Lending criteria
If you are an established SME based in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber looking for funding from £100,000 to £2million, Mercia Business Loans could help.
- West Midlands, Yorkshire or Humber based
- Established & growing SME
- Loans between £100,000 - £2million
- Case-by-case decisions
- Largely sector agnostic
Start with the numbers
92
SMEs funded
£ 36 m
Deployed to date (September 2026)
£ 366 k
Average loan size
£ 19 m
Co-investment attracted alongside NPIF II and MEIF II investment
A quick fit check
Let’s make sure we’re right for each other.
No long forms before you know whether we can help. A few simple things tell us whether it’s worth having a conversation.
You’re an SME
An established SME with strong trading.
You have a clear plan
You know what the funding is for and what it will help the business achieve.
Your business can support the borrowing
Your plan and financials demonstrate that the business can comfortably meet repayments.
You have the right team
A management team that knows the business, knows the numbers and can answer the key questions
UNCOMPLICATED PROCESS
From hello to funded
Every deal is different. We don’t set artificial timelines. We’ll move as quickly as the deal, and you, allow.
1
Conversation
Today
Tell us about your business, where you’re going and what you need. We’ll quickly work out whether there’s a potential fit.
2
Indicative
1 week
We’ll set out what we believe we can offer and the likely terms, so that you know what you’re working with.
3
Diligence
2-5 weeks
We get into the detail of the business, the numbers, the plan and the information we need to understand the deal properly.
4
Approval
8 weeks
We bring everything together and take the deal through our approval process.
5
Go
Documents signed. Funds released. You make your move.
You set the pace.
Your move
Give us the right information at the right time and we’ll move as quickly as you can.
Our business loans
Three ways we lend.
One real conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mercia Business Loans supports growing and established SMEs across the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber with funding from £100,000 to £2million, helping ambitious management teams with their growth plans.
Frontier Development Capital is part of Mercia Asset Management PLC and deploys the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF II) to established SME businesses, offering business loans between £100,000 and £2million.
Mercia Business Loans deploys across the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber regions via the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF II) and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF II) funds respectively.
The funding can be used in a variety of different ways including working capital, recruiting new teams, launching a new product or service, new larger premises, purchasing new machinery and equipment, acquisitions, and supporting share transactions such as management buyouts and management buy-ins (the latter by exception).
You can’t use the funding to refinance existing borrowing.
At Mercia Business Loans, we take a commercial view at any transaction and will consider this as part of our overall assessment. Our investment decisions are made in person by an Investment Manager and very experienced business lenders, and our decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
NPIF II and MEIF II funding is suitable for:
- SMEs based in Yorkshire, the Humber or the West Midlands
- Established and growing businesses that can demonstrate profitability and/or strong forward cashflows
Our investment decisions are made in person by an Investment Manager and very experienced business lenders, and our decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
Our investment decisions are made in person by an Investment Manager and very experienced business lenders, and our decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. In most cases, due diligence will be carried out in-house by our investment team.
At Mercia Business Loans we know every business is different. Depending on the complexity of the business, your Investment Manager will outline what information is required to progress your application. Common financials which we would require include financial accounts, management accounts and budgets.
You can contact us through our application form here (insert link) or by emailing marketing@mercia.co.uk