Yes. Trade shows and exhibitions front-load nearly all their costs — stand design, build, transport, hotel, and staff — weeks or months before you write a single order. Short-term business finance lets you commit to a prime pitch without draining working capital in the run-up.
What costs typically need covering?
- Stand design, fabrication, and dressing
- Floor-space deposit and exhibitor fees (often due six months ahead)
- Logistics, freight, and on-site services
- Staff travel, accommodation, and subsistence
- Pre-show marketing collateral and branded merchandise
Which product fits?
A Credicorp Business Loan works well when the total spend is known and one-off: borrow a fixed sum, cover the show, then repay from the orders or leads that follow. If you exhibit regularly throughout the year, Credicorp Flex (a revolving credit facility) lets you draw what you need for each event and repay between shows, keeping the line available for next time. For a single large supplier invoice — say, the stand builder's final bill — Credicorp Slice spreads that cost over three or four weekly instalments at a flat 6% fee.
Things to think through
Tie the repayment timeline to realistic pipeline conversion, not best-case scenario. If leads typically close over ninety days, structure the term to match. Exhibition ROI can be lumpy, so avoid over-committing to a repayment schedule that assumes the first order lands the week the show closes.
We lend only to UK limited companies and LLPs, and the loan is to the company with no director personal guarantee. As business finance outside the consumer-credit regime, it is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS.
See also: Bridging an R&D tax credit refund with short-term finance, Funding a company rebrand with short-term business finance.