does anyone have experience of obtaining a small business loan ?  basically I am looking to buy a business which has been running for the past 10 years, I would obviously have my own business plan for it but I would have the added advantage of it already having its own books and therefore being able to prove how much it could make.

Really what I need to know is when going for the loan will they look at my own credit history?  this hasnt been exceptionally good over the past year, although I have always paid up for stuff my bank has bounced a couple of direct debits due to lack of funds (which were always paid a few days later)

What else would I need to look into with regards to getting the loan and what would the best way to go about it be ?

Are there any good websites ? :D

Thanks

Claire

Not sure about how to go about it as i have never had one - but if you are the person applying for the loan then i would imagine they would cedit check you, yes

depending how much you want to borrow a personal loan would do. We started our own bussiness 3 years ago and had a personal loan as it was eaisier and cheaper to repay. We did ask at our bank at the time and this is what they reccommended. Also you might need a bussiness account. I will point out that they do charge for this service (think monthly ) and its not worth it if your a very small bussiness and dont put a lot in the bank ie cash payments can be used to pay bills direct instead of through the bank. Basically a current account will do as long as you dont go over the banks deadlines for account operations ie putting too much in. hth

Re: business bank account
Abbey National operate a business bank account where you  need not incur charges (for small businesses).  I have a business where I often pay in a large number of small cheques and at 60p + per cheque I was ending up with a high monthly charge.  Haven't had any charges since changing to Abbey National.

If you are serious I would suggest contacting your local businesslink, they are VERY good.  Search on google will find them.  Free advice on all aspects of starting up a business.

Thanks for all of your suggestions I will let you know how I get on :)