terms, restricting drawdowns or asking you to move
- You're paying for several overlapping facilities, short-term loans or merchant cash advances
- Your business has grown or turned profitable since the facility was agreed
- A term is ending within 12 months, or covenants are getting tight
- You need headroom for an acquisition, a contract or a stock build
Refinance routes at this size
| Route | Typical use | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Bank or challenger bank term loan and RCF | Profitable businesses with steady cash flow | Up to 4x EBITDA, 3 to 5 year committed RCF alongside |
| Asset based lending | Asset-rich businesses, or where cash flow is still building | One facility across receivables, stock, plant and property |
| Private credit | Higher leverage, complex groups, special situations | Unitranche or stretch senior, up to 7 years |
| Government-backed lending | Smaller top-ups alongside the main facility | Growth Guarantee Scheme up to £2m per group |
What a good refinance achieves
- One lender relationship instead of several, with one set of security
- Lower all-in cost, clearing expensive short-term debt first
- More headroom that grows with the business
- The right term and covenants for your plans, not your last lender's
How long it takes
Typically 6 to 12 weeks for bank and ABL refinances, and longer where a lender needs an independent business review or there are several existing lenders to redeem.
How GBF runs a refinance
We start with a free Facility Health Check of your current terms, build the lender pack and forecast, approach the right lenders side by side, and manage redemption statements, security releases and completion so nothing slips between old and new lenders.