A catering trailer is a restaurant you can tow to where the customers already are, and it is funded as a proper asset rather than a hobby.
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Yes. Catering trailers are funded on hire purchase as identifiable assets, and a fully fitted unit from a recognised builder is a straightforward proposition for funders. Used trailers are fundable. The thing that stops applications is identity: a funder needs a chassis or VIN number to register an interest in the asset and prove it exists, so a home-built trailer on an unidentifiable chassis is very hard to fund however well it is finished. Buy from a builder who supplies a chassis plate, a gas safety certificate and an electrical test.
Used kit: Yes, and used trailers fund well where they carry a chassis number, a current gas safety certificate and an electrical installation report. Private sales with no paperwork are the usual stumbling block.
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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).
Trailers are better security than almost anything inside a fixed kitchen, because they are registered, movable, individually identifiable and sold readily second-hand through a genuine market. That is the good part. The caution is on the business: mobile catering is seasonal, often young, frequently a sole trader or a recently formed limited company, and underwriters know that a wet summer hurts. Expect questions about confirmed pitches, event bookings, how long you have traded and, for newer operators, a personal guarantee. The fit-out inside the trailer — the fryer, the griddle, the refrigeration — is fundable on the same invoice provided the builder supplies the unit complete, which is far easier than trying to fund a bare trailer and loose equipment separately.
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 |
|---|---|
| Towability catering trailers | Purpose-built mobile catering trailers |
| AJC Trailers catering units | Bespoke catering trailer builds |
| Blue Line Trailers catering units | Road-going catering trailers for events |
| Ifor Williams box trailers | Base trailers for catering conversions |
| Bateson Trailers box trailers | Enclosed trailers ready for fit-out |
| Brian James Trailers box vans | Enclosed trailers for conversion work |
| Debon Roadster box trailers | Compact box trailers for conversion |
| Lincat Silverlink 600 modules | Compact cooking units for trailers |
| Buffalo countertop cooking equipment | Fryers, griddles and grills for trailers |
| Polar undercounter refrigeration | Chilled storage for mobile units |
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Street food operators moving from a pitch or a pop-up into their own unit, established caterers adding a second trailer so they can work two events in a weekend, and farm and leisure businesses adding a food offer. Restaurants also buy them to trade at festivals in the summer. The trigger is normally a booked calendar: someone has enough confirmed events to justify the unit and wants it built before the season starts.
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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, provided a VAT-registered builder is supplying it complete with a chassis number and the relevant gas and electrical certification. What is difficult is a self-build assembled from parts, because there is no single supplier invoice and often no identifiable chassis, and a funder cannot register an interest in something it cannot identify.
Yes, when it is on the builder’s invoice as part of a complete unit, which is the simplest way to structure it. Funding a bare trailer from one supplier and the fryer, griddle and fridges from three others creates a messy schedule. Ask the builder to quote the finished, certified unit as one item.
It shapes it. Underwriters know the income is concentrated into the warmer months and will want to see that the business can meet payments across the quiet period. Evidence of confirmed bookings, regular market pitches or winter work such as Christmas events strengthens the case considerably, as does a trading history covering at least one full year.
Yes. Plenty of mobile catering businesses are sole traders and funders have products for them, although the agreement may be regulated depending on the circumstances and the assessment will look closely at you personally as well as the business. Clean personal credit and consistent bank activity matter more than a limited company badge.
Not formally, but it helps. A funder is reassured by evidence that you have somewhere to trade — confirmed event bookings, a market licence, a regular pitch agreement — because a trailer with nowhere to go generates no income. Street trading consent from the local authority is something you will need regardless of how the unit is paid for.
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See everything we fund in catering and hospitality finance →
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.