About Ask Sterling
Ask Sterling is a free guide to business finance for established UK limited companies. We explain how cash advances, revolving credit, asset finance and business loans really work, give you calculators that show the true cost, and, if you ask us to, pass your enquiry to one named funding partner. We are an introducer. We don't lend, we don't broker, and we don't make credit decisions.
Who runs it
Ask Sterling is a trading name of OPTIMAX AI LTD, a company registered in England & Wales (company no. 16143914), at 38 Sunnymede Avenue, Epsom KT19 9TJ. You can reach us at mike@optimax-ai.com. That is a real inbox read by a real person.
Why we built it
Most business-finance websites are platforms. You fill in one form, it goes into a marketplace, and several companies ring you the same afternoon, each with a different offer quoted a different way. Comparing them is hard work, and the phone doesn't stop.
Ask Sterling does the opposite. We ask a few straight questions, we tell you what the money will really cost, and if you want an introduction we send your enquiry to one funding specialist, not ten. You know in advance who it is: you can read about them on who you'll speak to.
Who Sterling is
Sterling is an illustrated guide character: silver hair, a ledger-green waistcoat, an orange pen in his pocket, a phone in one hand and a notebook in the other. He is not a real person. He has no qualifications, no years in the industry and no track record, and he never claims any. Nobody called Sterling will ring you.
We use a character for a plain reason. Finance is full of jargon, and a consistent voice makes it easier to read: one guide who asks one question at a time, turns a factor rate into an APR, and tells you when a deal looks expensive. When you see "Sterling's take" on a page, that is our editorial view, written and checked by the team behind the site under our editorial policy. It is general information, not advice about your company.
Why limited companies only
Introducing sole traders and small partnerships to credit is regulated credit broking, which needs FCA permission we don't have. So we only make introductions for limited companies. Business finance for limited companies is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The full reasoning is in why limited companies only.
What we do
- Explain business finance in plain English, with the sources listed on every page.
- Give you free calculators (cost, APR, how much you might borrow, offer checks) that run in your browser.
- With your consent, send your enquiry to one named funding partner.
- Tell you, in plain words, how we get paid.
What we don't do
- We don't lend money or decide who gets finance. Price, terms and approval are set by the funder.
- We don't charge you anything, and we don't take a cut of any finance you receive.
- We don't sell your details or send them to anyone other than the one partner you agree to.
- We don't run credit searches.
- We don't publish testimonials, reviews or "funded" counters. We are new, and we won't fake them.
- We don't promise an amount, a rate, a speed or an approval. Nobody honest can.