Specialist loans secured against your Video Games Tax Relief receivable. Drawdown in as little as one week. No warrants. Written by principals who've lent to UK studios for over six years and seen hundreds of cultural test certificates.
Video Games Tax Relief gives qualifying UK studios up to 20% back on core development expenditure — but HMRC can take three to six months to process a claim once filed. For studios mid-development, that wait is the difference between hitting milestones and missing them.
A VGTR loan from Finstock Capital advances funds against your future VGTR receivable. We take security over the claim; you get cash in days. When HMRC pays, the loan is repaid. Simple, non-dilutive, and structured around the milestone you're actually trying to hit.
We've lent to UK indie studios since 2018, including Radical Forge, Stainless Games, and Cardboard Sword, alongside dozens of others. We understand wishlists, vertical slices, publisher milestones, and Steam Next Fest — because we've seen them all.
No relationship managers, no credit committees, no game-design questions from people who've never played one. You speak to Edo or Oliver from the first call, and they make the decision.
Honest 20-minute conversation. We'll tell you on the call whether we can help and roughly what terms look like.
Interim BFI certificate, accountant's letter setting out expected VGTR, latest management accounts. That's the core ask.
Plain-English term sheet within 48–72 hours. Standardised, sensible, no ambiguity.
Funds in your account. Most VGTR loans complete within a week of first contact for studios with documentation ready.
| Publisher Deal | Equity Raise | VGTR Loan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 30–50% of revenue | Permanent dilution | Interest only |
| Time to fund | 3–6 months | 3–9 months | ~1 week |
| Equity dilution | None (but rev share) | 15–30% | None |
| Creative control | Often constrained | Board involvement | Fully retained |
| Repayment source | Game revenue | N/A | HMRC VGTR payment |
A VGTR loan is a short-term loan made to a UK video game studio, secured against the studio's future Video Games Tax Relief receivable from HMRC. It lets studios access the value of their tax relief in days or weeks rather than waiting months for HMRC to pay out, freeing cash for development, staff costs, and runway.
We typically advance up to 80% of the expected VGTR receivable. Loan sizes range from £100,000 to £5 million depending on the size of the claim, the studio's position, and the documentation available. For larger claims we can structure quarterly drawdown facilities rather than a single advance.
For studios with an interim BFI certificate and a clean accountant's letter setting out the expected VGTR amount, drawdown can happen in as little as one week from first contact. The bottleneck is usually documentation, not our process — studios that come to us prepared close fastest.
Typically yes. The interim certificate from the British Film Institute confirms your game has passed the cultural test, which gives lenders confidence the VGTR claim will ultimately be paid by HMRC. We can lend without one in some circumstances — for example, where you have strong precedent claims or where the cultural test is clearly met. Speak to us if you don't have a certificate yet.
VGTR closes from 1 April 2027 and is being replaced by the Video Game Expenditure Credit (VGEC). Finstock Capital lends against both VGTR and VGEC receivables on similar terms — the underlying mechanic of advancing against an HMRC tax credit is the same. Studios mid-transition are welcome to discuss either route with us.
No. Unlike many specialist video games lenders, we don't take equity warrants on VGTR loans as standard. We earn interest income, not equity participation. You keep 100% of the upside in your studio and your IP.
Pricing varies with claim size, claim quality, and term, but typically falls in the teens (% per annum). Total cost is usually a small fraction of the equity dilution or revenue share you'd give up to a publisher or investor for the same capital. We'll quote indicative pricing on the first call.
Yes. VGTR loans sit on top of most other capital structures. Publishers usually have no issue with a VGTR loan, since it accelerates a tax receivable rather than changing economics on the game. Many of our borrowers use VGTR loans specifically to bridge to a publisher milestone or close an equity round on better terms.
Send us your interim certificate and accountant's letter and we'll come back inside 24 hours with indicative terms.