Milly Fox-Jones
Duncan FerrisMany or all of the products and brands we promote and feature including our ‘Partner Spotlights’ are from our partners who compensate us. However, this does not influence our editorial opinion found in articles, reviews and our ‘Best’ tables. Our opinion is our own. Read more on our methodology here.
Metro Bank currently offers a variety of short- and long-term finance options that businesses can use for everything from managing cash flow to purchasing assets.
This includes business loans, as well as invoice finance, asset finance, credit cards, and overdrafts.
To access a business or commercial loan, you will need to hold a business bank account or commercial current account with Metro Bank.
Metro Bank Commercial Loan
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Representative APRAvailable on application
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Representative ExampleAvailable on application
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Available amounts£25,001 – £25m+
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Available Terms1 – 30 years
Learn more about how we bring you our review.
Key features
- Range of loansMetro Bank offers fixed-rate (between £2,000 and £60,000) and tailored rate (over £60,000) loans, as well as commercial loans.
- Loan termsMetro Bank business loans have terms between one and five years while the bank’s commercial loan is offered between one and 30 years.
- Customer service hoursYou can contact the customer service team during the extended call-centre hours from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
- Face-to-face serviceMetro Bank has multiple branches throughout England, as well as a branch in Wales.
Metro Bank business loans pros & cons
Pros
- You can borrow for up to 30 years with a commercial loan.
- Customer service is available over the phone from Monday to Friday.
- Eligible applicants could potentially borrow over £25 million with a commercial loan.
- Metro Bank has several branches in England and two in Wales, which are open seven days a week, for face-to-face support.
- Secured and unsecured loans are available, subject to status.
Cons
- There are no Metro branches in Scotland or Northern Ireland (and only two in Wales).
- The options for online support from a customer service agent are limited.
- You have to have a Metro Bank business account to apply for a business or commercial loan.
The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert, research-based opinions and an exclusive survey of UK business owners and decision makers. The survey was conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in December 2022 to identify the business loans features that people feel are most important. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal and business circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.
Metro Bank business loans full review
Founded in 2010, Metro Bank was the first new high street bank in the UK in 100 years. Now offering a range of personal and business services, Metro says it has over 2.6 million customer accounts.
When it comes to business borrowing, Metro Bank offers a range of products including invoice finance, asset finance, credit cards, overdrafts and loans in two categories: business and commercial.
Small business loan
Metro Bank offers business loans to customers who have a business current account with them and have more than £2 million in turnover, although it will consider exceptions.
You can borrow between £2,000 and £60,000 with a fixed rate of interest and no arrangement fees or other charges. The term is between one and five years.
Commercial loan
The commercial loan is only for existing commercial current account customers. The amount businesses can borrow is between £60,000 and up to and over £25 million. It can be repaid over one to 30 years, and has an interest rate tailored to each individual loan.
As with its business loan, Metro Bank is likely to need some security for this type of loan.
Metro Bank commercial loans will likely require some form of security.
Metro Bank business loans: at a glance
| Amount borrowable | £2,000 to £60,000 (fixed-rate business loan) £60,000 to £25 million+ (commercial loan) |
| Term length | One to five years (business loan)One to 30 years (commercial loan) |
| Web-based customer service | X (formerly Twitter): @Metrobank_help |
| UK customer service number | 0345 08 08 508, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm |
| App | Yes (iOS and Android) |
| Face-to-face customer service | Yes |
| Access to loans without pre-existing account | No |
Where Metro Bank business loans stands out
Amount borrowable: With Metro Bank’s commercial loan, you can borrow up to and potentially over £25 million, depending on eligibility and subject to status.
Tailored rates: If you’re borrowing over £60,000 with Metro Bank, the interest rates are tailored to your specific loan based on its details.
Customer service: Metro Bank operates extended call-centre hours and its branches are open seven days a week.
Where Metro Bank business loans fall short
Business account: You have to have a business or commercial account with Metro Bank to apply for a business or commercial loan.
Turnover: While Metro Bank may make exceptions, it generally only considers loan requests from businesses with a turnover of over £2 million.
Online support: The options for online support from an agent is limited, with X (formerly Twitter) being the only way to contact Metro Bank online.
Metro Bank business loans customer reviews
Metro Bank has a ‘poor’ Trustpilot review of 2.1 out of 5 based on over 4,700 reviews. It scored better for its mobile apps. However, all these reviews are for Metro Bank’s services in general and are not specific to its business loans.
The Metro Bank mobile banking app has a rating of:
- 4.8 out of 5 based on over 180,300 reviews on the App Store
- 4.7 out of 5 based on over 40,000 reviews on Google Play
This information is correct as of 11 January 2024.
Metro Bank business loans eligibility
Whether you are eligible for a Metro Bank business loan depends on what product you are applying for.
Business loans
If you are applying for a business loan, you will need:
- an existing Metro Bank business bank account
- a turnover of more than £2 million a year (although it does consider exceptions)
- an asset to use as security (although unsecured loans may be available)
Commercial loans
If you are applying for a business loan, you will need:
- an existing commercial current account
- an asset to use as security (although unsecured loans may be available)
How to apply for a Metro Bank business loan
To apply for a business loan, you can go into a Metro Bank branch seven days a week. There are branches in England and two branches in Cardiff, Wales.
If you would like to apply for a commercial loan, you can speak to your local director at your nearest Metro Bank branch.
You will need to pass a creditworthiness assessment before you are accepted for a loan, to ensure you can make your monthly repayments.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
You can view our full review methodology here.
