How Many Guarantor Lenders Are There in the UK?
There are around 12 official guarantor lenders in the UK, making it quite a small but effective industry. The first lender was Amigo loans which emerged in 2005 and the other lenders followed suit. You can find statistics about the industry here.
Guarantor Loan Comparison is an aggregator and comparison website for the main lenders in the country, helping you compare rates and find the best lender for you. If you have any queries about the industry, please contact our founder at guarantorloancomparison@gmail.com
Please find a list of lenders below, the rates they offer, the loan amounts and who they can lend to:
| Lender | Rep APR | Loan Amount | Tenants or Homeowners* |
| Amigo | 49.90% | £500 to £10,000 | Both |
| UK Credit | 39.90% | £1,000 to £10,000 | Both |
| Buddy Loans | 49.90% | £1,000 to £7,500 | Both |
| George Banco | 49.70% | £1,000 to £15,000 | Both |
| Trust Two | 49.50% | £500 to £10,000 | Both |
| Bamboo Loans | 49.70% | £1,000 to £8,000 | Both |
| 1plus1 | 47.80% | £500 to £10,000 | Both |
| TFS Loans | 39.90% | £1,000 to £15,000 | Just Homeowners |
| SUCO Loans | 39.90% | £1,000 to £15,000 | Just Homeowners |
| Guarantor My Loan | 48.9% | £500 to £10,000 | Both |
| Lendfair | 29.90% | £500 to £10,000 | Both |
| MASA Loans | 49.70% | £1,000 to £7,500 | Just Homeowners |
Key Points
Tenants and Homeowners
There are some guarantor lenders that state that they will only lend to individuals that have a guarantor who is a homeowner. This is because in order to get a mortgage and own a home, you would have likely been through the process of demonstrating a strong, stable income and reliable credit score. Also, having a flat or home gives you a permanent residence that the lender can also contact in a last case scenario.
So having a guarantor as a homeowner is always useful and will maximise your chances of approval. Over time, they have been more and more lenders open to lending to borrowers who have a tenant guarantor or non homeowner guarantor loan – since homeownership is now less common and people can still have good credit stores and income despite being in rented accommodation.
Interest Rates
The interest rates range from 29.9% up to 59.9%. The Lendfair product at 29.9% is a very unique product where the lender is trying to be more competitive.
However, it is noted that the lowest rates are typically available for those customers with a good credit history to begin with and a very good, reliable guarantor.
For those riskier customers with tenant guarantors and slightly weaker credit histories, one can expect a higher rate of interest up to 59.9% to mitigate the potential risk of default by the customer.
This is very common in loan products since higher interest rates are charged to manage risk and overcome losses by potential loans that go unpaid.
Loan Amount
Whilst some lenders offer a maximum loan amount of £15,000, again, this is reserved for the best customers with the strongest credit scores and best looking guarantors. If you have a stable employment, your income is higher than the average and your guarantor has a superb credit rating and owns their own home, you will be more eligible for a £15,000 product.
Similarly, the loan duration will help you maximise the amount you wish to borrow. Lending a huge sum to a customer and asking them to repay over 12 months or 24 months could be quite a financial burden, but spread over 60 months, it is far more feasible for a customer to repay.
Beware though, since the longer the loan amount, the more costly it will be since the daily interest accrues over a longer period of time. Repaying your loan early will help you save money since less daily interest accumulates over time.