Weddings and festivals need a bar that arrives on a tow bar, and the operators who do it well are booked eighteen months ahead and still buying units.
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Yes. Mobile bars are funded on hire purchase, and the structure follows what the bar actually is. A trailer or converted horsebox with a chassis number funds as an identifiable asset, as does a converted vehicle with a V5. A demountable bar built from panels with no registration is much harder, because a funder cannot identify or trace it. Used units are fundable with paperwork. The other thing to be ready for is seasonality: an underwriter will want to see how the business covers the winter months.
Used kit: Yes, and the used event bar market is active. Funders want a chassis or VIN number, evidence of gas and electrical safety where fitted, and a supplier invoice rather than a private handshake.
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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).
Registered units — horseboxes, trailers, Piaggio conversions, Airstreams — are decent security because they are identifiable, movable and sell through a real used market to other event operators. Loose bar equipment and flat-pack structures are soft and hold very little value. The larger underwriting issue is the trading pattern: event businesses earn most of their income across a short season, often through a young limited company, and funders want evidence that payments continue in February. Confirmed forward bookings, a wedding venue contract or a multi-year festival relationship all help, as does a personal guarantee. Where the unit also carries dispense equipment and coolers on the same invoice, the package funds more cleanly than splitting it across suppliers.
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 |
|---|---|
| Airstream trailer conversion | Retro trailer built out as a bar |
| Piaggio Ape bar conversion | Compact three-wheel mobile bar |
| Ifor Williams horsebox conversion | Horsebox converted into a bar |
| Lindr KONTAKT 55 | Portable dry beer cooler |
| Lindr PYGMY 25 | Compact mobile beer cooler |
| Polar back bar coolers | Bottle chillers for mobile bars |
| Gamko MaxiGlass bottle coolers | Glass-door back bar coolers |
| Classeq G400 Duo | Compact glasswasher for mobile service |
| Autonumis dispense fonts and coolers | Beer dispense kit for bars |
| Hoshizaki IM-65NE | Compact ice machine for bar service |
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Event bar companies growing from one unit to several, wedding venues bringing an outsourced bar in-house, festival traders, and licensees extending an existing pub into outdoor events. Some are drinks brands building a promotional unit. The trigger is almost always a full diary: an operator turning down bookings because the single bar is already committed on the Saturdays that matter, which is a very easy business case to make.
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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.
Yes, and it is one of the more common event bar requests. The horsebox carries a chassis number so the funder can identify the asset, and converted units sell well within the event trade. Have the conversion invoiced as a finished unit with gas and electrical certification rather than funding the shell and the fit-out separately.
Realistically, and they will ask how the quiet months are covered. Showing a deposit-backed booking diary, venue partnerships or winter work such as corporate Christmas events makes the difference. Some funders can structure payments to reflect a seasonal income pattern, which is worth raising at the application stage rather than afterwards.
It is much harder. A bar assembled from panels and counters has no registration, no serial identity and little resale value, so a funder has nothing to secure against and is effectively lending unsecured. An established business with good accounts may get it through, or an unsecured business loan may be the cleaner route.
Yes, and it is the sensible structure. Beer coolers, bottle fridges, glasswashers and gas equipment listed alongside the unit itself make one facility rather than several small ones, and the registered unit strengthens the schedule that the lower-value equipment sits on.
Funding does not depend on it, but you will need the right licensing to trade, usually temporary event notices or a personal licence holder depending on how you operate. It is worth having that settled before you commit to a unit, because a bar with no route to serve alcohol generates no income to make the payments.
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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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