Business loans with poor credit history in Ireland

The Central Credit Register, run by the Central Bank under the Credit Reporting Act 2013, holds factual information about loans but does not score, grade or rate reports. Each lender makes its own decision using the report alongside your accounts, bank statements and other checks.

The CCR covers companies as well as individuals. Lenders report loans of €500 or more, and lenders must check the CCR for applications of €2,000 or more. Lenders that search the CCR leave a record of the enquiry. Not every non-bank lender reports to the CCR, so some finance your company has used may not appear.

A report shows each reported loan with its balance, the number of payments past due, any restructure, and a credit status flag where relevant, such as legal action, a cancelled overdraft, a settlement or write-off, or a repossession. Our guide to checking your company’s CCR report explains how to request it.

How long does information stay on the CCR?

• Repaid, written-off or discharged loans: five years from the date the lender marks the loan as such.
• Defaulted loans: if your company defaults and stops paying, the five-year period does not start to run until the lender closes the loan. The record can stay for as long as the debt is open.
• Loan applications: six months from the date they are entered.
• FootprintsThe record left on a Central Credit Register report each time a lender accesses it, showing the date, the lender and the reason. from lender searches: shown on your report for five years, though a lender searching sees only the last two years.

Directors’ personal reports are separate. Many lenders check them too, especially where a director will give a personal guaranteeA legally binding promise by a director or other individual to repay a company's debt if the company cannot..

The CCR is only part of the picture. Lenders and the business-information services they use also look at:

• Court judgments: the Central Office of the High Court maintains a register of money judgments from the High Court, Circuit Court and District Court. A creditor must apply to register a judgment, and the register can be searched for a fee. An unpaid judgment against your company, or a director, is a serious red flag.
• Revenue’s list of tax defaulters: published every quarter in Iris Oifigiúil under section 1086 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. It includes certain settlements and court-imposed penalties that meet Revenue’s publication criteria.
• Tax clearance: a company without current tax clearance may be refused by many lenders, whatever its CCR report says.
• CROThe State body that registers Irish companies and business names and keeps their public filings, including constitutions, director details, annual returns, financial statements and registered charges. filings: late annual returns, a strike-off warning or a past strike-off and restoration all show up in a company search.
• Insolvency history: an examinership, a Small Company Administrative Rescue ProcessA rescue process for small and micro companies under the Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021. (SCARP) or a past liquidationThe formal process of closing a company, in which a liquidator sells its assets, pays creditors in a set order and dissolves it. of a company the directors ran.
• Your own bank statements: returned direct debits, unpaid items and regular use of the full overdraft tell a lender as much as any register.

Lenders care most about how recent, how large and how resolved a problem is. Roughly in order of how much they weigh:

• Current arrears on any loan, or an unpaid judgmentA court order that a person or company pays a sum of money..
• A loan written off or settled for less than the balance in the last few years.
• Tax debts without a phased payment arrangementAn agreement with Revenue to clear overdue tax in instalments rather than in one lump sum., or no tax clearance.
• An examinership, SCARP or receivership in the recent past.
• Several missed payments that have since been brought up to date.
• A single late payment or a short-lived overdraft excess long ago.

A company that had arrears during a hard year, cleared them, and has traded well since is in a very different position from one with arrears today. Lenders look for an explanation and for evidence that the cause is fixed.

With a weaker record, look for products where the lender relies more on something other than your credit history: an asset, your customers’ invoices or your current sales.

• Asset financeAn umbrella term for funding used to acquire vehicles, plant, machinery, equipment or technology, where the asset itself usually acts as security. and hire purchaseA form of asset finance where the company pays for an asset in instalments, often after a deposit, and takes ownership once the final payment and any option-to-purchase fee are made.: the lender owns the asset until the final payment, which reduces its risk. See asset finance.
• Invoice financeAn umbrella term for funding secured on a company's unpaid invoices, so cash comes in before customers pay.: the lender advances against unpaid invoices to creditworthy business customers, so their payment record matters as much as yours. See invoice finance.
• Merchant cash advanceA form of finance where a provider advances a lump sum in return for a fixed percentage of the company's future card takings until an agreed total is repaid.: repaid from a share of card takings. 365 Finance, for example, says poor credit history isn’t a barrier to receiving funding from it, though it still runs checks and every application is assessed. See merchant cash advance.
• Revenue-based finance: repaid from a share of total revenue, with heavy use of live bank or sales data. See revenue-based finance.
• A smaller amount: borrowing less than you first planned, with a shorter term, can bring a lender within its risk appetite and rebuild a record.
• Adding security: offering a charge over equipment or a director’s guarantee may help, but it moves risk onto the company’s assets or onto you personally. Read our guide to secured vs unsecured business loans first.

