The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity is one of Leicester’s oldest charities, having been established in 1542 by Sir Thomas White, a civic benefactor who generously donated money to the people of the city and county; despite never stepping foot in Leicester!
We get asked this a lot and we understand why some people think it sounds too good to be true. Here’s how we can do what we do…
When Sir Thomas White left his endowment to the five counties (Coventry, Warwick, Leicester, Northampton and Nottingham), he stated that only the income generated by that endowment could be used for providing loans – and he instructed that the loans remain interest-free. The endowment, originally £1,100 has grown to around £75 million and the income received is shared by the five counties.
The Leicester share of that income is in excess of £270,000 per year. We currently have over £4 million either loaned out or available. Our trustees are not paid and our running costs are low, so in most years, the total available to provide in loans gets bigger.
It is! Regardless of how much you borrow and the loan’s purpose, you will have nine years to pay the loan back, with a three-year break before equal monthly repayments start.
It’s absolutely true. We want to ensure you’re in as strong a position as possible before your repayments commence, and feel three years provides time for you to grow your business or complete your postgraduate studies and find employment.
The success rate of applicants changes from year-to-year, but we’ll put it this way: it’s high. Each year, our funding is boosted by the central Sir Thomas White trust. So, unlike other lenders, you’re not competing with other people for limited funds available. Your likelihood of being approved for one of our loans solely relies on the strength of your own application and proposals for your business.
This stems from the original Trust deed issued in 1542 when the charity was established. The deed stipulates loans could only be made to residents of the city of Leicester. This has since been approved to expand to the county borders, including Rutland.
There are neighbouring Sir Thomas White charities in Coventry, Warwick, Northampton and Nottingham, so they each deal with their respective areas.
We operate on a quarterly cycle, with four quarterly application deadlines and rounds of interviews with applicants taking place each year. Please check our key dates page for details regarding approaching deadlines / future rounds.
Following the application deadline, eligible applicants will be invited to an interview. After interview, applications will be discussed and approved at the next board meeting, with applicants notified shortly after if they have been successful or not.
If, for any reason, you’re unable to make any repayments to your loan, guarantors provide assurance to the charity the loan will be repaid. As we’re providing a potentially large sum of money as an interest-free loan, we naturally need to have measures in place to ensure the funds are repaid so the funds are then available for the next borrower.
A small number of loans are made each year to applicants who simply can’t find guarantors. Only the best applications will be selected, and the amounts available for such loans is restricted.
We conduct a credit check on the applicant and guarantors as this helps us to identify the credit score for each person and if there are any active CCJs (County Court Judgements) or insolvency for each person. It also helps us to confirm identity and current address for yourself and your guarantors and also satisfies our anti-money laundering obligations.
Having a bad, or low, credit score will not necessarily negatively affect your application. However, if you have any active CCJs which show on your credit check, then we will be unable to take your application forward until resolved (debt settled or cancelled). If you have any concerns we recommend you call us ahead of making the application to discuss your individual circumstances.
Your loan repayments start three years after the date you complete on your loan, giving you three years to get your business going/developed OR to have completed your course and found a salaried role within your industry.
Repayments are made over six years in 72 equal monthly instalments. For example, if you borrow £14,400, you would repay £200 per month for 72 months.
Yes, providing you meet our other eligibility criteria, you can apply!
You can run any kind of business. There are no restrictions on the type of business – as long as it’s legal! All we expect is the business is set up within six months of taking out the loan, that it becomes your sole/main source of income within three years of taking out the loan and you remain living and trading in the eligible area.
Yes. Our loans are available to start-ups and developing businesses requiring funding, especially if you have been turned down by other potential lenders.
Yes, as long as you retain a minimum stake of 50% in the entity throughout the entire nine-year term of the loan. If your stake falls below 50%, you will be required to repay the loan in full immediately.
As lenders, the charity wants to ensure our loans are provided to business ventures which have the best chance of being successful, not only to protect those applying for a loan, but to ensure the loan is likely to be repaid in full. In producing a business plan, applicants can show trustees the facts and figures which support their application.
However, we also know many first-time business owners have never had to worry about running the books – which is why FREE professional support is on offer to all business loan applicants.
In addition, as part of the loan agreement, borrowers will be required to submit their business accounts annually, so producing these supporting documents will help you throughout your business journey.
No. Provided you meet our eligibility criteria of being a resident in the eligible area for three or more years, the loan can be utilised to help you study anywhere in the world.
