The idea, in one analogy
A homeowner with a house worth £400K doesn't sell a bedroom when they need cash — they open a HELOC: a line of credit against the equity in their home. They draw what they need, repay it, and draw again.
Your business has equity too. Recurring revenue. Intellectual property. Signed contracts. A customer base that took years to build. Traditional lenders mostly ignore all of it — they want property, guarantees, or three years of perfect accounts. That's why 50% of bank applications get rejected, and why founders end up selling 20–40% of their company to VCs instead.
The Fortune BELOC applies the HELOC logic to your company: we value the business, open a revolving credit line against that value, and you draw on it as you grow.
What counts as business value
- Revenue — especially recurring or repeat revenue (MRR/ARR, retainers, subscriptions).
- Contracts — signed customer contracts, purchase orders and letters of intent.
- Intellectual property — product, code, patents, trademarks, proprietary data and processes.
- Customer base — size, retention, and concentration of the customers you already serve.
Our valuation model weighs all four. Strong contracts can compensate for younger revenue; strong retention can compensate for smaller size. The more of the readiness checklist you can tick, the bigger the line.
How it compares
| Fortune BELOC | Bank loan | VC round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity cost | 0% | 0% | 20–40% of your company |
| Approval odds | Based on business value | ~50% rejected | ~1% of pitches funded |
| What secures it | Revenue, IP, contracts, customers | Property, personal guarantees | — |
| Structure | Revolving — draw, repay, redraw | Fixed lump sum + schedule | One-off round |
| Pitch decks required | None | Business plan | Months of pitching |
| Time to money | Days | Weeks–months | 3–9 months |
How the process works
- Build your profile — connect your revenue data, upload contracts, describe your IP and customers. Same profile the Grants Track uses.
- Get your valuation — our model scores the four value pillars and proposes a credit limit between £10K and £250K.
- Open the line — accept the terms and the revolving line is live. No pitch deck was harmed in the process.
- Draw as you grow — take what you need when you need it, repay from revenue, and redraw. Your limit grows as your business value grows.
Who the HELOC Track fits best
- Commercial founders with trading history — SaaS, agencies, e-commerce, services, manufacturing.
- Businesses with lumpy cash flow — seasonal stock, long invoice cycles, project-based revenue.
- Founders who refuse to dilute — you've built the value; you shouldn't have to sell it to use it.
Pre-revenue or impact-driven? Start with the Grants Track — then come back for the BELOC once you're trading. Many founders run both: grants fund the R&D, the BELOC funds the growth.