Business funding in Nottingham·7 min read·26 October 2026

Asset finance in Nottingham: hire purchase, leasing and refinance for the equipment a business runs on

By the CapExpand team

Reviewed by Alex Beardsley, Founder · UK commercial finance broker · checked 26 October 2026

Key points

Asset finance pays for vehicles, plant and equipment over a term, with the asset itself as the security. The three structures are hire purchase, finance lease and refinance.
The asset decides more than the accounts do: what it would fetch if the lender had to collect it sets which lenders will look and on what terms.
CapExpand arranges it from Annesley, between Nottingham and Mansfield, for limited companies and LLPs. Each lender publishes its own terms and makes its own decision.

A Nottingham business that needs a van, a digger, a dental chair or a CNC centre has two ways to pay for it: cash it would rather keep, or finance secured on the thing itself. This page explains the second. It covers the three structures, why the asset matters more than the balance sheet, what Nottingham's own business register says about who uses it, and what a lender asks for. CapExpand is a broker based at Pure Offices in Annesley. We have access to a range of UK commercial finance lenders through our principal, White Rose Finance Group Limited. The lender makes every credit decision.

What asset finance is

Asset finance is lending in which the equipment being bought, or equipment the company already owns, is the lender's security. The lender pays the supplier, the business uses the asset from day one and repays over an agreed term, and the lender holds a charge over the asset or owns it outright until the agreement ends. Because the security is the asset, a lender can often write finance for a business whose accounts would not carry an unsecured loan of the same size, and the application is read with the asset in the middle of it.

The three structures

Hire purchase

The business pays a deposit, pays monthly instalments over the term, and owns the asset when the last payment and the option-to-purchase fee are made. The asset sits on the company's balance sheet from the start. Vehicles, construction plant and factory machinery are commonly bought this way because the business wants to own them at the end.

Finance lease

The lender buys the asset and leases it to the business for a primary period. The business pays rentals, is responsible for maintenance and insurance, and at the end of the primary period either continues in a secondary period at a reduced rental or the asset is sold and the business receives most of the proceeds as a rebate of rentals. Ownership never passes to the business. Leasing is commonly used for equipment that is replaced on a cycle.

Refinance

The business already owns the asset outright. A lender advances money against it and takes a charge over it, and the business repays over a term. Refinance turns a paid-for asset back into working capital and is used when the money is needed for something other than the asset itself: a second site, an acquisition, a quiet quarter.

What the asset decides

Every asset lender asks one question before it asks about the accounts: if this agreement failed in year 2, what would the asset fetch? Equipment with a strong resale market, such as mainstream vans, excavators, telehandlers and machine tools from known makers, is read easily, because the lender knows what it would sell for. Equipment built for one job, software-heavy kit with a licence that cannot be transferred, and anything only one factory can use is read harder, and reaches fewer lenders. The age of the asset at the end of the term matters for the same reason, and each lender publishes its own limit.

The second thing the asset decides is the structure. A lender that funds a specific, serial-numbered machine takes a fixed charge over that machine; a lender funding a fleet may take a charge over each vehicle by registration. Each charge is registered against the company at Companies House under Part 25 of the Companies Act 2006, within the 21 days the Act allows.

Nottingham businesses, from the register

Nottingham had 9,580 VAT or PAYE registered enterprises in March 2025, inside a Nottinghamshire total of 27,330 (ONS, UK business: activity, size and location 2025, via Nomis dataset NM_142_1, read 8 September 2026). The sectors that finance equipment are all there: 980 construction enterprises, which is where the excavators, dumpers and vans are; 600 in health, which is where dental, veterinary and medical equipment is bought; 775 in accommodation and food, which is kitchens, refrigeration and fit-outs; and 1,635 in wholesale and retail, which is forklifts, racking and delivery vehicles.