These options usually cost more than a mainstream bank loan, and some, such as merchant cash advance, can be expensive when annualised. Compare the total amount repayable, not just the monthly figure. If a bank has already refused your company, our guide to what to do after a bank refusal covers appeals.

Tell them before they find it. A lender that discovers arrears or a judgment you did not mention will often stop there, while one that reads a clear explanation upfront can weigh it fairly. Keep it to a short note, attached to your application, that covers:

• What happened, with dates: for example, a large customer that went into liquidation owing your company money.
• What it cost the company, and how the arrears or debt were dealt with.
• What has changed since, such as new credit control, a broader customer base or a new finance director.
• Evidence: settlement letters, a Revenue phased payment arrangement, or bank statements showing payments made on time since.
• How the new borrowing will be repaid from current trading.

Be accurate. Lenders check what you say against the CCR, court records and your bank statements, and a mismatch does more harm than the original problem.

Does a refused application show on the CCR?

The CCR records applications for loans of €2,000 or more for six months from the date they are entered, and each lender search leaves a footprint. A string of applications in a short period can look like a company under pressure, so space out applications and fix the reason for any refusal before you try again.

What if a director had personal financial difficulty?

Lenders will usually ask about it, especially if that director will give a guarantee. A past personal insolvency arrangement, mortgage arrears or a written-off credit card can weigh on a company application even when the company’s own record is clean. The same approach works: disclose it, explain what happened and show that it is resolved. Where possible, a guarantee from a different director may also be discussed with the lender.

There is no quick fix, but these steps make a real difference over 6 to 12 months:

1. Request your company’s and each director’s CCR report and read every entry.
2. Correct errors. Ask the lender that reported the information to fix it, or apply to the CCR for an amendment. The CCR responds within 20 days, or within 40 days if it needs to contact the lender or ask you for more information.
3. Add an explanatory statement where the facts are right but need context, such as missed payments during a resolved dispute.
4. Clear or agree arrears. A written repayment arrangement with a lender, or a phased payment arrangement with Revenue, shows the problem is being managed.
5. Settle or have marked as satisfied any judgment, and keep the proof.
6. File every CRO annual return and tax return on time from now on.
7. Stop applying for new credit for a while, so fresh footprints do not pile up.
8. Keep the business account in good order: no returned direct debits and no unauthorised overdraft use.

Companies with a weak record are a target for fraudsters. Walk away if anyone:

• Guarantees approval “regardless of credit history”.
• Asks for a fee before a loan is approved, often called an admin or “release” fee.
• Asks you to pay into a personal account or by cryptocurrency or gift card.
• Pressures you to sign the same day, or will not put terms in writing.
• Cannot give a CRO number, a business address and a clear statement of whether it is regulated, which you can check on the Central Bank’s register.

A genuine lender explains its costs in writing before you sign. Welcome Finance never asks for payment upfront.

Our panel of specialist non-bank lenders may be able to help with unsecured and short-term business loans, merchant cash advance and revenue-based finance, which give real weight to current trading. Tell us honestly what is on your company’s record and we will tell you whether our panel is likely to consider it, or where to go instead, before any lender searches the CCR. We cannot promise approval. Start-ups registered as limited companies in Ireland can apply, though most lenders look for some trading history, so options may be fewer for a new company. Sole traders cannot apply through us. We are paid commission by lenders. We do not charge your company a fee and never ask for payment upfront. Welcome Finance is a commercial finance broker, not a lender, and is not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. We work only with companies registered in Ireland (LTD, DAC, PLC or ULC).