To refinance business debt you will normally need five groups of documents: proof of who the business and its directors are; financial records including filed accounts, management accounts, bank statements and VAT returns; full details of the debt being replaced, including settlement figures; information about any security offered; and a forecast with a short written explanation of why you are refinancing. Smaller unsecured facilities may need less, and secured facilities will need more. The checklist below covers the full set so nothing is a surprise.
Business identity
Providers must verify who they are dealing with under anti-money-laundering rules before they can lend. This is the one group that cannot be skipped or shortened.
- Companies House details: registered name, company number, registered office and the current list of directors and persons with significant control (PSCs). Providers check these themselves, so make sure the public record is accurate first.
- Photo identification for each director, PSC and guarantor, usually a passport or driving licence.
- Proof of home address for the same people, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement.
- For partnerships and sole traders: the partnership agreement if one exists, and evidence of trading such as a UTR confirmation or a recent self-assessment return.
Why it is requested: identity checks are a legal requirement, and the director and PSC list tells the provider who will need to sign and who may be asked for a personal guarantee.
Financials
This group answers the central question: can the business afford the new repayment?
- The last two years of filed accounts, or one year for a younger business. Full accounts rather than the abridged version filed at Companies House are usually preferred.
- Management accounts for the current year to date, ideally no more than two months old, showing profit and loss and a balance sheet.
- Three to six months of business bank statements for every account the business operates. Many providers now use open banking to read these directly, with your permission.
- The last four VAT returns, which corroborate turnover and show whether tax is being paid on time.
- Aged debtors and aged creditors reports, which show who owes the business money, who the business owes, and how overdue each balance is.
- Confirmation of the position with HMRC: a statement showing PAYE and VAT are up to date, or the terms of any Time to Pay arrangement.
Why it is requested: filed accounts show the historic picture, management accounts show the present, bank statements show how cash actually moves, and the aged reports reveal problems that a profit figure can hide, such as a large customer who never pays.
Existing debt
Refinancing replaces an existing agreement, so the provider needs to see exactly what is being replaced and what it costs to exit.
- The facility agreement for each debt being refinanced, showing the rate, term, repayment schedule and any early repayment terms.
- A current settlement statement from each existing lender, confirming the exact amount needed to close the account on a given date.
- Recent statements for each facility, showing the payment history.
- Copies of any personal guarantee documents already given, so the new provider understands existing exposure and so you can arrange their release once the old debt is repaid.
- A simple schedule listing every business borrowing, including those not being refinanced: lender, balance, monthly payment, security and end date.
Why it is requested: the settlement figure fixes the amount the new facility must cover, and the full schedule lets the provider assess total commitments rather than one loan in isolation. If you are consolidating several debts rather than refinancing one, this group grows accordingly.
Security
Only relevant if the new facility is secured, but then essential and often the slowest part of the process.
- Title documents or the Land Registry title number for any property offered, plus details of existing charges and the lenders that hold them.
- A recent valuation if one exists. Most providers will instruct their own, at your cost.
- For equipment or vehicles: purchase invoices, serial or registration numbers and confirmation that they are owned outright rather than on hire purchase.
- Lease details where the trading premises are rented, since a lender may want to know the remaining term.
Why it is requested: the provider must confirm the asset exists, who owns it, what it is worth and whether anyone else already has a claim on it. Our guide to secured versus unsecured business finance explains what lenders accept as security.
Forecasts and a short narrative
- A cash flow forecast for the next 12 months, showing the proposed new repayment in place of the old ones.
- One page explaining why you are refinancing, what has changed in the business, and how the new facility improves the position. If there were past credit problems, explain them here rather than leaving the provider to guess.
- Any contracts, orders or pipeline evidence that support the forecast.
Why it is requested: the forecast shows affordability going forward, and the narrative turns a pile of numbers into a case. A clear, honest explanation of a difficult period is read far more kindly than silence.
How to prepare
- Ask your accountant for the filed accounts, up-to-date management accounts and aged reports in one go. They will have most of them to hand.
- Download bank statements as PDFs from online banking rather than scanning paper copies. Providers need to see every page, including the blank ones.
- Request settlement statements from existing lenders early. Some take a week or more, and the figure is usually valid only for a limited period.
- Check Companies House and correct anything out of date, including directors' addresses and overdue filings.
- Save everything in one clearly named folder, with file names such as "Bank statement Jan 2026" rather than download defaults.
- Read your own documents before sending them. If a large unexplained transfer or a returned payment appears, prepare the explanation now.
Keep your documents secure
These files contain everything needed to impersonate your business. Send them only through a provider's secure upload portal or an encrypted file-sharing link with an expiry date, never as plain email attachments. Never share online banking passwords, card PINs or one-time codes with anyone, including a provider who claims to need them; legitimate open banking access is granted through your own bank's app, not by handing over credentials. Be cautious of unsolicited requests for documents, and verify who you are dealing with before sending anything.
What Finance Business Debt collects
Our enquiry form asks only for basic contact details and an outline of your situation. We do not collect bank statements, accounts, identification or other sensitive documents through the website form, and we will never ask for passwords. If, at your request, we introduce you to a finance provider, you will share documents with that provider directly through its own secure process. Our how it works page explains each step.
Key takeaways
- Expect to supply identity documents, financial records, details of the existing debt, security information and a forecast.
- Bank statements, management accounts and aged debtor and creditor reports carry the most weight in an affordability assessment.
- Settlement statements from existing lenders fix the amount to be borrowed; request them early.
- A short written narrative explaining the refinancing, and any past problems, strengthens the application.
- Share documents only through secure portals, and never share passwords or one-time codes with anyone.