A soft search retrieves a snapshot of your company's credit profile — payment history, outstanding credit, public filings, and similar data — without recording a visible footprint on the file that other lenders or creditors can see. Only your company can see that a soft search was made.
What information a soft search covers
- County Court Judgements (CCJs) registered against the company.
- Current credit facilities and outstanding balances reported to business credit agencies.
- Payment performance indicators where available.
- Companies House status: active, dissolved, or struck off.
- Director and officer information cross-referenced against public registers.
It does not give us access to your bank account or tax records — those are provided separately by you as part of the application.
When does a hard search happen?
If you proceed beyond the initial assessment and we issue a formal credit decision, a hard search may be recorded. We will tell you clearly before this happens. A hard search is visible to other lenders and remains on your company's credit file for a period, so it is worth being selective about full applications. Our soft-search stage is specifically designed to let you explore your options without that commitment.
Does a soft search affect your credit score?
No. A soft search has no effect on your company's credit score or rating. You can go through our initial eligibility check repeatedly without any impact on your file.
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: What strengthens a Credicorp application?, How long does a Credicorp approval decision last?, Can I apply if my company has a short trading history?