Pricing
Initial Rate
The initial rate is the interest rate charged during the fixed-rate period at the start of a secured loan — typically 2 or 5 years — before the rate switches to the variable revert rate.
Most UK secured loans are structured as fixed-rate-then-variable products. You get a low initial rate for the first few years to give you payment certainty, then the rate reverts to the lender's standard variable rate (the revert rate) for the remainder of the term.
The initial rate is typically what's advertised in marketing — a 5-year fix at 6.39% means the rate is 6.39% for the first 60 months, then it changes. The revert rate is usually higher and is shown in the lender's literature alongside the initial rate.
The APRC (Annual Percentage Rate of Charge) accounts for the impact of moving from initial rate to revert rate, which is why APRC is the more reliable comparison number than initial rate alone.