Access control finance
Fund door controllers, readers, locks and software as one installation, whether securing a single entrance or an entire building.
- FCA regulatedAppointed Representative, FRN 1031964
- 60+ lendersWhole-of-market panel, not one bank
- 5.0 from 19 Google reviews
- No credit checkEnquiring leaves no mark on your file
Yes, with a clear caveat. Access control is funded regularly, but most of the installation becomes part of the fabric of the building. Electric locks, door furniture, readers set into frames and the cabling behind them cannot be recovered without damaging the doors they secure. Controllers and the management software have no meaningful resale either. Agreements are written against the business covenant. Used equipment is rarely funded. The thing to grasp is that this looks like a hardware purchase but funds like a fit-out, so the accounts do virtually all the work.
Who finances this
Offices moving away from keys that have been copied too many times, warehouses and production sites restricting access to hazardous or high-value areas, care homes managing resident safety, and student or serviced accommodation providers. The trigger is often a lost keyset and the cost of rekeying, an audit requiring a record of who entered where, or an insurance condition. Gyms and clubs also install access control to run unstaffed hours.
How lenders see it
Access control is a fit-out dressed as a technology purchase, and I treat it that way. Once a maglock is fitted, a reader is let into a frame and the cable is chased through a wall, none of it is coming back out in saleable condition. The controllers have negligible trade value and the software is licensed to you. So I am lending on the covenant, full stop. Where the premises are leased I will ask about the term remaining and whether the landlord has consented to alterations. Applications I like are established businesses with a specific security or compliance driver; the ones I question are large door counts at companies whose turnover does not obviously justify the scale.
Buying used
No, effectively. Access control hardware is embedded in doors and frames and is not recovered in usable condition, so there is no second-hand market for funders to rely on.
Also in IT and technology finance
See everything we fund in IT and technology finance →
Machines we have funded
| Paxton Net2 door controllers | Networked door control units |
|---|---|
| Paxton Paxton10 controllers | Combined access and video platform |
| Paxton Entry touch panels | Door entry panels with video |
| Salto XS4 wireless locks | Battery-powered electronic door locks |
| Salto Neo cylinders | Electronic lock cylinders for retrofits |
| Assa Abloy Aperio wireless locks | Retrofit wireless locks for doors |
| HID Signo readers | Card and mobile credential readers |
| Suprema biometric readers | Fingerprint and face readers for doors |
| Videx VX2200 door entry | Audio and video door entry system |
| Nedap AEOS platform | Enterprise access control platform |
Can access control be financed if it is fitted into leased premises?
Yes, though the funder will ask how long the lease has to run and whether your landlord has approved the alterations. The equipment cannot be recovered in usable form, so tenure does not affect their security position much, but it does tell them whether the investment matches your likely occupation of the building.
How does this differ from financing a CCTV system?
CCTV leaves a funder with cameras and a recorder that at least have a trade value. Access control leaves them with locks embedded in doors and software licensed to you. Both are funded, but access control is assessed purely on your business, whereas surveillance carries a little genuine asset support.
Can we include the door hardware and joinery work?
Usually yes, as part of the same project. Electric strikes, closers, and the making good of frames are standard items on an installer quote. They are entirely unrecoverable, which is already true of the rest of the system, so including them does not change how the application is assessed.
Will the software licence be part of the agreement?
It can be included where purchased outright with the system, which is common on smaller installations. Enterprise platforms sold on annual subscription generally stay outside the agreement. Either way a funder places no security value on software, since a licence cannot be repossessed and resold to another business.
Can we start with the main entrance and expand later?
Yes, and phasing is sensible where budgets are tight. Most platforms are designed to extend door by door, and each phase can be funded on its own schedule. Specify the eventual scope to your installer at the start so the controllers and cabling are sized for the finished system rather than the first stage.
Tell us what you need
About a minute of plain questions, and no documents to dig out.
Prime is established and profitable with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining, the asset carries part of the risk, so finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Illustrative only, not a quote, a flat rate is not an APR, so the APR on a given agreement will be higher. VAT and fees excluded.
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Conor reads every enquiry himself. We will call you within 24 business hours, and it will be the person who actually arranges the finance, not a call centre, and not a form that disappears.
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One adviser from your first enquiry to the money in your account. No call centres.
Your adviser
Conor HullMon to Fri, 9am–6pm
5.0 from 19 Google reviews
Thinking about access control finance?
A few questions, and we will tell you what the panel can do. No obligation, and no call centres.
