Funding your franchise, without being tied to the franchisor's own lender

No — and this is the most important thing to understand before you start your funding search. A franchisor's "approved" or "preferred" lender arrangement exists because that lender has paid for the relationship or the referral, not because it represents the best deal available to you in the market. You are under no obligation to use it. As an independent broker, Sorbus Finance can consider options from its panel of 150+ lenders, including lenders the franchisor may not have a relationship with, to identify potential funding for your situation.

Yes. The established brand's trading record is one of the key factors lenders use to assess a new franchise application — it compensates for the fact that the individual franchisee has no trading history in this business. Lenders familiar with franchise lending understand that a first-time franchisee in a well-established franchise network is a different risk profile from a cold start-up. The individual's personal credit, sector experience, and contribution still matter, but the franchise brand does significant work.

Typically 20–30% of the total investment (franchise fee, fit-out, equipment, and working capital) from the applicant's own funds. Some franchise brands attract more favourable terms from lenders familiar with the network — deposit requirements can be lower for franchises with strong lender track records. The total investment figure varies enormously: from under £50,000 for a simple service franchise to several hundred thousand for a food or retail franchise with premises.

Yes — and existing franchisees expanding to additional units often find the lending easier, not harder. A proven track record in the network, demonstrated profitability in existing units, and familiarity with the franchise system all make the case to a lender stronger. We work with both first-unit and multi-unit franchisees and will structure the funding to reflect your specific stage.

Franchise finance can be structured to cover the initial franchise fee paid to the franchisor, the fit-out and refurbishment costs for the premises, equipment and fixtures, the working capital needed to trade through the first months before the business reaches break-even, and vehicle or asset finance if the business model requires it. Not all of these need to come from a single facility — we may recommend a combination of products depending on the amounts and timings involved.