The British Business Bank's Nations and Regions Tracker 2025, published 7 October 2025, found external finance use in the East Midlands fell nine points in 2024, and the Bank of England's Agents' summary for July 2026 reported asset finance facilities growing while credit conditions stayed broadly unchanged. Asset finance has its own lender criteria, separate from those of unsecured lenders, which is why a business turned down for a term loan can still finance a machine.

The wider picture of how the city borrows, with the enterprise counts by sector and the regional figures, is on the business funding in Nottingham page. Acquisition finance and commercial mortgages in Nottingham each have a page of their own.

How it works, step by step

You tell us about the asset and the business. The supplier's quote or invoice, or the details of the asset to be refinanced, the amount, the term you have in mind and the trading history.
We check the case against published criteria. Each lender states what it funds, the ages and values it accepts and the trading time it needs. We read your case against those criteria and set out what each lender offers, side by side.
You decide. Nothing goes to a lender until you say so.
The lender underwrites. It reads the accounts and the bank statements, values the asset, and may inspect larger or used kit before it issues terms.
Documents, then payment to the supplier. The agreement is signed, any deposit is paid, the lender pays the supplier and the asset is delivered. On a refinance the lender pays the company once its charge is in place.

How the cost is expressed

Hire purchase and refinance are priced as an interest rate over the term, usually fixed, plus a documentation fee and the option-to-purchase fee at the end. A finance lease is priced as a rental, with the secondary period rental and the sale rebate set out in the agreement. The deposit, where one is asked for, is set by the lender against the asset and the business. Each lender publishes its own rate, fee and deposit, and they change; we show the costs provided by the lender so you can compare them, and nothing on this page is a quote. The asset finance page goes further into the structures and the tax treatment of each.

What a lender asks for

The supplier quote or a description of the asset with its make, model, year and serial or registration number; the last filed accounts; the last 3 months of bank statements or an Open Banking connection; and for a used asset, photographs or an inspection. For a refinance, proof the company owns the asset outright and a list of any existing charges at Companies House.

Enquiring does not affect your credit score. If you apply to a lender, it runs its own credit search, which may be recorded on your file. We arrange finance only once a business has traded for 3 months, for amounts from £10,000. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. CapExpand Ltd is a commercial finance broker based in Annesley, Nottinghamshire, company number 14433858.

Start an asset finance enquiry from Nottingham

The asset, the amount and how long the company has traded are enough for us to check which lenders' published criteria the case meets before anything is sent anywhere.

Check your options

Finance arranged for UK limited companies and LLPs.

Sources

Asset finance in Nottingham: questions

Can a Nottingham business get asset finance on used equipment?▼

Yes, within each lender’s own rules on age and value at the end of the term. A lender reads a used machine on what it would fetch if it had to be collected and sold, so the make, the hours and the service history carry the application. Each lender publishes its own limits on age and on the kind of asset it will fund.

Does the business own the asset?▼

On hire purchase the business owns it when the final payment, sometimes called the option to purchase fee, has been made. On a finance lease the lender owns it throughout and the business pays for its use; at the end the asset is sold or the lease is extended. On a refinance the business already owns the asset and the lender takes a charge over it.

How quickly can asset finance in Nottingham be arranged?▼

Each lender publishes its own timescale and they differ with the asset and the amount. The parts that sit with the business are the ones that decide most of the elapsed time: the supplier invoice or quote, the accounts, the bank statements and, on larger kit, an inspection date.

Do you arrange asset finance for sole traders in Nottingham?▼

We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes.

Does enquiring affect my credit score?▼

Enquiring does not affect your credit score. If you apply to a lender, it runs its own credit search, which may be recorded on your file.

How is CapExpand paid?▼

We will receive commission from lenders. On some cases we also charge a fee, which we set out in writing and agree with you before you proceed.

Is asset finance regulated?▼

CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is a credit broker and an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited (FRN 630772), which is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a broker, not a lender. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. If you have a complaint, our complaints page explains how it is handled.