The constraint for most teams isn’t ambition or execution; it’s the mismatch between when costs land and when support arrives. When you turn your cost of capital into a known constant across several cycles, you take back control of timing and keep momentum.
If you want funding that keeps pace with your roadmap, you’re not alone. R&D programs rarely fit neatly into a single financial year. Hiring lands in waves, experiments run longer than expected, and claim timelines often miss the moments you need cash. That’s why we’re introducing a new 3-year borrowing option for R&D finance. It locks pricing across multiple cycles, keeps your capital non-dilutive, and helps you plan with confidence.
The deal at a glance
Planning is easier when one number stays put across multiple cycles, and this option does exactly that. It fixes your rate while keeping usage flexible, so you can draw when milestones hit rather than when renewals roll around.
Under our new three-year option, rates are set for three years as a percentage point below the single-year rate. Drawing in years two and three is optional, and if you don’t draw in those years, you still receive the year-one rate. With the MFA, the exit fee also drops from 1.5% to 1%, adding another incentive to lock in the longer term. In comparison, standard rates are 1.42% a month (equivalent to 17% per annum), plus an exit fee on the amount borrowed.
Under our new 3-year option, rates are set for three years as a percentage point under the single-year rate. Drawing in years two and three is optional, and if you don’t draw in those years, you still receive the year-one rate. In comparison, standard rates are 1.42% a month, which equals 17% per annum, plus a 1.5% exit fee on the amount borrowed.
Why planning R&D finance over three years makes sense
Short-term fixes can bridge a crunch, but the lag between eligible spend and rebate is a repeating pattern. Take a multi-year view and you treat the pattern, not just the moment, so decisions happen earlier, risk falls, and progress compounds.
R&D runs as a series of sprints inside a marathon; you plan experiments, learn, adjust, and invest again. Stop-start cash flow slows delivery and forces compromise. A multi-year arrangement removes guesswork by setting your financing terms and intervals in advance. With rates locked, you can model scenarios with confidence and match facility use to milestones rather than to a calendar.
There’s a broader benefit, too. Teams that budget with reliable inputs make better choices. When you can forecast your cost of capital, you hire when the right talent is available, commit to long lead items with confidence, and avoid last-minute scrambles that distract from delivery, which adds up to steadier momentum and fewer trade-offs.
How R&D finance works alongside the R&DTI
This facility sits beside your claim, not in place of it; it converts year-to-date incurred, eligible costs into capital, so the work doesn’t have to wait.
R&D finance complements the R&D Tax Incentive by advancing funds against eligible R&D spend you’ve already incurred in the current financial year, which brings forward the cash you expect from your rebate. The R&DTI remains a government program, and your usual claim process continues; R&D Finance simply bridges the timing gap.
That distinction is why a 3-year option helps. Your claim may be lodged once a year, yet your program moves week to week. With rates known up front and a facility you can use as eligible spend accumulates, you smooth the peaks and troughs that would otherwise slow your team between claim periods.
What the 3-year option means for your cash flow
A fixed rate turns planning from guesswork into scheduling, so milestones set the tempo rather than the calendar, and trade-offs are clearer because your cost of capital is known.
Price certainty isn’t just peace of mind; it reshapes how you plan. With the 3-year option, you can:
- Align funding to your roadmap, not just to claim dates
- Reduce stop-and-start spending that interrupts delivery
- Protect ownership by keeping finance non-dilutive
- Budget with a known cost of capital and fewer surprises
Over time, these gains stack up. Instead of renegotiating terms every year you stay on execution, and because your finance partner already understands your program, you spend less time re-explaining context and more time building.
Who gets the most value from choosing the 3-year option
If your work runs on multi-quarter releases, staged trials or coordinated launches, timing pressure comes with the territory, and predictable pricing gives you a lever you can actually use. In practice, three groups feel the benefit first: founders and CFOs who prioritise certainty and want a clean planning baseline; scale-ups with multi-year product roadmaps that need hiring and supplier commitments to stay on track; and clinical or deep-tech teams progressing through staged trials with regulatory checkpoints, where continuity between phases matters most.
If you’re new to R&D finance, the 3-year option also helps set shared expectations across your leadership team and board, because everyone works from the same pricing assumptions and models the same scenarios, which lowers friction when plans shift.
How to budget R&D finance over three years
Treat the calendar as the output of your roadmap rather than the driver. Anchor to milestones first, then layer financing over the top so funding matches effort, not dates.
Work with a multi-year view. Map the next twelve to thirty-six months of planned work and mark the moments that trigger spend, such as key hires, prototype builds, trial batches, field tests, certifications and launch readiness. Estimate the portion likely to be eligible for the R&DTI, then sketch when you’d prefer to draw against that spend.
Now bring the rates into the picture. Because your cost of capital is known, you can test scenarios without changing assumptions mid-stream. You might bring a hire forward if it accelerates validation, phase supplier payments to secure better terms, or reduce a draw temporarily if a milestone slips. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s clear choices and flexible timing supported by a fixed rate.
Ready to lock in your rate and plan ahead with Rocking Horse?
Predictable funding can clear bottlenecks this quarter and make the next three years easier to plan. If price certainty across multiple cycles would help, this option gives you a stable rate and the flexibility to draw when milestones land.
Prefer a quick conversation first? Book a call with the Rocking Horse team, and we’ll walk you through how the 3-year option could fit your forecast, what the approval steps involve, and how draws work against your eligible spend.
Apply now to secure a 16% rate for three years. Our team will confirm the details, align the facility with your roadmap, and get you underway.
Frequently asked questions
If you’re weighing trade-offs, these answers show how the option behaves in practice so you can decide with clarity and move forward with confidence.
Do I have to draw every year to keep the benefit?
No, if you skip drawing in years two or three, you still receive the 16% rate in year one. The commitment gives you access to the lower pricing, while actual use of funds can change with your project needs. Lock in certainty now and draw only when eligible spend and milestones make it practical. If your activity slows or a project’s deferred, you don’t need to borrow simply to preserve the year-one benefit.
Can I access more funding as new spend accrues?
Yes, as you incur eligible R&D costs through the year, you can draw under your facility, subject to approval and limits, which you can confirm with your R&D Advisor. Most businesses draw in tranches that match their R&D rhythm, for example, after a hiring round, a prototype build, or a trial run. If timing shifts, pause draws until spend catches up, then resume when it does. Share your forecast, and we can build a simple draw schedule so working capital tracks progress.
Does this replace the R&DTI?
No, the R&DTI remains the government program that provides the rebate. We finance the timing gap between when you incur eligible costs and when the rebate’s processed. You continue to prepare and lodge your claim with your tax advisor or internal team. When the rebate’s paid, the loan’s repaid from those proceeds according to your facility terms.ototypes built to test or validate, and trial-related expenses that meet program rules. It’s important to note that you will need to get your eligibility certified by an R&D advisor before you can apply for R&D finance. Your R&D advisor will be able ot help you understand what spending is eligible.