Yes, in principle. A company limited by guarantee (often shortened to CLG) is an incorporated body corporate registered at Companies House, so it can apply to Credicorp in the same way as a company limited by shares, provided the borrowing is for a genuine business purpose. What matters to us is the legal form of the borrower and what the money is for — not whether the company has shareholders or members. This sits right alongside the entity types covered in which business types can apply to Credicorp.
Where it sits on the body-corporate boundary
The line we draw is between an incorporated body that can borrow in its own name and an unincorporated one that cannot. A company limited by guarantee falls firmly on the incorporated side. Instead of shares and shareholders, it has members who each agree to contribute a fixed, usually nominal, amount towards the company's debts if it is wound up — that guarantee is the only thing the "limited by guarantee" label describes. The company still has its own company number, registered office and statutory accounts at Companies House, and it is still a separate legal person from its members and directors. That separate legal personality is exactly what we rely on when we lend.
Common forms this covers
A guarantee company is the usual structure for organisations that are not run for the private profit of owners but still trade and still incur costs. You will often see it used by:
- Membership bodies, trade associations and professional institutes.
- Sports, social and community clubs that have incorporated.
- Social enterprises and not-for-profit ventures that have not taken charitable or CIC status.
- Management companies for property or shared facilities.
Two related forms have their own guidance because they layer extra rules on top of the guarantee structure: a community interest company, covered in whether a CIC or community interest company can apply, and a charitable company limited by guarantee, covered in whether a charity or charitable company can apply. If your company is a plain guarantee company with neither of those overlays, this page is the one that applies to you.
The business-purpose test still applies
Being limited by guarantee, and often not-for-private-profit, does not change what the money can be used for. The finance has to be for the company's own commercial activity — working capital, equipment, premises, stock, or bridging a gap while you wait on membership, contract or grant income — rather than personal use by anyone involved. That is the same standard we set out in what counts as a business purpose when I apply, and it applies in exactly the same way to a guarantee company as to any other limited company.
How we assess a guarantee company
We look at the company as a legal entity, not at the members behind it. As with any applicant, we check your registration and standing at Companies House and we look at the trading and money movement of the borrowing entity. Because there are no shares, decision-making sits with the members and the board under the company's articles, so it is worth confirming that taking on finance is within the company's powers and properly authorised before you apply. We do not take a personal guarantee from directors or members, so the obligation to repay sits with the company itself, the same way we describe in why we do not take a personal guarantee.
How your finance is regulated
Credicorp is an exempt business lender. We lend to incorporated bodies — including companies limited by guarantee — for business purposes, which sits outside the FCA consumer-credit regime. That means the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) do not apply, and we are a lender rather than a broker. For more on the basis you would be borrowing on, see what it means that we are an exempt lender.
If you are not sure whether your guarantee company's structure or planned use of funds fits, the quickest check is your Companies House registration 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?.