Asset Finance
Asset Finance
What is Asset Finance?
Asset Finance is a flexible form of business funding in which the security provided to a lender is largely made up of the vehicles, equipment or plant and machinery used by businesses in their day to day operations.
Typically a business will use asset finance when needing to purchase or acquire specific tangible, moveable business assets and when the initial capital outlay to purchase these assets would be more than a business can afford to pay in one lump sum, or in which it is more practical, from a cashflow and/or tax perspective, to spread the cost of purchase over the useful economic life of the asset.
Whilst asset finance is perfect when purchasing new or used business assets, it can also be used to release cash in assets a business may already own, via asset refinance.
The UK Asset Finance market is huge with dozens of high street banks and specialist lenders, and hundreds of independent brokerages able to link businesses with bespoke funding solutions tailored to their business type and needs.
Benefits of Asset Finance
Asset Finance offers many benefits to UK businesses, including:
Cashflow Benefits
Instead of paying for an asset upfront in full, asset finance allows businesses to spread the cost over time through regular payments (monthly or quarterly). This reduces the immediate financial burden and helps preserve cash flow for other operational needs, investments, or unexpected expenses. Regular fixed payments make it easier to predict and manage expenses, allowing for more accurate budgeting. This financial stability helps businesses plan for the future without large, unpredictable outflows of cash for capital expenditure.
Trading Benefits
By having the necessary vehicles or machinery businesses can acquire or service contracts over many years. The finance costs are then covered by the additional turnover generated by the business, year after year, from having use of the assets in the first place.
Growth Benefits
Many firms simply would not have the cash available to purchase the assets they need to operate, so without asset finance they could never grow, and many could never start. Asset finance allows growing companies the funding they need to expand the scale of their business allowing them to service more clients, employ more people and win more contracts.
Tax Benefits
The UK economy depends on UK businesses growing and so the government offers tax incentives to encourage firms to invest in their businesses by investing in new vehicles, plant and machinery. Whilst we are not qualified tax advisors, and would always recommend businesses discuss their personal situation with their own accountant, asset finance does provide tax advantages to firms in most cases.
Security Benefits
All forms of lending require some form of security offered by the borrower to the lender. Overdrafts, for example, will typically require the business to offer a debenture over all business assets to their bank. Sometimes this can extend to charges over directors’ homes. Security in Asset Finance, on the other hand, is typically tied only to the asset being funded, for example the truck, or bus or printing press or CNC engineering machine that is being purchased. The lender’s security will be the asset itself so in the event of default the asset is recovered by the finance company. This means that this lending doesn’t necessarily need to impact on a businesses borrowing requirements elsewhere, and the business owner can be confident in the security they are making available.
Get Your Asset Finance Quote
Fill out the form below or call us at 01443800621 for more details and we’ll get in touch to discuss your options.
Never share sensitive information (credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords) through this form.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Access the Very Best
Interest Rates
Quick & Easy Application Process
Dedicated Account Manager Supports You
From Inquiry to Payout in Under a Week
Fee Free Brokerage Service
Access the Very Best Interest Rates
Quick & Easy Application Process
Dedicated Account Manager Supports You
From Inquiry to Payout in Under a Week
Fee Free Brokerage Service
How Asset Finance Works
We make your finance journey as simple as possible.
As your trusted business finance partner, we work closely with you every step of the way to ensure a seamless process:
01
Consultation and Options
From your first call, email or completed webform we will act as your trusted partner, understanding your objectives and putting together options for you to consider.
02
Information Gathering
We may need to ask you some general business questions and ask for some financial information from you in order to carefully prepare your personalised quotation from our funding panel.
03
Funding Application
Once you have reviewed your no obligation quotations and are happy to proceed we will prepare your application and liaise with the lenders to secure the funding you need.
04
Agreement Finalization
Unlike some brokerages, we do not charge you any payments or fees for our brokerage service, so your engagement with us is entirely cost, risk and obligation free.
05
Deal Activation
From here we ensure everything is finally packaged and presented to the finance company who will activate your agreement and pay your supplier directly, allowing you to take delivery of your new asset to suite your timescales and enjoy the benefit of the additional turnover that your new asset will bring.
Types of Asset Finance
Understanding the various forms of asset finance is important for businesses seeking flexible solutions to acquire essential equipment and resources. Explore the two main forms of Asset Finance are Hire Purchase and Leasing.
