Many or all of the products and brands we promote and feature including our ‘Partner Spotlights’ are from our partners who compensate us. However, this does not influence our editorial opinion found in articles, reviews and our ‘Best’ tables. Our opinion is our own. Read more on our methodology here.
TSB offers a range of lending options to suit different business needs, including fixed- and variable rate business loans. Customers must have a TSB business current account account to take out a small loan or business overdraft. For larger business loans (that don’t relate to borrowing for a franchise), customers will need to open a loan servicing account to make repayments.
Business customers may also be able to get other lending products through TSB, such as a business credit card or commercial mortgage, as well as access to funding from other lenders through TSB’s partnership with credit broker Funding Options.
TSB Base Rate Business Loan
Available on application
£25,001 – £1,000,000
1 – 25 years
Available on application
NerdWallet's Review Summary
TSB’s lending options can suit several different business needs, including fixed- and variable rate business loans for small businesses. If you want to apply, you will usually need to have a TSB business current account to take out a small business loan. To find out more, read NerdWallet’s TSB Business Loans Review.
TSB business loans key features:
- Interest options: Borrowers can choose between a fixed-rate loan and a variable interest rate loan, known as a ‘base rate loan’.
- Secured or unsecured: Secured and unsecured business loans are available as both fixed- and variable rate products.
- Variable term lengths: Repayment periods of TSB loans can vary based on the type of loan chosen.
- Repayment holidays: You may be eligible for repayment holidays on a TSB business loan. Bear in mind that you will still accrue interest when you take a break from your repayments, so you will pay more interest overall.
NerdWallet's Pros & Cons
Pros
- TSB’s fixed-rate loan offers flexible loan terms of between one and 10 years. (Its base rate loan offers loans of up to 25 years).
- You can access customer service agents over the phone or face to face in a branch in England, Scotland and Wales.
- You can borrow from £1,000 up to £1 million with its fixed-rate loan (or from £25,001 to a potentially unlimited amount with its base rate loan).
Cons
- You will generally have to open a business current account to be eligible for a small business loan.
- Although TSB has a dedicated business app, customers can’t review their loan on it (this can be done via internet banking).
- There are no 24/7 customer service options for business loan customers.
- Break costs may be applied if you repay part of all of a fixed-rate loan before the end of the agreed term. This does not apply to base rate loans.
NerdWallet has partnered with Funding Options. Check your eligibility with this lender and many others without affecting your credit score.
Learn more about how we bring you our review.
Key features
- Interest optionsChoose between a fixed-rate loan and a variable interest rate loan, known as a ‘base rate loan’.
- Choice of securityTSB offers secured and unsecured business loans on both fixed- and variable rate products, depending on your business circumstances and the type of loan chosen.
- Term lengthsThere are several options available, depending on the type of loan chosen.
- Repayment holidaysDepending on your eligibility, repayment holidays may be available if you are taking out a business loan.
TSB business loans pros & cons
Pros
- TSB offers flexible loan terms of between one and 10 years (fixed-rate loan) or up to 25 years (base rate loan)
- You can access customer service agents over the phone or face to face in a branch in England, Scotland and Wales.
- You can borrow from £1,000 up to £1 million (fixed-rate loan), or from £25,001 to a potentially very high amount (base rate loan). There is no upper ceiling stated.
- Access to web-based support for some queries via an automated chat bot in the app.
Cons
- Although TSB has a dedicated business app, customers can’t review their loan on it (but this can be done via internet banking).
- TSB has no branches in Northern Ireland.
- There are no 24/7 customer service options for business loan customers.
- Break costs may be applied if you repay part of all of a fixed-rate loan before the end of the agreed term. This does not apply to base rate loans.
The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert, research-based opinions and an exclusive survey of UK business owners and decision makers. The survey was conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in December 2022 to identify the business loans features that people feel are most important. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal and business circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.
TSB business loans full review
TSB is a retail bank offering personal and business banking services across the UK. It is part of the Spanish banking group Sabadell and has a heritage going back to the beginning of the savings bank movement 200 years ago.
TSB offers a range of business finance products, including commercial mortgages, overdrafts and loans. It offers two categories of loan: fixed and base rate.
Fixed-rate business loans
With a fixed-rate loan from TSB, you can currently borrow from between £1,000 and £1 million over a period of between one and 10 years.
