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Working capital for the flower shop.
A florist spends before it sells — buckets of stock for a peak, a refit, a chiller that needs replacing. These plain-English notes look at how short-term finance fits a UK florist company, and on every one, the company borrows, never you personally. No personal guarantee.
Few trades feel the gap between money out and money in as sharply as a florist. You buy the flowers at the market, condition them and dress the shop days before the busiest mornings of the year — and the peaks that make the trade are exactly the ones that demand the most cash up front, against stock that will not keep.
Creditcorp is the growing name for the Credicorp group, and Credicorp Limited is the lender behind it. It does one thing: short-term working capital for incorporated UK businesses. This page is a guide, not an application — when you’re ready, applying happens on the lender’s own site, credicorp.co.uk.
Throughout, the borrower is the company — a UK private limited company (Ltd), LLP or PLC — not the director who signs. No personal guarantee, no charge over a home, no personal credit check on a director. These are not personal loans, payday loans or sole-trader finance.
Where the cash-flow gaps come from
For a florist, money tends to leave the business in lumps and return across a few intense days. Four pressure points show up again and again.
Perishable stock bought ahead of a peak
Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day can each make up a large slice of a florist’s year, and both demand a big buy at the wholesale market days beforehand. You commit to roses, foliage and sundries at peak prices, condition them, and hope the weather and the orders land as planned — all while the stock is ticking down its shelf life. The cash goes out first; the takings arrive in a rush, and only if the buy was right.
Shop refits and refreshes
A refit, new display benches, a counter, lighting, signage or a window scheme is a one-off cost with a clear payback: a sharper shop that sells better and photographs well online. But the bill lands all at once, and you often want the work done in a quiet week so it does not cost you trade — which is exactly when takings are lowest.
Chillers, vans and kit
When a chiller or a walk-in cold store fails, it is not optional — fresh flowers do not last without it. A chilled delivery van, a new till or a fresh set of buckets and benches are capital outlays you would rather not pull straight from the float in one go, least of all in the run-up to a peak.
Extra hands and deliveries at the peaks
The big days need temporary staff, extra delivery drivers and longer hours, all paid around the same moment the stock bill falls due. A florist carries that double load — wages and flowers together — right before the takings catch up.
Which kind of finance fits a florist
Three shapes of short-term working capital, and how each tends to land for a flower shop. The detail — amounts, pricing, terms — lives on the products page and with the lender; we won’t quote figures here.
A Business Bridging Loan — for a known, one-off buy
A single lump sum, repaid over a short fixed term. It fits the florist jobs you can put a figure on: a dated peak stock order, a refit, a replacement chiller, a deposit on a delivery van. You know the cost and you can see the takings that will clear it. More on the Bridging Loan →
Credicorp Flex — for the peak-and-quiet rhythm
A revolving facility the company can draw on, repay and draw again. This suits a florist’s natural pattern — drawing hard for Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, weddings and Christmas, then paying down through the quiet weeks between — without arranging fresh finance every season. More on Credicorp Flex →
Credicorp Slice — for a single supplier bill
Spread one wholesaler invoice over a few weeks while the supplier is paid in full today. Handy when a market bill for a peak order lands at an awkward moment and you’d rather smooth it across the selling days that follow. More on Credicorp Slice →
The company borrows — not you
Plenty of florists have already signed personal guarantees they didn’t love — a shop lease, a van finance agreement, a supplier account. The Credicorp model is the other way round: the agreement is between Credicorp Limited and your company, so the finance itself doesn’t add to what’s pinned to your own name.
- No personal guarantee — the company is the borrower, full stop.
- No charge over your home — your house isn’t security for a peak stock buy.
- No personal credit check on a director — the lender looks at the business, not your own file.
- Bodies corporate only — UK Ltd, LLP or PLC, never a sole trader or an individual.
This is exempt business lending under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001, not consumer credit. The full regulatory position is set out on the lending and regulation page, and the company and trade-mark detail behind the group lives on creditcorpgroup.co.uk.
A worked example
An illustration, not a real customer — just to show the shape of it for a florist.
A florist trading as a UK limited company runs a single high-street shop with a small delivery round. In late January the owner needs to commit to a large Valentine’s buy: ordering roses, foliage and sundries in volume at the wholesale market locks in the stock and the best available price, but the bill is due around the buy — days before the orders convert to takings across the fortnight that follows. On top of that, the ageing display chiller is starting to struggle, and replacing it before the rush would be far better than risking a breakdown mid-peak.
Because the need is one-off and the payback is clearly the peak ahead, a fixed-term Business Bridging Loan to the company fits the stock buy and the chiller together: a known sum, repaid over the trading days that earn it back. The agreement is with the company, so the owner gives no personal guarantee and puts no charge over their home. If Mother’s Day a few weeks later also calls for a top-up, a Credicorp Flex facility would let them draw again without starting over.
Florist funding questions
The questions florists ask most. For anything specific to your business, the lender’s team are at credicorp.co.uk.
Can my florist company borrow to buy stock ahead of Valentine’s Day?
Yes — committing to flowers before a peak like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day is one of the most common reasons a florist uses short-term finance. The cash goes out at the wholesale market well before the bouquets sell, so the need is sharply time-boxed. A Business Bridging Loan suits a single, dated buy; Credicorp Flex suits a florist that restocks in waves through the year. Specifics live with the lender at credicorp.co.uk.
Will I have to give a personal guarantee or a charge over my home?
No. Credicorp lends to the company — your UK limited company, LLP or PLC — not to you as a director. There is no personal guarantee, no charge over a home and no personal credit check on a director. For a florist who has already signed personal guarantees for a shop lease or a chiller, keeping the funding itself off your own name is a genuine difference.
Can I use it for a shop refit, a new chiller or a delivery van?
Yes. A refit, a walk-in cold store, fresh display benches, signage or a chilled delivery van are all working-capital uses. Because the cost is known up front and the payback comes from the trade that follows, a fixed-term Bridging Loan often fits a refit cleanly. The lender confirms what suits your case.
My takings swing wildly between the big days and the quiet weeks — does that fit?
It is exactly the pattern this kind of finance is built around. A florist earns much of its year across a handful of dated peaks, then trades quietly in between. A revolving Credicorp Flex facility lets the company draw for a peak and pay down in the calm weeks, rather than arranging fresh finance every season. Talk it through with the team at credicorp.co.uk.
Is this a consumer loan or a payday loan?
Neither. This is business credit to a body corporate, not consumer credit, and it is not for sole traders or anyone borrowing in their own name. Under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001, lending to a UK company sits outside the consumer-credit regime. The full position is set out on the regulation page.
How quickly can funds reach my business account?
That sits with the operating lender, but business loans are typically released to your company bank account on the same working day once the agreement is signed. For florists, where a market price or a peak window can be short-lived, that speed is usually the point. Apply or check timing at credicorp.co.uk.
More general questions are answered on the FAQ, there are guides over on Learn, and the whole journey is on the how-it-works overview.
Related sectors
Florists share a lot of their cash-flow shape with their high-street and event-trade neighbours.
- Retail & shops — the same stock-ahead-of-a-season gap, with a fit-out and tills to fund.
- Events & entertainment — wedding and occasion work, paying out before the event invoices land.
- E-commerce & online — online flower orders, with stock and delivery to fund ahead of a peak.
Or browse the whole set on the industries hub. Company and legal detail for the group lives on creditcorpgroup.co.uk.
Ready when you are
Whatever your flower shop needs funding for, applying, drawing down and managing your account all happen on the lender’s site, credicorp.co.uk.