Digital signage finance
Fund commercial display screens, players and mounting across a site or an estate, treating a rollout as one project rather than a running cost.
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Yes. Digital signage is a comparatively straightforward technology purchase to finance because commercial displays are physical, substantial and have a resale market, unlike most IT. Agreements are usually hire purchase or lease against the business. Used screens are occasionally funded through AV trade suppliers. The part that is easy to overlook is the content management software: signage only works with a platform driving it, and that licence is a recurring service the funder cannot repossess. A rollout heavy on software and installation will be assessed on your accounts rather than on the screens.
Who finances this
Retailers replacing printed point-of-sale with screens they can change centrally, quick service restaurants moving to digital menu boards, gyms, dealerships, healthcare waiting areas and corporate receptions. The trigger is often a rebrand, a new store format, or the realisation that reprinting and distributing physical promotional material across many sites costs more each year than screens would. Venues and stadiums also finance signage as part of a wider commercial or sponsorship refresh.
How lenders see it
Signage is at the harder end of the soft-asset spectrum, which I welcome. A commercial-grade display is a real thing with a serial number, it has a trade market, and it is built for continuous operation rather than being a domestic television. I will lend against it more readily than against a room of desktops. The parts I discount are the mounting, the power and data runs to each screen, and the content platform subscription. I also think about location: screens across multiple leased retail units are harder to gather in than screens at a single owned site, and I factor that in. A retailer with solid figures and a clear rollout plan is a straightforward yes.
Buying used
Yes, occasionally. Ex-display and refurbished commercial screens are traded by AV suppliers and a small number of funders will consider them, though panel hours and remaining warranty are examined closely.
Also in IT and technology finance
See everything we fund in IT and technology finance →
Machines we have funded
| Samsung QMC series displays | Commercial displays for signage networks |
|---|---|
| Samsung QBC series displays | Entry commercial displays for shops |
| Samsung Smart Signage Platform players | Built-in players for signage content |
| LG UHD Signage displays | Commercial screens for retail and offices |
| LG LED signage displays | Fine pitch LED walls for venues |
| Philips Q-Line displays | Professional displays for signage |
| BrightSign XD5 media player | Signage media player for screens |
| BrightSign LS5 media player | Entry media player for single screens |
| Peerless-AV wall mounts | Display mounting and video wall systems |
| Extron signage distribution | Audio visual distribution and switching hardware |
Can I finance screens across a chain of stores?
Yes, and multi-site rollouts are welcomed by funders because they represent one planned project rather than piecemeal spending. We will need a schedule listing each location and the equipment going there. Where sites are leased units, expect a few extra questions about tenure, since the funder wants to know where its equipment lives.
Is a commercial display really different from a consumer TV?
Yes, and it matters to a funder as well as to you. Commercial panels are rated for long daily operation, carry proper warranties and support portrait mounting and remote management. A consumer television used in a business setting typically voids its warranty and fails early, which is not the profile an underwriter wants behind an agreement.
Can the content management subscription be funded too?
Where it is bought up front for a set period it can usually be included in the project, though the funder treats it as an unrecoverable service element. Monthly licensing billed by the platform provider generally stays separate. Either way the screens themselves give the application some tangible substance.
What about menu boards in a drive-through?
Outdoor and high-brightness units are fundable in the same way, and they are considerably more substantial pieces of equipment. The installation is heavier too, involving groundwork, weatherproof enclosures and power runs, all of which are unrecoverable. Expect the hardware to help the application and the civil works to be assessed against the business.
How long do businesses usually keep signage screens?
Commercial panels are built for years of continuous service, which is longer than most IT stays useful. That relatively long life is part of why funders are comfortable with the asset. Your own refresh decision will usually be driven by a brand or format change rather than by the screens failing.
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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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