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South West · Q3 2026 data

Business funding in Cheltenham

Cheltenham has 11,004 trading companies. 1,797 of them (16.3%) have secured borrowing registered at Companies House, above the South West at 15.4% and the UK at 14.0%.

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11,004trading companies
16.3%have secured borrowing
337new companies in Q3 2026
3.9%late filing accounts

How Cheltenham's sectors borrow

The biggest sectors in Cheltenham, and the share of companies in each with a lender's charge registered against them. Real estate & lettings borrows most against its assets here, at 46%.

Professional services1,736 companies
5%
Real estate & lettings1,394 companies
46%
Tech, media & telecoms1,091 companies
6%
Construction & trades818 companies
14%
Business support services697 companies
12%
Retail628 companies
10%
Healthcare & dental470 companies
10%
Restaurants, pubs & cafes460 companies
6%

Older businesses borrow more

Lenders like a track record. In Cheltenham, the share of companies with secured borrowing climbs with age, which is why a young business often starts with asset finance or a smaller unsecured loan.

Under 2 years2,483 companies
6%
2 to 5 years2,122 companies
13%
5 to 10 years2,425 companies
18%
10 to 20 years2,524 companies
17%
Over 20 years1,450 companies
35%

Who's lending in the South West

The 172 new lender charges we tracked against the South West companies in Q3 2026, by type of lender. Property, bridging & buy-to-let made up the largest share, as most mortgages on company-owned property are registered as charges.

Property, bridging & buy-to-let
40%
Specialist & alternative lenders
19%
Banks
15%
Cash advance & revenue-based
1%
Asset finance
1%

Funding that fits Cheltenham businesses

Plain-English guides to the kinds of funding that suit Cheltenham's biggest sectors.

Elsewhere in the South West

Source: every live company on the Companies House register at 2026-10-01, analysed by DueLead for its Q3 2026 Pulse report on Cheltenham. "Secured borrowing" means at least one outstanding charge, a lender's security registered at Companies House, so unsecured loans and overdrafts don't show. Trading companies means active limited companies, LLPs and PLCs, excluding dormant companies, financial services firms and public bodies. Sole traders aren't on the register, so they aren't counted.