Timings below assume a complete pack and prompt answers. The single biggest variable in any facility is how quickly questions come back, and that side is yours.
The six stages
Structured lending is not an application form. It is a sequence of conversations in which the structure is built, and each stage exists to remove a specific uncertainty.
1. Introduction
What you are trying to do, the amount in mind and the timescale. No documents yet. We will tell you at this stage if it is not something we can fund.
2. Information pack
Accounts, management information, forecasts, the business case and the group structure. This is where most of your effort goes.
3. Indicative term sheet
Amount, structure, indicative pricing, likely covenants and security. Not committed, but a real basis for a decision.
4. Credit approval
Full assessment by people who were not in the room for the sales conversation. Expect substantive questions.
5. Documentation and conditions
Facility agreement drafted, security prepared and registered, conditions precedent satisfied.
6. Drawdown
Funds released against the agreed schedule, in full or in tranches as the structure provides.
| Stage | Typically takes | Depends mostly on |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Days | Diary availability. |
| Information pack | 1 to 3 weeks | How ready your management information already is. |
| Term sheet | 1 to 2 weeks | Complexity of the structure. |
| Credit approval | 2 to 4 weeks | Speed of answers to underwriter questions. |
| Documentation | 2 to 6 weeks | Security type and how many parties are involved. |
| Drawdown | Days | Conditions precedent being satisfied. |
What goes in the information pack
- Three years of filed accounts, plus current management accounts.
- An integrated forecast: profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow, monthly for at least two years.
- The business case for the money, with the assumptions stated separately from the arithmetic.
- A sensitivity analysis showing what happens if the central case is wrong.
- Group structure, ownership and details of every existing facility and charge.
- For an acquisition: the target accounts, the heads of terms and any due diligence already done.
Show the downside case yourself
A forecast where everything goes right invites scepticism. One that shows what happens if revenue lands twenty per cent low, and still services the debt, is the strongest thing you can put in the pack.
What actually causes delay
| Cause | How to avoid it |
|---|---|
| Management accounts months out of date | Bring them current before stage two rather than during stage four. |
| Forecasts that do not tie to the accounts | Reconcile the opening position before submitting. This is the commonest single query. |
| Undisclosed existing security | List every charge, including ones you believe were released. We will find them anyway. |
| Slow answers to underwriter questions | Nominate one person to own responses. Same-day answers can remove weeks. |
| Ownership that is hard to verify | Have identity evidence for every beneficial owner ready at the start. |
| Conditions precedent left to the end | Work the list in parallel with drafting, not after it. |
After drawdown
- Reporting
- Management accounts and a compliance certificate on the agreed cycle. Late reporting is itself a breach, even when the numbers are fine.
- Covenant testing
- Measured on the defined dates against the defined figures. Model the tests yourself before each date.
- Relationship review
- A scheduled review of the facility, the structure and what is coming next.
- Further tranches
- Released against milestones set in the agreement, not renegotiated each time.
- Amendments
- Structures change as businesses do. Raise it early; a planned amendment is routine, an urgent one is not.
Documents you may also need
Growth Facility Types
Acquisition finance, expansion capital, capex funding and structured facilities — what each is for, how it is secured and how it is repaid.
Working CapitalWorking Capital Eligibility
What we look for before approving a facility: trading history, turnover, cash flow quality and the security position — published so you can check before you apply.
Business CheckingGlobal Entity
Institutional infrastructure for groups: multi-currency settlement, cross-entity visibility, structured limits and a dedicated CFO contact.
This document was last updated on 1 August 2026. We publish the current version here at all times; superseded versions are available on request.
If anything on this page is unclear, write to us and we will explain it.