We had the same experience with Natwest. Our events business was doing over £1m in revenue with them, for over three years - and they still turned us down. They seemed completely aware of a recurring revenue model. Insanely frustrating.

I just hopped on the web and Googled 'small business loan' and came across Lloyds. I filled out a random contact form and amazingly they got in touch. I had to prepare a traditional biz plan and present it. Because we bootstrapped the startup and revenues showed constant growth, and I was confident in my pitch, they got back to me next day and said they'd do it. Wasn't easy but it worked.