Growth consumes cash before it produces any, which is why expanding businesses so often look to the equipment they have already paid for.
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Refinancing to fund growth means releasing capital from owned equipment specifically to pay for expansion — new premises, extra staff, additional stock or another piece of kit. The funder buys assets held free of finance, hires them back and advances the proceeds, so nothing stops while the business grows. This is the strongest possible reason to put in front of a refinance underwriter, because there is an identifiable return behind the borrowing. It contrasts directly with refinancing to cover a shortfall, which funders read as a symptom rather than a plan.
Used kit: Yes — the age of the equipment matters far less than the credibility of the plan, and older assets routinely fund growth where the trade market for them is active.
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Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
This is the use of funds that unlocks the best reception, but only when it is evidenced. Underwriters want more than the word growth; they want the contract, the order, the lease on the new unit or the quotation for the equipment being bought. Management accounts showing a rising trend help enormously, as does an explanation of how the expansion will be serviced operationally. Where a funder senses the growth story is a wrapper around a cash problem, it will unwind quickly — a request framed as expansion but pointing at aged creditors gets declined like any other distress case. Title on the assets being refinanced still has to be proven with invoices and serial numbers, and an inspection is normal. The disposal itself carries accounting and tax consequences your accountant should confirm.
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Haas VF-2 machining centre | Owned production machining centre |
| Trumpf TruBend press brake | Owned fabrication press brake |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 315 CDI fleet | Paid-off van fleet |
| Scania R450 tractor unit | Owned HGV tractor unit |
| JCB 3CX Sitemaster | Owned plant and site equipment |
| Kubota KX027-4 mini excavator | Owned mini excavator |
| Toyota Tonero forklift fleet | Warehouse handling fleet owned outright |
| Jungheinrich ETV 216 reach truck | Owned warehouse reach truck |
| Wood-Mizer LT70 sawmill | Specialist trade equipment owned outright |
| ESAB welding plant and positioners | Owned workshop welding equipment |
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Typically a business that has just won something bigger than it has handled before: a national account, a second site, a contract requiring double the output. The equipment is owned, the order book is strong, and the only gap is the working capital needed between winning the work and being paid for it.
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Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Whatever makes it concrete: signed contracts, purchase orders, a heads of terms on new premises, a supplier quotation. Underwriters fund plans they can verify, and a folder of evidence does more for an application than any amount of narrative in a covering email.
They suit different situations. Refinance draws on value you have already built and tends to allow larger sums where the asset base supports it. Unsecured facilities are quicker but smaller. Many growing businesses end up using both for different parts of the plan.
For larger raises, usually yes. A forecast showing how the expansion is paid for, and how the new payments are absorbed, answers the question an underwriter is really asking. It does not need to be elaborate, but it needs to be honest and arithmetically sound.
Yes, and it is a common structure. Releasing capital from owned assets while separately funding the new purchase keeps the deposit requirement manageable and gets capacity in place sooner. Both elements are underwritten together.
The payments continue regardless, which is why funders test the plan before they advance. Build in headroom rather than assuming best-case revenue, and be candid with your broker about the downside so the structure suits the risk you are actually taking.
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See everything we fund in asset refinance and sale and leaseback →
Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.