Funding a first van when there are no filed accounts, no trading history and no limited company behind the application.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Yes, including as a sole trader with no filed accounts and no previous finance history, which is the situation most first-van buyers are actually in. Lenders that fund new businesses look at what you are earning now and what the van is for rather than at three years of accounts you do not have. A deposit usually helps, and the first agreement is rarely the cheapest you will ever sign — its real value is the payment record it creates, which every later asset is priced against.
Used kit: Yes, to around ten years old
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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).
This is the hardest profile in the market to place, and the reason is mechanical rather than moral. A lender running a single credit policy has nothing to score: no accounts, no history, no company. It declines, and the applicant concludes the van was unfundable when in fact that lender simply does not write new starts. Applying to several in turn makes it worse, because each leaves a footprint and each decline makes the next more likely. Lenders that do write new starts assess bank statements and work pipeline instead, and a van is good security with a deep used market behind it.
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 |
|---|---|
| Ford Transit Custom L1H1 | Short medium van, the trade default |
| Vauxhall Vivaro L2H1 | Well-priced medium van for new traders |
| Volkswagen Transporter T6.1 | Medium van with strong resale value |
| Ford Transit L3H2 | Large panel van for bigger loads |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 315 L2H2 | Durable large van for long mileage |
| Renault Trafic SL28 | Compact medium van for city work |
| Peugeot Partner Professional | Small van for tools and light loads |
| Citroen Berlingo Enterprise | Car-like small van with low running costs |
| Toyota Proace Medium | Medium van with long warranty cover |
| Maxus eDeliver 3 | Small electric van for urban start-ups |
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Newly self-employed tradespeople — fitters, plumbers, electricians, groundworkers — who need a van before they can start earning. The van is not an upgrade; without it there is no business.
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We funded this
£52,500
A newly self-employed sole trader with no filed accounts, funded and paid out within 24 hours of first contact.
Read the case study →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. Some lenders assess bank statements and confirmed work rather than filed accounts. Being declined by a high-street lender usually means that lender does not write new starts, not that the van was unfundable.
Applying to several lenders in turn leaves a footprint each time and makes each subsequent decline more likely. Going to the right lender first is the point of using a broker.
Often, though not always. A deposit gives a lender with no trading history to look at something tangible to weigh against the risk, and it widens the number of funders willing to consider a first agreement. Nil-deposit is achievable in the right circumstances — tell us what you have available and we will tell you honestly what it changes.
Fast, when it goes to the right lender. The example below was paid out within 24 hours of first contact.
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See everything we fund in van and light commercial finance →
Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
We are a broker, not a dealer — we have no stake in which van you choose. These are written on that basis.
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.