For a haulage operator, a coach firm, a plant-hire business, or a farm, fuel is often the single largest variable cost — and its price moves week to week. Buying in bulk lets you fill a yard tank, fix a forward price, or stock up before a busy run, but it ties up a large lump of cash in one go. A Credicorp loan can fund that forward purchase so a price opportunity or a contract commitment does not depend on the timing of your incoming receipts.
When a bulk purchase makes sense
Buying ahead is a working-capital decision, not just a procurement one. It tends to pay off when:
- You can agree a fixed or bulk-rate price that beats buying little and often at the pump.
- You have a confirmed contract or season of work that will consume the fuel within a known window.
- You have the storage — a bunded tank, agreed terms with a supplier, or a hedged delivery — to take the volume safely.
- The saving on the price, less the cost of borrowing, leaves you genuinely better off.
Work out the real saving
The case rests on numbers, so do the sum before you commit. Compare the bulk price against what you would otherwise pay across the same period, then subtract the cost of the funding over the term. If the contract that justifies the purchase is itself the thing being paid late, treat that gap as part of the picture — the loan is bridging your short-term cashflow gap as much as it is buying fuel. The same logic applies to a forward block of electricity or gas where a fixed-price window is on the table.
Match the loan to the burn
Fuel is consumed steadily, so size and structure the borrowing to how you will use it. A one-off tank fill or a single season's stock is a defined need that suits Credicorp Slice, repaid over a set term. A rolling pattern — drawing down as you top up across a longer run of contracts — suits Credicorp Flex, where you draw and repay against a limit. Either way, line your repayments up with the revenue the fuel helps you earn, rather than letting the cost sit on the books long after the diesel is gone.
Sensible safeguards
- Only buy volume you can store and use before it is a liability — do not over-order to chase a headline price.
- Get the supplier price and delivery terms confirmed in writing before drawing the funds.
- Keep a buffer for a customer who settles late, so a single slow payer does not strand the purchase.
- Remember fuel duty and reclaim rules differ by use; budget on the net cost that actually applies to your operation.
This is the same working-capital case behind funding import orders and shipping and keeping general working capital healthy — and it sits naturally alongside expanding a delivery fleet, where fuel is the running cost behind the vehicles. If a bulk buy would stretch you rather than steady you, read our note on the responsible use of cashflow finance first.
Borrowing terms
Credicorp lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs for business purposes. The loan is to your company, with no personal guarantees from directors. Repay on the agreed term at the rate shown in your offer.
Credicorp is an exempt business lender outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, so the Financial Ombudsman Service and FSCS do not apply.
See also: Bridging a late CIS or VAT refund, Bridging an R&D tax credit claim, Bridging the gap between one contract ending and the next starting.