It depends on your legal structure, not on the fact that you are a charity. Credicorp lends to UK incorporated bodies, so an incorporated charity — most commonly a charitable company limited by guarantee, or a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) — can apply, provided the borrowing is for a genuine business purpose. What we look at is the legal form of the borrower and what the money is for, not the charitable mission behind it. This sits right alongside our guidance on whether a CIC or community interest company can apply.
Which charitable structures can apply
The key question is whether your charity is its own legal entity that can borrow in its own name. Two common forms qualify:
- Charitable company limited by guarantee — registered at Companies House with its own company number and statutory accounts, so it has the legal personality we rely on when we lend.
- Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) — incorporated through the Charity Commission, with its own legal identity separate from its trustees and members.
An unincorporated charity, a charitable trust or a simple charitable association is not a separate corporate body in the way we need, so it would not fit the entity types covered in which business types can apply to Credicorp. If you are unsure which category yours falls into, your governing document or your Charity Commission entry will tell you.
The business-purpose test still applies
A charity exists to deliver public benefit, but it still trades and still has running costs — working capital, equipment, premises, stock for a trading arm, or bridging a gap while it waits on grant, contract or fundraising income. Those are the kinds of need we can fund. The finance has to be for the organisation's own activity rather than personal use by anyone involved, which is the same standard we set out in what counts as a business purpose when I apply. Your not-for-private-profit status does not change that test in either direction.
What we look at
We assess the organisation as a legal entity. As with any applicant, we check your registration and standing — at Companies House for a charitable company, or with the Charity Commission for a CIO — and we look at the trading and money movement of the borrowing entity. Trustees should make sure that taking on finance is within the charity's powers and consistent with its governing document before applying, since that decision sits with the trustee board, not with us.
How your finance is regulated
Credicorp is an exempt business lender. We lend to incorporated bodies for business purposes, which sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, so the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) do not apply, and we are a lender rather than a broker. We also do not take personal guarantees, so the obligation to repay sits with the charity itself and not with its trustees — the same way we describe in why we do not take a personal guarantee. For more on the basis you would be borrowing on, see what it means that we are an exempt lender.
If you are not certain whether your charity's structure or planned use of funds fits, the quickest check is your incorporation status and a clear note of the business purpose. If anything is still unclear, ask us before you apply and we will tell you where you stand.
See also: Can a newly formed company apply?, Can a co-director apply with me?, Can a company in a CVA or with a repayment plan apply?.