Common funding needs in the saas and digital sector
- Funding paid acquisition to accelerate ARR growth
- Bridging the gap between annual customer billing and monthly costs
- Hiring engineering and go-to-market teams ahead of revenue
- International market entry costs
- Acquisition of a smaller competitor or complementary product
- Smoothing seasonal subscription billing patterns
Finance types that usually fit
Based on how UK lenders typically underwrite this sector, the following finance categories are the most common fit:
Revenue-Based Finance
Growth capital repaid flexibly against future revenue.
Unsecured Business Loan
Term loan or credit line repaid through fixed instalments.
Business Credit Card
Revolving credit/charge card for expenses and short-term spend.
Sector-specific eligibility blockers
- Pre-revenue or very early-stage businesses fall below lender thresholds
- High churn or weak net revenue retention reduces advance size
- Concentration on one or two enterprise customers
- Cash burn far exceeding revenue makes affordability harder to underwrite
- Non-standard revenue recognition complicates lender models
How routing usually works in saas and digital
SaaS routing usually starts with revenue-based finance because the integrations (Stripe, GoCardless, billing platforms) are mature and underwriting is quick. Wayflyer, Outfund and Nucleus are the leading UK providers. Established SaaS businesses with 12+ months of MRR can also access unsecured term debt from iwoca and Funding Circle. Cards from Capital on Tap or American Express cover team expenses and software stack. Larger venture-debt-style facilities sit outside the SME pool covered here and route to specialist VC-debt providers; Lendrly does not include those in the database.
UK lenders active in saas and digital
The lenders below publish criteria consistent with funding businesses in this sector. Final approval is always subject to lender underwriting.
Wayflyer
Revenue-based funding
- Amount
- Up to £1m SMB; up to £20m broader platform
- Speed
- 24–48h decision; funds in 24h
- Security / PG
- No PG promoted on SMB page
- Data confidence
- High
Outfund
Growth funding
- Amount
- $35k–$13m surfaced
- Speed
- Offer ~24h
- Security / PG
- Not disclosed
- Data confidence
- Low / needs UK confirmation
Nucleus
Revenue-based loan
- Amount
- Up to £300k; up to 200% monthly revenue
- Speed
- Rapid decision
- Security / PG
- Not disclosed
- Data confidence
- High
iwoca
Business loan / credit line
- Amount
- £1k–£1m
- Speed
- Instant/same-day for many
- Security / PG
- Unsecured positioning
- Data confidence
- High
Kriya
Selective invoice finance
- Amount
- Up to 90% invoice advance
- Speed
- Within 24h advertised
- Security / PG
- Invoice-backed
- Data confidence
- Medium
Capital on Tap
Business credit card
- Amount
- Up to £250k
- Speed
- Often same-day decision
- Security / PG
- No unsatisfied CCJs in last 12 months; director/shareholder test
- Data confidence
- High
American Express
Business card / charge card
- Amount
- Not disclosed
- Speed
- Not disclosed
- Security / PG
- Credit assessment
- Data confidence
- Medium
Frequently asked questions
- Can a SaaS business get non-dilutive funding?
- Yes. Revenue-based finance from Wayflyer, Outfund and Nucleus provides growth capital repaid as a share of revenue without giving up equity. It typically suits businesses with at least £20–50k MRR and 6+ months of consistent revenue.
- What metrics do SaaS lenders look at?
- Monthly recurring revenue (MRR), annual recurring revenue (ARR), gross churn, net revenue retention, customer acquisition cost and payback period. Stripe and similar integrations let lenders pull these directly without manual reporting.
- How is revenue-based finance different from a SaaS loan?
- Revenue-based finance repays as a percentage of monthly revenue with no fixed term. A SaaS loan is a fixed-term unsecured loan with set monthly payments. RBF flexes with revenue, fixed loans do not.
- Can a pre-revenue SaaS get finance?
- Generally no from the SME lenders covered in this guide. Pre-revenue businesses typically need equity or VC debt. Once a SaaS has 6+ months of consistent revenue, the RBF and unsecured options become accessible.
- Will a SaaS lender ask for a personal guarantee?
- Some revenue-based finance providers position as no-PG for facilities under £500k. Read the offer carefully — some still take a personal liability via a separate side agreement. Unsecured term loans almost always include a director PG.