Business Asset Finance in Yorkshire

What business asset finance covers

Business asset finance is an umbrella term for funding the equipment a company operates rather than the premises it sits in. That includes machinery, plant, vehicles, IT and fit-out. The common thread is that the asset earns, so it should be paid for out of what it earns.

Equipment finance and equipment leasing

Equipment finance usually means hire purchase, where you own the equipment at the end. Equipment leasing means renting it over a term, with lower monthly payments because you are funding the depreciation rather than the full value. Which suits you depends on how long the asset stays useful and how your accountant treats it.

Machinery finance

Machinery finance covers CNC, engineering, woodworking, packaging and production equipment. Lenders assess the machine as security as well as the business, so a well-specified asset with a resale market often funds more easily than the headline figures suggest.

Business equipment finance for smaller purchases

Business equipment finance is not only for six-figure machines. Smaller assets — EPOS, catering equipment, IT, CCTV, office fit-out — can be funded too, often on shorter terms. If you are buying several things at once, they can usually be funded together rather than piecemeal.

What lenders assess on business equipment

Two things: the asset and the accounts. A machine with a serial number and an established resale market carries much of the risk itself, which is why asset finance is frequently available where an unsecured loan is not. Where the asset is soft — fit-out, software, furniture — the accounts carry the weight instead and terms are shorter.

New businesses and directors’ guarantees

A company without filed accounts is not unfundable. Lenders look at the directors’ track record, contracts in place, deposit and often a personal guarantee. Being new changes which lenders are appropriate rather than whether the deal happens — and going to the right ones first avoids a series of declines on your file.

If the bank has already said no

An unsecured decline reflects one lender’s view of unsecured risk, assessed largely by algorithm. Asset finance is a different question entirely, because something tangible secures it. We have placed deals for businesses their own bank turned down the same month — including releasing £110,000 against plant a contractor already owned.

Funding several things at once

Re-equipping rarely means one machine. Where you are buying from several suppliers, funding it as one facility avoids a spread of agreements maturing at different times and usually attracts better terms than the individual pieces would. Send the full list rather than the biggest item.

Equipment finance UK: one market, many appetites

Equipment finance UK-wide is a broad market with very different lender appetites. A lender competitive on plant this quarter may be uncompetitive on soft assets. As an independent broker we are not tied to one panel, so we can place the deal where the appetite currently sits.

What to send us

Send us the full list of what you are buying, not just the largest item, and we will tell you what can be funded together and over what term. If your bank has already declined you, say so — it changes which lenders we approach, not whether it is worth asking. No credit check to enquire.