Asset finance for UK businesses
Vans, machinery, a fleet or a piece of kit, paid for monthly with the asset itself as the security. We set out hire purchase and leasing side by side, with total costs, for UK limited companies, LLPs, sole traders and partnerships.
24-48 hrs
Typical decision
Thousands+
To seven figures
Ltd, LLP, sole trader
Who we help
No fee
You never pay us
The kind of kit we put on the road and on site
The director's car
The trades van
On site equipment
The warehouse forkliftThe short version
- For a specific asset, asset finance is usually cheaper than a cash advance or an unsecured loan, because the kit is the security.
- Hire purchase for kit you want to own and keep; leasing or contract hire for things you swap out every few years.
- We do not advise. We lay both out in plain English with the total cost of each, and talk it through with you.
Why a broker for asset finance
The product with the highest approval rate in the survey data, in a market that keeps growing. Fitting the structure to the kit is where we earn the commission the lender pays, at no cost to you.
£40.3bn
of asset finance written for UK businesses in 2025, a fifth year of growth. Lenders are competing for this business.
Source: Finance & Leasing Association, asset finance statistics, full-year 2025, published 2026. Quoted as published.
£24.4bn
of it went to SMEs, the highest on record. Firms your size are being funded every day.
Source: Finance & Leasing Association, asset finance statistics, full-year 2025, published 2026. Quoted as published.
of 2025 asset finance went to SMEs: £24.4bn of £40.3bn
Lenders want this business. The question is which one fits your kit, your term and your deposit.
Source: Finance & Leasing Association, asset finance statistics, full-year 2025, published 2026. Quoted as published.
- Asset financeAsset finance96%
- OverdraftsOverdrafts61%
- Bank loansBank loans (all SMEs)60%
Two in five bank loan applications fail, while asset finance succeeds almost every time because the kit is the security. Fitting the product to the need is the first thing we do with your enquiry.
Source: BVA BDRC, SME Finance Monitor, survey data to 2024 and Q2 2025. Quoted as published.
What it actually is
Asset finance means getting the kit now and paying for it over time, with the asset itself standing as the lender's security. That's the whole trick. Because the lender can take the asset back if it all goes wrong, they're taking less risk than on an unsecured loan, and that usually shows up as a lower rate and a better chance of a yes.
It's one of the most used forms of business funding in the country. We see it most for vans and commercial vehicles, plant and machinery, catering kit and manufacturing gear. The one thing people get wrong early on is treating it like a single product. It isn't. The right structure depends on whether you want to own the thing and how long you'll keep it.
From the van that keeps failing its MOT to a new one on the road, spread over manageable monthly payments. That is asset finance doing its job.
The main types
Four ways in, really. Here's roughly where you'd sit. We go through each one properly in the full guide.
Hire purchase
You own it at the endKit you want to keep, like machinery and vans.
Finance lease
Funder owns itHigher-value kit where you want to protect cash.
Operating lease / contract hire
You hand it backVehicles and IT you swap out every few years.
Refinance / sale and leaseback
Already yoursPull working capital out of kit you own.
Read the full guide to each type, costs and tax
What businesses put on finance
Hard, medium or soft, new or used, from small-ticket kit into seven figures. A flavour of what gets financed, including greener kit like solar, heat pumps and electric vehicles:
A deal we did: £100k Range Rover on HP
Numbers make it real, so here's one of ours from June 2026. We sorted a hire purchase facility for a limited company client buying a Range Rover Autobiography, funded through a lender on our panel. Client anonymised, but the figures below are the actual terms of the agreement.
£100k
Advance
24 mths
Term
£4,845
A month
£0
Balloon
Clean and simple: a fixed rate hire purchase, 24 monthly payments of £4,845.22, no balloon, so £116,285.28 paid back over the two years and the company owns the car outright at the end. A director personal guarantee was a condition, which is standard on a deal this size. Lender said yes and the acceptance held for three months.
Client anonymised for privacy. Real terms from a completed agreement, shown as a past example of how a deal is structured. It is not a quote or an offer of finance to you. Your terms would depend on the lender, the asset and your business.
What it costs
Lenders on our panel fund asset finance from around £5,000 into seven figures, over terms of one to seven years. Deposits run anywhere from nothing to 20%, depending on the asset and your business.
It is usually quoted as a flat rate, which looks cheaper than it is because you pay it on the full amount even as the balance drops. Rough check: the real APR is close to double the flat rate, so always ask for the APR and the total payable, not just a monthly figure.
Asset finance calculator
A quick, illustrative idea of the monthly cost on a flat-rate hire purchase. Slide the figures to suit.
Estimated monthly payment
£1,238
- Amount financed
- £45,000
- Cost of finance
- £14,400
- Total payable
- £64,400
Illustration only, not a quote or an offer of finance. It uses a simple flat-rate hire purchase calculation and a rate you choose, which is why the flat rate looks lower than the equivalent APR. Your actual rate, deposit and payments depend on the lender, the asset and your business. VAT, fees and balloon payments are not included.
