Premium Credit

What they do

Premium Credit provides premium finance — a form of short-term instalment lending that lets people and organisations pay for insurance policies and annual fees in monthly chunks rather than one lump sum. The lender pays the full cost upfront to the broker, insurer or membership body, then collects repayments from the customer by direct debit.

The core market is insurance. Personal lines customers can spread motor, home or other retail insurance premiums. Business customers do the same for commercial policies. Beyond insurance, Premium Credit has built out a range of specialist products for other annually billed services.

Fairway Credit is their brand for golf club membership subscriptions, described on their site as the market-leading product in that niche. School Fee Plan handles monthly payments for independent school fees, covering extras such as music tuition and trips as well as core fees. For regulated firms, Premium Credit has spent over a decade offering a facility to spread FCA fees and levies across the year. They also finance tax and VAT funding, holiday park fees, and a range of professional services including accountancy firms, trade associations and property maintenance.

The operational scale is significant. Over 39 years of trading, more than £6bn of loans originated annually, 35 million-plus direct debits processed each year, and a live customer base of over three million. Partners number more than 2,500 — brokers, insurers, schools, golf clubs and professional services firms that integrate Premium Credit's facilities into their own payment offerings.

Customers manage their accounts through My Premium Credit, an online portal that handles direct debit management, payment history and personal details. The FCA authorises and regulates the business.

What sets them apart

Premium finance is a narrow, specialist corner of lending. Most consumers encounter it without realising — it is the mechanism behind the monthly payment option offered by an insurance broker at renewal. Premium Credit's position as the stated number one in the UK and Ireland market, with 39 years of operating history, reflects the difficulty of building the partner distribution network and direct debit infrastructure this model requires.

Their product range beyond insurance is worth noting. Spreading FCA fees for regulated firms is an unusual niche: the regulator bills firms annually, and Premium Credit has provided a payment option for that specific liability for over a decade. Fairway Credit for golf clubs and School Fee Plan for independent schools follow the same structural logic — annual lump-sum obligations converted into monthly instalments — but require separate commercial relationships with very different types of organisation.

The Horsley Lodge Golf Club testimonial on their site references over 20 years of continuous use of Fairway Credit, which gives a sense of the retention profile these partner relationships can achieve.

Headquarters are at Ermyn House, Ermyn Way, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8UX, based on the complaints correspondence address. The business is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investor enquiries are handled separately, suggesting institutional ownership, though the source material does not name a parent company or disclose funding details.

What they offer

• Personal insurance finance — spreads retail insurance premiums into monthly direct debit instalments for individual customers.
• Business insurance finance — same instalment model applied to commercial insurance policies, removing the need for a large upfront payment.
• Fairway Credit — market-leading monthly payment product for golf club membership subscriptions; Premium Credit pays the club in full upfront.
• School Fee Plan — monthly payment solution for independent school fees, including extras such as music tuition and trips.
• FCA fee finance — allows regulated firms to spread their annual FCA fees and levies monthly; offered for over ten years.
• Annual fees finance — broader facility covering accountancy firms, trade associations, property maintenance, tax and VAT funding, and holiday parks.