Asset finance
Asset finance to help you secure everything your business needs to run and grow – from machinery to IT products.
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What is asset finance?
Asset finance lets you secure the assets you need for your business by leasing or hiring it. This could include machinery, vehicles, manufacturing equipment, or even IT products. This can help you replace old equipment or expand your operations without putting pressure on your cash flow or needing lots of capital up-front.
Types of asset finance
There are a number of different types of asset finance, but the three most common are:
Hire purchase
This simply means you’re paying for the asset in instalments over a fixed term but will own it outright at the end of the term. You’ll be responsible for the asset during the term and won’t be able to sell it until the term ends.
Equipment leasing
With equipment leasing, you rent the equipment from the seller or leasing company, but have options at the end of the initial term to either:
- Hand it back
- Extend the term
- Exchange the equipment for a newer model
- Make a final balloon payment to own it outright
In most cases, the leasing firm will take care of maintenance of the asset during the loan term.
Contract hire
Contract hire is solely for vehicles only. The provider sources and maintains a fleet of vehicles for you and in return, you pay monthly lease instalments over an agreed term. Once this term is finished, the provider takes on the responsibility of the vehicles. This is a good option if you have multiple vehicle requirements, and you don’t have the capabilities to source and maintain your own fleet.
Asset Finance FAQs
The most frequently asked questions about asset finance.
You’ll sometimes pay a small up-front cost, then pay off the remainder of the value of the asset over time, or lease it for a specified period. As we mentioned above, there are three main types of asset finance – hire purchase, equipment leasing and contract hire.
Asset finance is a versatile financial product, and your business is likely to be eligible if you can prove your business is capable of meeting the monthly payments as well as its other financial commitments. It doesn’t matter about your business structure either – sole traders, partnerships, limited companies and startups can access asset finance.
Our initial application process takes just two minutes, and we’ll provide you with a range of options from different lenders. Lenders can give us an answer within 24 hours and sometimes can come back to us in two.
Once everything is agreed upon, it can take a matter of days, or sometimes a few weeks, if it is more of a complex or larger asset.
Each lender will offer different interest rates, often based on the length of the lease or hire period and how expensive the asset is.
The interest rate for asset finance will also be affected by the business circumstances too – the higher the risk, the higher the interest rate.
Getting a quote from us won’t impact your credit score.
Most lenders we work with only do soft credit searches, and although a small number may apply hard credit searches, we will help you navigate through this.
You’ll only need a full credit report once you proceed with a lender’s full application. We’ll reduce the number of credit searches you need by carefully determining your eligibility for each loan option.