Arbuthnot Latham
A long-established UK private and commercial bank whose commercial arm and dedicated asset-based lending division provide relationship-led, balance-sheet-supported debt to owner-managed and lower-mid-market companies.
What they do
Arbuthnot Latham is a private and merchant bank (founded 1833) and the principal subsidiary of AIM-listed Arbuthnot Banking Group. Its Commercial Banking arm provides relationship-led lending, real estate finance and treasury services to owner-managed UK businesses, typically those with turnover above £1m. Through Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending (launched February 2018), it offers full asset-based facilities built around a core of invoice discounting, alongside stock, plant-and-machinery, property and cash-flow lending, used to support acquisitions, refinancings, MBOs, cash-out and turnaround situations. Because the ABL book is funded by the bank's own balance sheet rather than external credit lines, it positions itself on certainty and speed of decision.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
Most relevant to a 3–15m raise where the borrower has tangible working-capital or fixed assets — a receivables book, inventory, plant and machinery, or owned property — that can anchor the facility. The ABL division's stated £1m-£35m range spans Solon's band, and the model suits event-driven needs: management buyouts, bolt-on acquisitions, refinancing an incumbent clearer, or releasing capital from the balance sheet. The bank-owned funding line and daily credit committee make it a credible choice where a borrower values deliverability and a single relationship counterparty over the keenest headline margin. The separate Commercial Banking and real estate teams also fit asset-backed and property-led corporates seeking a private-bank style relationship.
Where they are not the fit
Less suited to asset-light or pre-profit businesses with little to secure against — a pure cash-flow unitranche on enterprise value, with no asset base, is not the natural shape here. Borrowers seeking the largest hold sizes, deep institutional leverage, or a covenant-lite structure are better served by dedicated private-credit funds or larger clearers. The proposition centres on relationship banking for established, asset-owning companies rather than sponsor-led leveraged finance at the top of the mid-market.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Provider-undisclosed; market ABL invoice-discount charges ~base + 1.5-3.5% (Bank of England base 3.75% Dec-2025) as indicative context only
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Both, with clear lean to sponsorless owner-managed MBO/succession (intergenerational, vendor-financed, management buyouts dominate deal flow)
- Where they lend
- UK - offices London, Manchester, Exeter, Bristol; deals nationwide
- How they decide
- Relationship-led with senior decision-makers; DAILY credit committee; ongoing decisions as deal evolves; delegated within ABL arm. Authority is delegated below committee on at least part of the book
- Security
- A borrowing base over receivables, inventory and plant
- Covenants
- Springing covenant, tested only when a trigger is hit
- Search funds and ETA
- Lends to search-fund and entrepreneurship-through-acquisition buyers on the published evidence
As published by the lender and last reviewed July 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
The desks that lend
Arbuthnot Latham lends through 4 separate books. Which one reads a deal decides the security, the covenant package and the band, so the question is rarely whether Arbuthnot Latham lends, but which of these would own it.
Commercial ABL (invoice discounting + stock/p&m/property + cashflow)
- Facility
- £1m to £35m
- Security
- A borrowing base over receivables, inventory and plant
- Covenants
- Springing covenant, tested only when a trigger is hit
- Funds
- Acquisition · Growth · MBO · Refinance · Turnaround
- Rules out
- Typically turnover >=£1m and/or borrowing need >=£1m
Commercial term loan & revolving credit facility
- Facility
- from £1m
- Security
- Bespoke; may be secured against commercial real estate the business owns or on a cash-flow basis depending on sector
- Funds
- Acquisition · Growth · MBO · Refinance
- Rules out
- Minimum borrowing requirement £1,000,000; Minimum business turnover £1,000,000
Real estate finance (commercial banking)
- Facility
- £1m to £20m
- Security
- First charge over real estate; loan to value up to 65% for residential investment; development up to 70% GDV; margin 1.50% over base for <= 60% loan to value, 1.90% over base for 60-65% loan to value
- Funds
- Acquisition · Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Minimum facility £1,000,000
Media production finance
- Security
- Secured against broadcaster contracts, distribution contracts and UK tax credits
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
Limits that apply across the firm
Stated limits, taken from Arbuthnot Latham’s own published criteria, beyond the ones each desk carries above. A limit is where a lender starts from, not where it always ends: several of these move on a strong enough credit.
- No appetite in adult, crypto, gambling or weapons
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling is £35m; 13 of the 42 challenger and specialist banks here go at least as high.
- 18 of the 42 publish an indicative price at all; it is one of them.
- It lends through 4 distinct desks, where most firms here run one or two.
Counted across the 42 challenger & specialist banks in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does Arbuthnot Latham write?
Published facilities run £1m to £35m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
What security does Arbuthnot Latham take?
On the published terms, a borrowing base over receivables, inventory and plant. What a lender takes on a given facility is set in the documents, not by a published stance.
Does Arbuthnot Latham lend to search funds or ETA buyers?
Yes, on the published evidence. Arbuthnot Latham lends to search-fund and entrepreneurship-through-acquisition buyers. A searcher's route to a lender usually runs through the quality of the target and the equity behind it.
Does Arbuthnot Latham lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Yes. Arbuthnot Latham lends to owner-managed and sponsor-backed borrowers alike, so a company with no private-equity backer is not out of scope on that ground.
Where does Arbuthnot Latham lend?
UK - offices London, Manchester, Exeter, Bristol; deals nationwide.
What covenants does Arbuthnot Latham set?
Springing covenant, tested only when a trigger is hit. A covenant package is negotiated on the facility; the published style is where the negotiation starts.
On the record
Arbuthnot Latham & Co., Limited is authorised and regulated, holding FCA Firm Reference Number 143336.
Founded in 1833, Arbuthnot Latham is a British private and merchant bank and the principal subsidiary of Arbuthnot Banking Group plc, which is listed on AIM under ticker ARBB.
Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending provides full asset-based lending facilities from £1m to £35m to SMEs and mid-market corporates, structured around a core of invoice discounting plus stock, plant-and-machinery, property and cash-flow loans, supporting acquisition, refinancing, cash-out and turnaround scenarios.
Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending was launched on 26 February 2018 by Arbuthnot Latham to enter the SME asset-based lending market.
FundInvoice — Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending Launches
Arbuthnot Latham's Commercial Banking offers private-banking-style lending to UK owner-managed businesses with turnover above £1m, with real estate finance facilities typically from £1m to £20m.
Arbuthnot Latham — Real Estate & Commercial Property Finance
The ABL division has backed multiple lower-mid-market MBOs — for example ACL Engineering and Impact Control Systems — combining confidential invoice discounting, cash-flow loans and Growth Guarantee Scheme loans.
Sources: arbuthnotlatham.co.uk · marketinvoice.co.uk
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.