Start-ups can get asset finance, but it is harder than for an established business and the choice of lenders is narrower. With no trading history, the lender is assessing you rather than your accounts, so your own experience, qualifications, credit history, deposit and confirmed work all carry more weight.
Practical things that help. Relevant qualifications and time served in the trade show you can do the work. A deposit or part-exchange reduces the lender’s exposure and widens the options. Evidence of contracts, subcontract arrangements or a book of committed work shows income is real rather than hoped for. Clean personal credit matters more at this stage than at any other. Many start-up agreements also require a personal guarantee, which means your own assets are on the line if the business cannot pay — understand that fully before signing.
Be realistic about sequencing. Rather than financing a full kit list on day one, many new arb businesses start with the essentials — a chipper and a suitable vehicle — hire in the specialist items, and add to the fleet once there is trading history to show a lender. That usually produces better terms on the second purchase than pushing for everything at the outset.
Nothing here guarantees approval. Some lenders will not consider start-ups at all, and those that do may ask for a larger deposit, a shorter term or additional security. It is better to know that before you commit to a supplier, which is why it is worth speaking to a broker before you place an order.