Display fridge finance
A display chiller is a shop fitting that sells things, which is why the cafes that get it right put the good stuff at eye level and fund the cabinet.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a display fridge?
Yes. Display fridges, multidecks and serve-over counters are funded as equipment on hire purchase or lease, and they suit finance well because they generate the sales that pay for them. Used cabinets from dealers are fundable. The distinction to understand is plug-in versus remote. A plug-in Williams or Interlevin cabinet is a self-contained asset a funder can collect and resell. A remote multideck piped to an external condensing pack is effectively installed into the building, so it is treated with more caution and the pipework is soft cost.
Used kit: Yes — refurbished multidecks and serve-overs are a large and active market and funders accept them, generally when supplied by a trade dealer with a warranty on the refrigeration.
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What would a display fridge cost per month?
Asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what the buttons show, with the equivalent APR beside it. Your exact rate depends on the asset, the term, the deposit and the lender.
Prime is an established, profitable business with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining — the asset itself carries part of the risk, which is why finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £628 a month; total amount repayable approximately £30,150, of which £5,150 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.
Rates shown are indicative flat rates with the equivalent APR alongside — the two are not the same number. Indicative only and does not constitute a quote or an offer of finance. Subject to status and lender approval.
How lenders treat it
Plug-in display cabinets are decent security. They are portable, branded, and there is an active dealer trade in used multidecks and serve-overs, so funders can see an exit. Remote systems are a different proposition entirely, because the cabinet is only half the installation and the condensing pack, pipe runs and controls are fixed to the building. Expect a funder to fund the cabinets and question the pipework. Hospitality and retail food both carry sector caution, so the credit decision turns on trading history, accounts and bank conduct, and a new cafe with no filed accounts will need a guarantee. Bespoke fitted counters with joinery surrounds are soft and are usually funded on covenant rather than on value.
Makes and models we fund
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 |
|---|---|
| Williams Gem multideck | Open-front chilled display merchandiser |
| Williams glass-door display cabinets | Upright merchandisers for grab and go |
| Foster Slimline multideck | Narrow-footprint chilled display unit |
| Interlevin Italia range | Glass-door display fridges for shops |
| Interlevin multidecks | Open display merchandisers for retail |
| Tefcold glass-door coolers | Bottle and can display coolers |
| Frilixa multidecks | Compact chilled display cabinets |
| Gram glass-door cabinets | Energy-efficient display refrigerators for shops |
| Precision glass-door refrigerators | British-built display cabinets for retail counters |
| Polar glass-door display fridges | Entry-level display cabinets for small shops |
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Who buys one
Cafes and coffee shops merchandising cakes, sandwiches and grab-and-go, delis and farm shops attached to a hospitality business, hotel lobby markets, and pubs selling bottled drinks at the bar. The trigger is a menu change toward takeaway and food-to-go, or a tired cabinet whose lighting and glass no longer present the product properly. Multi-site operators buy in batches when they roll out a new merchandising layout across shops.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
How it is treated for tax
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.
Display fridge finance questions
What is the difference between funding a plug-in and a remote cabinet?
A plug-in cabinet has its own compressor, so it is a complete, movable, resaleable asset and funders treat it as hard security. A remote cabinet relies on a condensing pack elsewhere in the building connected by fixed pipework, so part of what you are buying is an installation rather than an asset, and that part is treated as soft cost.
Can I finance a bespoke serve-over counter with joinery?
Often, but the joinery is the weak part. A fitted counter built to your dimensions with a timber surround has minimal resale value, so the funder is really lending against your trading figures. Where the refrigerated units inside are branded and the business is established, the whole package usually goes through as one facility.
Do display fridges hold enough value to fund on their own?
A single small cabinet usually falls below the minimum facility a funder will write, so it goes onto a wider schedule. A bank of multidecks or a full serve-over run for a deli clears the threshold comfortably and funds on its own. As ever, the practical answer is to fund everything you are buying in one go.
Can I fund cabinets across several sites on one agreement?
Yes, and multi-site operators do this routinely. One schedule can list equipment at different addresses as long as they all sit under the same trading entity and the funder knows where each item is. Trying to fund each shop separately creates four sets of documentation and four end dates for no benefit.
Are energy-efficient doors on a multideck worth funding?
Glass doors and night blinds add cost but cut running cost noticeably, and because they are supplied with the cabinet they sit on the same invoice and the same agreement. That is a good use of finance: you pay for the efficiency over time while the electricity saving arrives immediately, which is rarely true of the rest of a fit-out.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
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