A lender decides on repayment ability first and on the story second, so a loan deck has to lead with cash. This business loan proposal template takes the owner through the business, the purpose of the money, cash flow, repayment cover, security and the exact ask. It is short on purpose, because a credit officer reads the numbers before the pitch, and every slide is built to answer one of their questions.

The sample is for Birchfield Capital, a fictional cold-chain distributor asking for £350K over seven years at 8.5 per cent for a new cold room. It shows revenue of £4.8M, EBITDA of £520K, and debt service cover of 1.6 times against a lender minimum of 1.25 times. Replace the figures with your last three years of accounts and your forecast, and test cover with sales down 15 per cent before you present.