If you are arranging a corporate loan, refinancing existing borrowing or have been asked by your lender to appoint a solicitor, we can help you complete the legal work, protect your interests and secure the release of funds.
Corporate borrowing often involves much more than agreeing the loan amount and repayment terms. Your lender may require extensive checks on your business, its finances, contracts, assets and existing liabilities, as well as loan agreements, debentures, guarantees and other security documents.
Some lenders will not proceed unless you have your own solicitor. If their requirements are not anticipated and addressed properly, your funding could be delayed or even put at risk.
At Taylor Rose, our experienced corporate solicitors help you review and negotiate borrowing documents, deal with lender requirements and resolve legal obstacles to completion.
We understand that speed, commercial practicality and proportionate legal fees matter when your business needs funding. Our established corporate team provides experienced advice at competitive rates, focusing on the issues that genuinely matter to your transaction.
For assistance, contact our corporate team or visit our Business Borrowing Solicitors service page.
When might you need a corporate loan solicitor?
You may need our help if:
Your lender requires legal representation: You have agreed the finance but need a solicitor to complete documentation, provide confirmations or satisfy conditions before funds are released.
You have received a loan agreement: You want to understand the obligations, restrictions and risks before signing.
Your lender wants a debenture or other security: You need advice on which assets are being secured and the consequences of default.
You have been asked for a personal guarantee: You want to understand your personal exposure and whether the guarantee can be limited.
You are refinancing existing borrowing: You need to deal with existing security, lender consents and replacement finance.
You are arranging a loan with a director, shareholder or another company: You need appropriate documentation to protect your interests.
We can assist with an individual document or manage the legal work for a more complex borrowing transaction.
Meeting your lender's requirements and securing your funds
Some commercial lenders will not proceed with your loan unless you appoint your own solicitor. Others may impose extensive legal, financial and commercial requirements before releasing the funds.
Even if your loan has been approved in principle, you may still have considerable work to do. Your lender may investigate your company's finances, contracts, assets, existing liabilities and ability to repay the borrowing.
If you are not properly prepared, these requirements can delay access to much-needed funds or, in some circumstances, jeopardise the loan altogether.
What might your lender require?
Depending on the lender, the size of the loan and its purpose, you may be asked to provide or address:
Financial position and ability to service the loan: Accounts, management information, cash-flow forecasts, existing debt commitments and evidence that your business can meet repayments and interest obligations.
Commercial contracts and income: Key customer and supplier agreements, recurring revenue arrangements, leases and other contracts that support your company's income or affect its financial commitments. Your lender may also investigate termination rights, change-of-control provisions or other contractual risks.
Existing borrowing and liabilities: Details of other loans, guarantees, charges and financial obligations, including whether existing agreements restrict further borrowing or require consent.
Assets and security: Evidence of ownership, valuations, property titles, existing charges and the assets available to secure the loan.
Loan and security documentation: Facility agreements, debentures, legal charges, personal guarantees and other documents that must be agreed and executed.
Company structure and approvals: Ownership information, constitutional documents, board resolutions and any necessary shareholder approvals.
Legal and regulatory compliance: Relevant licences, permissions, insurance, regulatory obligations and material disputes or litigation affecting your business.
Due diligence and verification: Information about directors, shareholders, beneficial owners, the business and the proposed use of funds.
Legal confirmations and conditions precedent: Certificates, opinions, consents and other requirements that must be satisfied before the lender is obliged to advance the money.
The extent of these requirements can vary significantly. A straightforward unsecured loan may involve relatively limited checks, while substantial secured borrowing or acquisition finance can require extensive due diligence.
How we can help you prepare and avoid delays
You may only discover the full extent of your lender's requirements after agreeing the main commercial terms.
For example, your lender may identify a restriction in an important contract, question whether your company can take on additional borrowing, require the release of an existing charge or request evidence of ownership of an asset.
Some problems are straightforward to resolve. Others may require negotiations, third-party consents, changes to the proposed security or additional financial information.
We can identify and address legal and contractual issues early, coordinate the necessary documentation and liaise with your lender's solicitors to keep the transaction moving.
Where financial forecasts, valuations or accounting evidence are required, we can work alongside your accountants and other advisers.
We can also advise whether particular lender requirements are negotiable or whether alternative arrangements may be appropriate.
Why choose us?
When you need business finance, you want lawyers who understand commercial pressures, identify genuine risks and progress the transaction without unnecessary work or delay.