Secured and unsecured fixed-rate loans may be available, depending on eligibility. With a secured loan, you will have to put up an asset such as a property as ‘security’, which may be repossessed and sold by the lender if you cannot keep up with your repayments.
As this type of loan has a fixed interest rate, your repayments will be the same each month for the whole loan term. You’ll also be charged an arrangement fee, which can be up to 1.5% depending on the amount you borrow.
You can repay your loan early, but you may be charged a break fee if you make early repayments (in part or in full) on a fixed-rate loan of over £25,000. Repayment holidays may also be available.
Base rate business loans
With a base rate loan from TSB, you may be able to borrow any amount from £25,001 upwards, over a term of between one and 25 years.
The interest rate on TSB’s base rate loan is variable and linked to the Bank of England base rate. This means that the rate you pay will change in line with changes to the base rate and could go up or down during the loan term.
In addition, you’ll be charged an arrangement fee for the loan which can be up to 1.5% of the borrowable amount, depending on how much you borrow.
You may be required to provide security for the loan, such as your home or other high-value asset, which could be repossessed and sold by the bank if you fail to keep up repayments on your business loan.
TSB business loans: at a glance
| Amount borrowable | From £25,001 upwards (base rate loan)£1,000 to £1 million (fixed-rate loan) |
| Term length | One to 25 years (base rate loan)One to 10 years (fixed-rate loan) |
| Web-based customer service | X (formerly Twitter) #LifeMadeMore,7am to 10pm, Monday to friday, 8am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday)App chat |
| UK customer service number | 0345 835 3858 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm |
| App | Yes (iOS and Android) |
| Face-to-face customer service | Yes |
| Access to loans without pre-existing account | Yes, for non-franchised loans via TSB’s new business team |
Where TSB business loans stands out
Customer reviews: TSB has a ‘great’ rating on Trustpilot, which can be rare for high street banks.
Term lengths: Business loans from TSB have a range of term lengths, from one to 10 years for fixed-rate loans and one to 25 years for base rate loans.
Amount borrowable: You can borrow a minimum of £1,000 and up to £1 million with a fixed rate loan from TSB and a potentially unlimited amount with the base rate loan (though this has a minimum loan amount of £25,001).
Loan management: You can view and manage your business loan repayments via TSB’s internet banking, over the phone or in a branch (if you’re based in England, Scotland or Wales), but not on its business mobile app.
Where TSB business loans fall short
Break costs: If you repay part of or all of a fixed rate loan before the end of the agreed term, you may be subject to break costs.
Regional access: While you can apply for TSB’s lending products if your business is based in Northern Ireland, there are no branches there so you won’t be able to get face-to-face support.
Customer service: TSB agents are not available for over the phone support 24/7, only Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm.
TSB business loans customer reviews
TSB has a ‘great’ Trustpilot rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 19,700 reviews. However, it’s important to note that this rating is for TSB in general and not specifically for its business loans.
TSB offers a business mobile app, which has positive reviews with a rating of:
- 4.8 out of 5 based on over 19,200 reviews on the App Store
- 4.7 out of 5 based on over 7,000 reviews on Google Play.
This information is correct as of 29 August 2023.
TSB business loans eligibility
To be eligible for apply for a TSB business loan, you must:
- be at least 18 years old
- be a sole trader, partner in a partnership or the director of a company
- run a business based in the UK
- need the loan for business use only
If you have questions about the eligibility criteria and whether your business meets them, you can contact the lender directly.
How to apply for a TSB business loan
To apply for a business loan, you can call TSB on 0345 835 3858. This phone line is open 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and 9am to 2pm on Saturday.
Before calling, it’s a good idea to check out TSB’s loan application checklist on its website, to give you an idea of the information it will need to collect from you. This may include the following:
- Details about your borrowing needs: How much you want to borrow, your desired term length, the reason for the loan, how you intend to fund your repayments.
- Details about your business: Your business history, the experience of the directors, how much you have invested in the business, any other borrowing.
- Other information: Business plans, cash flow forecasts, details of income streams, profit and loss sheets, balance sheets.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
While we try to provide you with accurate information, the providers can change the terms of their products at any time, therefore it is advisable to check the terms before you proceed.
You can view our full review methodology here.