Cash advances for UK gift shops.
For toy shops, gift shops, and specialist seasonal retailers. Funded against your card takings. Built for operators who do most of their year's trading between October and December.
What MCA means for a toy or gift shop.
Toys and gifts are the most seasonal retail sector of all. Christmas can be 40-60% of annual revenue. Father's Day, Mother's Day, and Valentine's matter. The rest of the year is maintenance. Card takings dominate. The challenge is that stock has to arrive in September to sell through October to December, and suppliers want paying on delivery or 30-day terms. MCA was almost designed for this cycle: take capital in August, stock the shop, trade through peak, repay fast through November and December when card takings triple.
Sound familiar?
Christmas stock buy needs funding in August-September.
£20k to £80k of Christmas stock needed in the shop by October. Suppliers often want paying on delivery.
MCA in August, stock in September, trading ramps October, peak takings through December repay the advance. The cycle fits MCA's shape almost perfectly.
You want to run a Christmas pop-up or second site.
Temporary lease, fit-out, extra stock, seasonal staff, £15k to £35k of pop-up investment that only makes sense if it trades through peak.
MCA covers the pop-up. Trading through six to eight peak weeks covers most or all of the advance. Classic seasonal play.
Need to invest in online to capture click-and-collect demand.
Website rebuild, product photography, inventory sync with your EPOS, launch marketing, £6k to £18k.
MCA funds the online build ahead of peak. Additional online orders add to card takings, which accelerates repayment through the season.
Here's what it actually costs.
An independent gift shop borrows £15,000 for Christmas stock in September. Monthly card takings: £12,000 average, £35,000 in December. Daily repayment % flexes to 14% through peak (Nov to Dec) and 8% off-peak. £15,000. Average monthly card takings £12,000. Fixed cost 1.27. 14% daily repayment % on card sales, total cost £4,050.
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£15,000
- vs card takings125%
- Fixed cost1.27
- Daily repayment£55
- Avg monthly£1,680
- Est. term11.3 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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£18,000 funded Christmas stock and a seasonal staff budget, repaid by end of January.
Illustrative composite. Single-site gift shop, £10k/mo card takings off-peak, £32k/mo November, £40k/mo December. MCA at 1.26 factor, flex daily repayment % (15% peak, 7% off-peak). Stock arrived mid-September, Christmas trade generated 52% of annual revenue, advance fully repaid by end of January.
Illustrative composite scenarioToy & gift shops, quick answers.
Lenders look at your annual average and recent peak months. A sharp seasonal pattern means the advance is often sized between the average and the peak. Expect £15k to £25k range on the numbers above.
Funding options for toy & gift shops
Toy and gift shops take almost all of the year's revenue on card across the November and December peak. A merchant cash advance (MCA), also called a PDQ cash advance or card machine loan, lets you turn Christmas card flow into working capital for stock buys placed months ahead. Repaid as a share of daily card sales. Advances from £10,000 to £1,000,000. See PDQ cash advance →
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