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South East · Q3 2026 data

Business funding in Dartford

Dartford has 7,656 trading companies. 1,150 of them (15.0%) have secured borrowing registered at Companies House, above the South East at 13.7% and the UK at 14.0%.

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7,656trading companies
15.0%have secured borrowing
303new companies in Q3 2026
4.4%late filing accounts

How Dartford's sectors borrow

The biggest sectors in Dartford, 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 51%.

Real estate & lettings1,131 companies
51%
Construction & trades1,125 companies
7%
Professional services806 companies
4%
Tech, media & telecoms682 companies
3%
Retail490 companies
6%
Business support services475 companies
7%
Restaurants, pubs & cafes347 companies
14%
Personal services302 companies
6%

Older businesses borrow more

Lenders like a track record. In Dartford, 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 years2,157 companies
6%
2 to 5 years1,594 companies
17%
5 to 10 years1,776 companies
17%
10 to 20 years1,530 companies
15%
Over 20 years599 companies
39%

Who's lending in the South East

The 515 new lender charges we tracked against the South East 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
55%
Banks
15%
Specialist & alternative lenders
11%
Asset finance
1%
Invoice finance
0%

Funding that fits Dartford businesses

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

Elsewhere in the South East

Source: every live company on the Companies House register at 2026-10-01, analysed by DueLead for its Q3 2026 Pulse report on Dartford. "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.