For Businesses
Technology
Acquire or release funds from your assets
Estimated time to read page: 3min 45s | Written - January 2025. Reviewed quarterly.
"Asset finance is a cornerstone of SME funding, enabling businesses to spread the cost of vehicles, equipment, and machinery over manageable payments. By using the asset as security, businesses benefit from reduced costs. Asset finance can also unlock working capital by leveraging the value of existing assets." - Jamie Davies, Head of Lending
Asset finance allows businesses to acquire essential machinery, vehicles, or equipment without upfront costs by spreading payments over time.
Within asset finance, there is another product called asset refinance, which lets businesses release cash tied up in owned assets, improving liquidity by using the asset as collateral
Both differ from term lending as the borrower does not own the asset until the end of the term (when all payments have been made).
The lender has security of ownership of the specific asset, and the borrower will in most cases fund a deposit to cover some of the risk.
Grow your business and finance new projects to help grow your business. From sole traders, partnerships, startups, to SMEs, boost your cashflow and kickstart the growth your business need.
The industries that typically apply for asset finance are:
Asset finance helps preserve cashflow when purchasing assets, allowing the business to enhance its operations. It also spreads costs over time, and allows businesses to access essential assets without large upfront payments.
Asset refinance, on the other hand, is a way to unlock cashflow, leveraging already owned assets to raise additional working capital.
Hire Purchase, Equipment Leasing, Operating Leases, Finance Leases, and Sale & Leaseback are financing methods for acquiring the use of assets.
Hire Purchase allows you to own the asset after making regular payments.
Equipment Leasing is a broad term encompassing various lease types.
Operating Leases are short-term, where you use the asset but don't own it.
Finance Leases are long-term, with ownership potential.
Sale & Leaseback involves selling an owned asset to a lessor and then leasing it back, freeing up capital.
The specific eligibility criteria will depend on each lender, the rule of thumb usually involve:
The business has to be registered and based in the UK
Full ownership of the asset (for refinance)
Most lenders will require a minimum finance amount of £10K
As the asset serves as security, this type of finance is suitable for almost all business.
A lender may request specific documentation throughout the process; however, the usual basic information required will include the last three months of bank statements, the most recent filed accounts (if applicable), details of the asset, proof of asset ownership (for asset refinance), and basic details about the director and the business.
Our team will request this information through our secure technological platform, allowing for a safe and efficient upload of all documents.
Key information such as how much deposit can the business secure will also be required.
On top of that, we provide advice and support through the entire process. Arranging a finance facility can take time. We assist you in cutting through the unnecessary and focusing only on what needs to be done.
We make it easier for you to raise commercial finance for your project or business. As we're not tied to specific commercial finance lenders, our concern is what's best for you.
By joining years of expertise with our in-house intelligent lending technology, we are able to quickly match your business to the best product and the right lender for your circumstances, even if you have struggled in the past, in a simple and straightforward way.
Once the asset is approved by the lender, which sometimes requires an in-person inspection, done by the lender, the funds are release within 24-48h. Approvals tend to take up to 5 days, as it requires matching the inspection scheduling with the lenders availability.
Yes, It is a common way to release capital, if the business owns a significant amount of equity in assets.
A wide range of assets can be financed, from hard assets to soft assets, including vehicles, machinery, IT equipment, specialised tools, plant equipment.
Hard assets are tangible items with a resale value, such as vehicles, machinery, and equipment. Soft assets are items with limited resale value, like software, furniture, or IT systems.
Yes, many lenders provide asset finance to startups and small businesses, as the asset itself will work as security, though approval depends on factors like credit history and business viability.