The same calculator has its own page at the asset finance calculator, where the flat-rate against APR arithmetic is worked through and the panel is broken down by asset class.
See how rates, fees and tax work
Every asset finance lender on our panel
38 lenders, 73 live asset finance products. Most brokers say “100+ lenders” and name none. These are ours, so you can check them. One enquiry is checked against the criteria of all of them before anything is submitted.
| Lender | Products | Size range |
|---|---|---|
| Aldermore | 4 | £25,000 to £1m |
| Allica Bank | 4 | £20,000 to £2.5m |
| Bibby | 4 | £5,000 to £1.5m |
| Novuna | 4 | £5,000 to £10m |
| White Oak | 4 | £5,000 to £1m |
| BPCE | 3 | £5,000 to £500,000 |
| Close Brothers | 3 | £10,000 to £50m |
| Paragon Bank | 3 | £2,000 to £10m |
| Time Finance | 3 | £7,500 to £1m |
| Asset Advantage | 2 | £15,000 to £500,000 |
| Davenham | 2 | £15,000 to £350,000 |
| Eastern Credit | 2 | £10,000 to £150,000 |
| Excel-A-Rate Business Services | 2 | £4,000 to £75,000 |
| Kingsley Asset Finance | 2 | £10,000 to £500,000 |
| Kingsway Finance | 2 | £5,000 to £250,000 |
| Lombard | 2 | £5,000 to £25m |
| Metro Bank | 2 | £25,000 to £1m |
| Oxbury Bank | 2 | £25,000 to £1m |
| Quantum Asset Finance | 2 | £2,000 to £500,000 |
| Simply Asset Finance | 2 | £15,000 to £10m |
Plus 18 further asset finance lenders on the panel. The full roster is published on our lender directory.
Product counts and size ranges across each lender's asset finance products on our panel, checked September 2026. The figures for the whole panel are published in The UK SME Lending Panel 2026. These are not offers or quotes, and a dash means we hold no published figure for that field. Lender criteria change. All lending is subject to status and the lender's own checks. Being on the panel is a fact about the panel: it is not an endorsement of CapExpand by any lender named, and implies no affiliation. Panel composition changes.
Who we can help
Lenders look at how long you've traded, your accounts or bank statements, director credit and the asset itself. Newer businesses and bumpier credit aren't automatic no answers with asset finance, because the kit is the security, but expect a bigger deposit and a personal guarantee.
To move fast, have the asset details (make, model, age, price), recent bank statements, your latest accounts and director details ready. The cleaner the picture, the quicker the yes.
How it works
Tell us about the asset
What it is, rough cost, new or used, and a bit about your business. Two minutes on the form or a quick call.
We take it to lenders
We put your case to the funders on our panel best suited to that asset and your profile.
You compare the terms
Decisions on clean deals often land in 24 to 48 hours. We talk you through the rate, structure and total cost.
Sign and get the kit
You sign, the funder pays your supplier, you get the asset. Done.
What the panel will finance, asset by asset
Asset finance lenders specialise. A funder that loves construction plant may not touch a coach, and marine and aviation kit narrow the field to a handful. These are the distinct lenders on our panel with a live product for each asset class, so you can see before you enquire whether your purchase is mainstream or specialist.
33
lenders fund construction plant and machinery
32
lenders fund vans and light commercial vehicles
32
lenders fund agricultural plant and machinery
31
lenders fund standard company cars
31
lenders fund factory plant and machinery
31
lenders fund printing equipment
31
lenders fund biomass and solar installations
30
lenders fund coaches and buses
29
lenders fund modular buildings and portacabins
29
lenders fund shipping containers
28
lenders fund electric cars
26
lenders fund medical and dental equipment
25
lenders fund computer hardware and IT
23
lenders fund gym equipment
22
lenders fund shop and office fit-outs
20
lenders fund hair and beauty equipment
20
lenders fund restaurant and bar equipment
18
lenders fund EV charging installations
17
lenders fund prestige and luxury cars
15
lenders fund motorhomes
15
lenders fund scaffolding
7
lenders fund aircraft
6
lenders fund boats and marine equipment
Counts are distinct lenders on our panel with at least one live product matching the criterion, checked September 2026. Panel composition changes over time, and meeting a criterion is not an offer: every case is subject to the lender's own checks.
The terms that decide whether a deal fits
Three things narrow an asset finance panel faster than the asset itself: whether the seller is a private individual rather than a dealer, how old the kit is, and whether you need the VAT deferred rather than paid up front.
