Cash advances for UK cafes.
For cafes, coffee shops, and independent roasteries. Advance against your card takings, repaid through every cup you sell. For operators who already know which Tuesday's rain last week cost them.
What MCA means for a cafe.
Your card volume is high, most coffee orders are contactless these days, but your average ticket size is small. That actually makes MCA a clean fit, because the lender sees consistent daily card flow they can repay against. Whether it's a new espresso machine, summer stock, a paint-and-fitout refresh, or marketing for a new menu launch, an MCA gives you the capital now and recovers it through the takings you're already generating.
Sound familiar?
The espresso machine is dying.
Replacement of a decent commercial machine is £6k to £12k. Yours has been temperamental for months and one day it'll just stop.
MCA gets the new kit installed before the breakdown. Repaid through the very coffee sales the new machine helps you make.
Summer's coming and you need stock.
Iced drinks, cold brew kit, summer menu ingredients, £4k to £8k of stock and prep you need before the warm weather actually arrives.
MCA bridges the inventory build-up. Summer card takings ramp; repayment ramps with them.
You want to test paid social.
£3k to £5k for a proper Instagram and TikTok push to get foot traffic up. You don't want to dip into operating cash to fund a marketing experiment.
Use MCA for the campaign. If it works, the additional takings cover repayment. If it doesn't, you're not stuck with a fixed loan repayment.
Here's what it actually costs.
An independent specialty cafe borrows £8,000 for a new espresso machine and stock for summer. Monthly card takings: £14,000. £8,000. Average monthly card takings £14,000. Fixed cost 1.3. 14% daily repayment % on card sales, total cost £2,400.
These figures are illustrative. If a term loan or asset finance fits your situation better, we'll tell you.
Open the fixed cost calculator →Work out the real cost.
New businesses typically start at a higher daily % and a shorter term.
Illustrative only, not a quote.
- Advance£8,000
- vs card takings57%
- Fixed cost1.30
- Daily repayment£64
- Avg monthly£1,960
- Est. term5.3 months
Illustrative. The fixed cost is set on day one; daily repayment varies with takings. Term capped at 18 months.
Illustrative only, not a quote. Every figure here is subject to the funder. Funders advance anywhere from 100% up to 150% of monthly card takings, so 150% is not guaranteed, and the fixed cost is not guaranteed either. Your actual advance, fixed cost and terms depend on the funder and your business profile.
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Apply with these numbersOperators we've helped.
£12,000 funded an espresso machine upgrade and barista training, paid back in 4 months.
Two-site indie cafe, average £15k/mo card takings. Existing machine was costing £200/mo in repairs. New La Marzocco bought outright plus a fortnight of barista training, funded via MCA at 1.25 factor, 13% daily repayment. Faster service raised average daily transactions; the new machine effectively paid for itself.
Read full case study →Cafes & coffee shops, quick answers.
Our minimum advance is £10,000 and lenders want to see at least £10,000 a month in card takings to support that. If you're sitting around the £10k to £15k/mo range, you'll likely be looking at advances of £10k to £15k. Below that, MCA is rarely the right tool, a smaller business loan via Funding Flow usually fits better.
Funding options for cafes & coffee shops
Cafes take small-ticket card payments all day long. A merchant cash advance, or MCA (sometimes called a PDQ cash advance or card machine loan) uses that steady card flow to fund espresso kit, refurb, or working capital. Repayments flex with daily takings, so a quiet weekday is a lighter day. Advances from £10,000 to £1,000,000. See PDQ cash advance →
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