Trust Leeds is for people who:
- want to grow their own business
- are passionate about their plans
- have determination to make it work
- know what they know – and what they don’t know!
- are committed to paying back their loan so others can benefit further down the line
Trust Leeds is for people with:
- a small enterprise or a great business idea
- lots of passion and potential
- determination and resourcefulness
- a spark which is worth fanning
Yet without:
- advantageous life chances and opportunities (under-served)
- strong credit histories (poor and/or financially excluded)
Who want to:
- help themselves, and each other, and re-write their own stories
We also lend to Self-Reliant Groups and make follow-up loans (often at even better rates of interest).
A poor credit rating or past problem don’t necessarily mean we won’t lend to you. However, we are an ethical lender and will only give you a loan if we can see that we’re not adding to your problems or debts, and that you will pay the loan back.
We lend between £500 and £3,000 (smaller or larger loans can be considered).
Your loan is repayable in monthly instalments, starting from the month after you receive your loan, and can be paid over one to three years.
We will lend you money for things you need to help your small business develop, or to set up your own business. Eg for stock, equipment, marketing, website or kit.
We won’t lend to anything illegal or that we consider unethical (eg gambling, pornography, weapons etc).
We don’t charge you any set-up fees. We do charge interest on the money you borrow from us, usually around 14.5% flat, or around 25.8% APR. (We often charge a lower interest rate for follow-on loans and for loans to Self-Reliant Groups). We’ll go through these details with you, and talk you through examples of what this means in terms of your monthly repayments, to make sure you understand and have budgeted accordingly.
Paying back your loan is done through a standing order from your bank account, to pay monthly instalments to us, for the term we’ve agreed together – usually between 12 and 36 months. We don’t ask for any security or personal guarantees – you are legally obliged to pay the loan back to us. If you get into difficulties with the repayments you owe us, then please let us know as soon as possible and we will try to help. If you don’t contact us and don’t pay us what you owe us, then we will refer you to a debt collection agency.
1 . Get in touch
Tell us your plans and your contact details:
- Fill in this straightforward form.
- Or send us an e-mail at info@trustleeds.org.uk
- Or phone us on 07482 874 595
2 . We’ll send you an application form
We will send you an application form and outline the costs of terms of a loan with Trust Leeds.
3 . Let’s talk
If you decide to apply for a loan with us, we will meet up with you and talk through your business plan and finances.
We can help you develop these vital business tools so you are ready for a loan, if you’d like help on this. We’ll go through the forms together and chat to you about how we can support you to build your business, and about how you can help make sure things work out well.
4 . Checks and research
As a responsible lender, we’ll do some checks and background research, we may have a few more questions for you, and then we’ll let you know if you can borrow from us for your business plan.
5 . Agreement
If we can offer you a loan, we’ll sign the loan agreement form together and make sure you understand and agree to the commitments you’re taking on.
6 . Loan and payment
Then we pay your loan over to you, and you start paying back in monthly instalments which start four weeks later.
7 . Contact and support
We keep in touch with each other, and talk through any worries or concerns until you’ve paid back your loan.
If you repay us on time or early, and your business is developing, we will be happy to receive an application for a further loan, usually at a lower interest rate.
Investing ethical micro-loans to grow small, strong businesses