25
lenders offer VAT deferral on the purchase
15
lenders will fund machinery over 10 years old
10
lenders will fund a purchase from a private seller
Counts are distinct lenders on our panel with at least one live product matching the criterion, checked September 2026. Panel composition changes over time, and meeting a criterion is not an offer: every case is subject to the lender's own checks.
Specialist guides: construction plant · coaches and buses · scaffolding · used machinery
The panel behind this page
We can place asset finance cases with 38 lenders, and 200+ lenders across all products on our panel. That range matters more than any single rate: the lender that suits a five-year-old limited company with clean accounts is rarely the one that suits a seasonal business or a director with a past blip, and a broker with a shallow panel has to force your case into whichever box it holds.
Names you may recognise on the panel
Examples from our panel as at September 2026, not an endorsement of any lender and not the full list. We check criteria first and put your case only to lenders whose requirements you fit. The full panel by product is in our lender directory, and how we choose is set out on our how we work page.
Two conditions at once
Criteria do not add up the way published lists suggest. Each page below counts the lender brands on our panel accepting two conditions together, against the count for the first condition on its own. The tightest pair here is Machinery over 10 years old with Scotland, where 15 lenders become 11. Counted September 2026.
| Combination | Lenders | Down from |
|---|---|---|
| Machinery over 10 years old with Scotland | 11 | 15 |
Every combination we publish is on the lender criteria index. Counts describe stated appetite on a date, not approval: the lender still underwrites the case in front of it.
Common questions
What is asset finance, in plain English?▼
It lets you spread the cost of kit like vehicles, machinery or equipment over monthly payments instead of paying the lot upfront. The asset itself acts as the security, which is why rates tend to be lower than unsecured borrowing and approval is often easier.
Hire purchase or lease, which one do I want?▼
Rough rule: hire purchase if you want to own the kit at the end and keep it, like machinery. Lease or contract hire if you replace it often, like vehicles or IT. If you are not sure, talk it through with us and your accountant before you sign anything.
How fast can it happen?▼
For a clean limited company buying a mainstream asset, we often see a decision back in 24 to 48 hours, with funds out to the supplier a few working days after the paperwork is signed. Used, specialist or larger deals take a bit longer.
Can I finance used kit, not just new?▼
Yes. Most lenders do both. With older or specialist assets they look harder at the make, age and resale value, because that value is their security, so expect a bigger deposit on anything unusual.
Will I need a deposit or a personal guarantee?▼
Often a bit of both, especially for newer companies or larger amounts. Deposits commonly run between 0% and 20%, and a director personal guarantee is normal on bigger deals. We will tell you what to expect up front so there are no surprises.
Does CapExpand lend the money?▼
No. We are not a lender. We put your case to a panel of asset finance lenders and we get paid a commission by the lender if a deal completes, never by you. We work with UK limited companies, LLPs, sole traders and partnerships.
How many lenders do you compare for asset finance?▼
Our panel currently includes 38 lenders for asset finance, from names like Aldermore, Allica Bank, Close Brothers through to specialist funds, and 200+ lenders across all products. We do not send your details to all of them. We check criteria first and put your case only to the lenders whose requirements you actually fit. Panel composition changes over time and any figures are a guide, not a quote.
Can you finance unusual assets, or only vans and machinery?▼
Both. Vans, cars, construction plant and factory machinery are mainstream: around 32 lenders on our panel fund light commercial vehicles and 33 fund construction plant. The field narrows for specialist kit: 15 lenders fund scaffolding, 15 fund motorhomes, 7 fund aircraft and 6 fund marine equipment (checked September 2026; panel composition changes over time). A narrower field is not a no, it just means we go to the right handful first.
More questions answered in the full guide
Sources
- Finance & Leasing Association: asset finance statistics
- Close Brothers: asset finance and results announcements
- Aldermore: asset finance products and criteria
- Novuna Business Finance (Mitsubishi HC Capital UK)
- Simply Asset Finance: published funding range
- Time Finance: recommended cash acquisition announcement, 17 August 2026
- HMRC: capital allowances on plant and machinery
Lender pages, product guides and filings were read on 7 September 2026 and change without notice. Panel counts cover available products only.
Related funding
- Using an asset finance broker: the panel counted by asset class
- Asset finance calculator: monthly cost on hire purchase
- How long does asset finance take?
- How much deposit do I need?
- Green energy and EV charging finance
- Asset finance in full: types, costs and tax
- Asset finance on used machinery
- Equipment funding
- Construction plant finance
- Manufacturing finance
- Finance for tradespeople
- Worked example: a £100,000 hire purchase
- Van finance for UK businesses
Important information
Different lenders pay different amounts under different commission models, and further detail is disclosed during your journey. Any deal example shown is an anonymised past case for illustration, not a quote or an offer of finance to you.
Got an asset in mind?
Tell us what you're after and we'll come back with the lenders on our panel whose criteria fit the asset. Free to use, no obligation, and we'll be straight with you on the total cost.