A launderette is a bank of valuable machines sitting inside a shop fit-out, and funders treat the two halves completely differently.
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Yes. Launderette equipment funds well because the machines themselves are hard assets with a strong used market. A row of commercial washers and stack dryers can be identified by serial number and resold through dealers, which gives a funder real security. Used machines are fundable. The distinction to grasp is between the machines and the shop: plumbing manifolds, drainage, ducting, seating, counters and signage are all unrecoverable once installed in a leased unit, so a funder is effectively unsecured on that part of the spend.
Used kit: Yes, used launderette machines are routinely funded through dealers, and buying a going concern with existing equipment can often be structured around them.
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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).
Launderettes are a useful illustration of the recoverable-versus-unrecoverable split that runs through this whole sector. The machines are genuinely recoverable: dealers buy them, they carry serial numbers and they last. The shop around them is not — manifold plumbing, extract ducting, a tiled floor, fixed seating and a shopfront belong to the building from the day they go in, and most launderettes lease their unit. Funders therefore look for a package weighted towards machines rather than works, and they may ask the landlord to confirm they will not claim the machines as fixtures. Income is also worth understanding: it is largely unattended cash or card takings, so banking records and, where fitted, payment system reports do a lot of the evidential work.
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 |
|---|---|
| Ipso IY105 vended washer | Coin and card vended washer |
| Ipso vended dryer range | Self-service tumble dryers |
| Speed Queen SC commercial washers | Vended launderette washing machines |
| Speed Queen stack washer dryer | Stacked vended laundry tower |
| Huebsch vended washers and dryers | Full launderette equipment set |
| Girbau vended washer range | Self-service washer extractors |
| Girbau ED260 dryer | Launderette tumble dryer |
| Nayax cashless payment terminals | Card and contactless payment system |
| Speed Queen Insights management system | Remote monitoring and payment platform |
| Miele Professional PWM 908 | Compact vended washing machine |
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Typically someone buying an existing launderette and modernising it, or an owner converting from coin operation to card and app payment after too many cash collections and too much vandalism. New sites in high-density rental areas are the other case. The trigger is frequently machines from a previous decade that break weekly and lose customers to a newer shop nearby.
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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.
Often yes on the same agreement, but understand the funder’s position. Manifolds, ducting, flooring, seating and signage cannot be recovered from a leased shop, so that spend is unsecured. Packages heavily weighted towards works rather than machines attract more scrutiny and fewer willing funders. A schedule that lists each machine with its serial number alongside a separate works figure is what an underwriter wants to see.
Many owners do, because the payment system cost is real and the benefit is spread over years. Payment units are a smaller asset with modest resale value, so they usually ride alongside a machine order rather than standing alone. Most funders will not write a payment system as a deal on its own.
Through the business bank account first, supported by filed accounts and, where a management system is fitted, its transaction reports. A launderette that banks takings consistently gives an underwriter a clear picture. Irregular cash banking is the single most common reason these files stall. If takings are collected weekly, bank them on the same day each week so the pattern is obvious from the statements alone.
Sometimes. Where the sale includes identifiable machines, a funder may be able to fund those specifically, although funding goodwill or lease premiums is a different type of facility entirely. The key is a clear apportionment in the sale agreement showing what is being paid for the equipment.
Possibly, and it depends on the building and the local authority, so check before committing. From a finance point of view the relevance is timing: an approval that cannot be installed because consent is outstanding creates problems, so suppliers and funders both prefer the consents to be in hand.
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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.