Which UK banks lend against intellectual property?

Full Explanation

The UK market for lending against intellectual property has widened considerably. NatWest became the first UK high-street bank to lend directly against IP when it launched its High Growth IP Loan in January 2024, offering £250k to £10m at up to around half of appraised IP value, with the IP valued and revalued annually by an independent valuer. Eligibility is framed around high growth, typically 20% year-on-year turnover growth over three years on a minimum £250k turnover, and IP lending sits as a fallback after conventional security has been considered. HSBC also participates. HSBC UK evaluates IP within a large growth-lending fund, with facilities extending to £15m, while HSBC Innovation Banking, the former Silicon Valley Bank UK, typically takes a first-ranking debenture that captures IP among the company's assets. Beyond the high-street banks, a specialist and insurance-backed segment has grown up, including providers such as Aon, Fortress and Brevet, which can support higher loan-to-value ratios, up to around 50%, where the IP is registered and the facility is insurance-wrapped. Across all of these lenders the requirements are broadly consistent. You will need clean, unencumbered legal title with a documented chain of title, meaning any contractor or employee IP has been properly assigned; an independent IP audit; evidence the rights are in force with renewals paid; and encumbrance and prior-charge searches at both Companies House and the UK IPO. Registered rights carry more weight than unregistered ones, and the IP must show genuine commercial value and cash generation, because operating cash flow, not the collateral, is the primary repayment source. Because every lender applies its own separability, saleability and legal-strength view to reach a fundable value, the same IP can support quite different facilities. The practical next step is to prepare a single, lender-agnostic pack, valuation, graded title evidence, a collateral-suitability view and supporting financials, so you can approach NatWest, HSBC and specialist funders on the same footing rather than rebuilding your case for each. Opagio's IP-lending tooling is designed to assemble exactly that.

Related Glossary Terms

Related Questions