Kitting out a gym floor is a large single outlay funded by memberships that build slowly, which is exactly what asset finance is for.
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Yes. Commercial gym equipment is widely financed, normally on hire purchase or lease across a whole floor package rather than machine by machine. As assets, commercial cardio and resistance kit from recognised manufacturers sit better than most soft assets: there is an active second-hand market and machines carry serial numbers, so funders can identify and, if needed, recover them. Used equipment from established refurbishers is fundable. The point that catches operators out is that funders still underwrite the club, not the kit, and new-start gyms without membership history remain genuinely hard to place.
Used kit: Yes, refurbished commercial gym equipment is widely funded where a recognised refurbisher supplies it with warranty and serial numbers recorded.
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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).
Gym equipment is the strongest asset class in this sector, and it is worth saying why. Branded cardio and selectorised resistance machines are traceable, there is a real refurbishment trade that buys them, and a gym floor is generally accessible at ground level for recovery. That combination widens the funder pool and improves terms compared with salon or shop assets. It does not make the gym itself an easy credit. Memberships are cancellable income, fit-out costs are unrecoverable, and the sector saw enough failures in recent years that underwriters read forecasts carefully. Expect a personal guarantee and expect installed items — flooring, mirrors, partitioning, air conditioning — to be treated as unsecured spend even when they sit on the same invoice as the machines.
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 |
|---|---|
| Technogym Artis line | Full commercial cardio and strength range |
| Technogym Skillrun treadmills | Commercial gym cardio |
| Life Fitness Insignia Series | Selectorised strength station range |
| Life Fitness Integrity SL treadmills | Commercial treadmill fleet |
| Matrix Ultra Series strength | Selectorised commercial strength kit |
| Precor Resolute selectorised range | Accessible commercial strength line |
| Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral plate loaded | Plate loaded strength machines |
| Concept2 RowErg | Commercial indoor rowing machine |
| Concept2 SkiErg and BikeErg | Ski and bike ergometer stations |
| Wattbike Atom | Smart indoor training bike |
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Usually an independent gym owner refreshing a floor that is five or six years old and starting to show it, or an operator opening a second site. Hotels, holiday parks, schools and workplaces fitting out smaller facilities form a steady second group. The trigger is often a competitor opening locally with new equipment and members drifting across. Leisure trusts and council-run facilities working to a planned replacement programme apply for the same reasons.
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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.
Usually yes, and that is the cleanest approach. One schedule listing every machine, its make, model and serial number keeps the paperwork manageable and reaches a sensible advance. Suppliers are used to providing the schedule in that format, and it makes the funder’s security position clear from the start.
They can often be included on the same agreement, but recognise what you are asking a funder to do. Bonded rubber flooring and fixed mirrors in a leased unit cannot be recovered, so that portion is unsecured. A package with a healthy proportion of machines to fit-out is far easier to place.
The agreement continues regardless, which is why funders look at how much headroom the forecast leaves. Talk to us early if trading changes rather than missing a payment, because funders have far more flexibility when approached before arrears than after. Missed payments show on credit files and limit future options.
No, most gyms lease. A lease with reasonable time remaining is what funders want to see, since a term shorter than the finance agreement raises an obvious question about where the equipment will be. Where the fit-out is extensive, some funders also ask about the landlord’s position.
It is one of the harder new-start cases. Some funders will look at it where the directors have sector experience, a signed lease, presale membership numbers and a meaningful contribution towards the cost. Without those, the honest answer is often no, and it is better to hear that before your searches are used up.
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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.
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A decline from one lender reflects that lender’s appetite, not the whole market’s.