Our corporate team offers:
Highly experienced commercial lawyers: We advise on business borrowing, commercial contracts, corporate transactions and security arrangements.
Practical, proportionate advice: We focus on material risks and realistic solutions rather than negotiating every provision regardless of its significance.
Competitive fees: We aim to provide experienced legal advice at rates that are competitive for the level of expertise involved.
Clear costs and scope: We discuss the work required, likely fees and timescales at the outset, including whether your needs can be addressed through a limited document review.
Efficient transaction management: We understand the importance of meeting lender deadlines and resolving obstacles promptly.
Broader commercial expertise: Where your borrowing involves property, acquisitions, restructuring or other business matters, we can draw on relevant specialists across the firm.
With a substantial presence in London, the South East and East of England, including Peterborough, and offices in other regions, we advise businesses across England and Wales.
Reviewing and negotiating corporate loan agreements
Your corporate loan agreement sets out more than the amount borrowed and repayment schedule.
It may contain obligations that restrict your company's activities, create additional liabilities or allow the lender to demand early repayment.
We can review and advise you on:
Repayment terms: Payment dates, early repayment rights, charges and interest provisions.
Financial covenants: Requirements to maintain financial ratios or other financial measures.
Business restrictions: Limits on additional borrowing, asset disposals, dividends or changes to your business.
Events of default: Circumstances in which the lender can demand repayment or enforce security.
Cross-default provisions: Whether difficulties with other borrowing arrangements could trigger a default.
Reporting obligations: Financial statements, management information and other documents you must provide.
Guarantees and security: The extent of the lender's rights against your company, its assets and any guarantors.
What can be negotiated?
Some lenders use standard documents with limited flexibility. Others may be prepared to negotiate important provisions.
We can advise whether changes to financial covenants, default provisions, repayment rights, security or guarantees are realistic and worthwhile.
The objective is to protect you against material risks without unnecessarily delaying the finance.
For more information, see our Loan Agreement Solicitors service page.
Debentures and security for corporate loans
If your lender requires a debenture, it is important to understand exactly what security your company is granting.
A debenture commonly creates fixed and floating charges over company assets. Depending on its terms, these may include property, equipment, stock, receivables and other business assets.
This can give your lender significant rights if your company defaults.
We can help you understand:
Which assets are covered by the debenture.
Whether it restricts selling assets or taking on further borrowing.
How it interacts with existing loans and security.
When your lender may enforce its rights.
Whether the scope of security can be negotiated or limited.
How security will be released when the borrowing is repaid.
We can also assist with preparing or reviewing security documents, coordinating execution and dealing with applicable Companies House registration requirements.
If your lender has sent you a debenture to sign, we can review it, explain the implications and advise on any changes worth requesting.
Personal guarantees for corporate loans
Your lender may ask you, as a director or shareholder, to provide a personal guarantee for your company's borrowing.
This can expose you to personal liability if the company fails to repay the loan, potentially putting your own assets at risk.
Before signing, you should understand:
Whether your liability is limited or unlimited.
Whether the guarantee covers future borrowing.
When the lender can demand payment.
Whether you remain liable after leaving the business.
Whether the guarantee is supported by security over personal assets.
We can review the proposed guarantee, explain the risks and advise whether a financial cap or other limitation may be negotiated.
If your lender requires independent legal advice, we can discuss appropriate arrangements, including any need for separate representation.
Refinancing existing corporate borrowing
If you are refinancing an existing loan, the legal work may be more involved than signing a new facility agreement.
You may need to repay existing borrowing, obtain consent from current lenders, release old charges and put new security arrangements in place.
We can help you:
Review the proposed refinancing terms.
Identify restrictions under existing facilities.
Negotiate amendments where appropriate.
Arrange the release or replacement of security.
Deal with lender consents and priority arrangements.
Coordinate the legal steps required for completion.
Where your company is experiencing financial pressure, we can also advise on relevant restructuring and insolvency issues.
How much do you charge?
We recognise that legal costs need to be proportionate to the borrowing and the work involved.
A straightforward review of a loan agreement or debenture may require relatively limited work. A larger transaction involving negotiations, multiple security documents, existing lenders or property security will generally involve more.
Our fees are competitive for the level of experience we offer, and we aim to keep the work focused on what is necessary to protect your position and complete the transaction.
We will discuss the likely scope, fees and timescales with you at the outset. Where the work is sufficiently defined, we can discuss whether an agreed fee is appropriate.
You should also check whether your lender requires you to pay or contribute towards its own legal costs.