Hire Purchase(HP)
Hire Purchase is a well-established method of financing for companies that wish eventually to take ownership of business assets.
The finance company buys the asset on behalf of the customer, who then pays an initial deposit. The remaining balance, plus interest, is then paid over an agreed period. During this period, ownership rests with the finance company, who is effectively hiring use of the asset to the customer.
Once the final payment is made, ownership transfers to the customer.
Lease Finance
Under a commercial agreement, the leasing company (known as the lessor) buys and owns the asset.
The customer (or lessee) then hires use of the asset, paying rental over a fixed period. At the end of the contract, the customer usually has a choice of extending the lease, buying the asset or simply returning it.
There are two main types of leases, namely Finance Leases and Operating Leases.
Why choose MacManus Finance for Asset Finance?
MacManus Asset Finance are the Business Moneyfacts Asset Finance Broker of the Year 2024 – awarded as a result of our incredible levels of delivering for our clients. We are a firm directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and are a full member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers having achieved the enhanced “NACFB Assured” status, we uphold the highest standards of integrity and regulatory compliance.
Led by a team with over 25 years of business finance experience and a track record of supporting hundreds of UK businesses, our credibility speaks for itself. Our extensive network of business finance providers, offering competitive rates and flexible terms, delivers tailored financial solutions that meet the diverse needs of businesses.
At MacManus Asset Finance, we ensure a personalized service and foster long-term partnerships with each of our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
We can finance all types of vehicle, plant & machinery used across every industry types.
Some of the businesses we have helped finance are involved in haulage, agriculture, engineering, print, manufacturing, construction, food production, catering, crane hire, fitness, healthcare, media, plant hire, plastics and waste management.
The assets funded include cars, vans, HGVs, bus and coach, agricultural machinery, construction equipment CNC machinery, Printing presses, yellow plant, production lines, ovens and catering equipment, fixed and mobile cranes, gym equipment, medical machinery, film and editing equipment, IT and telecoms, plastic injection moulding machinery and recycling equipment.
Whatever vehicles, equipment, plant or machinery you need there’s a very good chance we will able to assist you.
Our minimum transaction size is £10,000 and we have no maximum amount.
Our average transaction size is around £50,000
Yes. We finance many used assets. Some funders do have age limits on assets they can fund but in 99% of cases we will find a solution, even for assets over 15 years old.
The minimum finance period is 12 months (1 year) and maximum 84 months (7 years).
Most clients finance assets between 3 and 5 years depending on the cost and type of asset.
We can discuss all your options on a case by case basis.
In most cases a minimum deposit of 10% of the pre-VAT asset cost is requested by the finance companies – some will also expect the full amount of VAT to be paid up front, although some offer VAT deferrals.
Clients can put down any amount of deposit they want above this 10% minimum to reduce the amount of borrowing required.
Smaller deposits below 10% are possible and again can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
We will always deliver the best rate of finance possible based on your specific circumstances.
Our extensive funding panel means we can help businesses in every situation, as such every client will receive bespoke pricing based on their credit worthiness, asset type, market conditions and industry appetite that varies from time to time.
Our rates, for the best clients, are market leading and you should have no hesitation in contacting us if price is your motivator.
We are super quick. We will provide you with indicative terms within 5 minutes of a conversation.
When you ask us to proceed to application, we will request some financial and business information from you to support the application.
Once received your application will be sent to the finance providers within 60 minutes.
Funders have varying service times from 1 hour to 5 days, but most are around 1 day for a decision.
Once agreed we let you know and ask if we can contact your supplier to request an invoice.
When we receive the invoice we will get finance documents to you ready to sign within 60 minutes and when we get these back from you we can get your supplier paid the next day.
It’s possible to get a deal paid out within 24 hours of inquiry, however we are relying on you getting us what we need quickly.
Bottom line… we will move as quickly as you do and will move heaven and earth to deliver to your timescales.
Yes, yes, yes.
If you have an ongoing need to acquire assets you need to ask us about our credit line facilities.
For no cost we will put in place a credit facility that will sit in the background and can be drawn down as and when you need to purchase your assets.
This means you wont have to wait for credit approval each time you need to add or replace your assets.
Once agreed you can get assets paid out within 24 hours and have complete confidence in the rate of finance your going to get.
This is a huge time saver for busy Finance Directors.
Many funders will now allow you to defer the VAT payment on the purchase price of your asset, for a period of 3 months.
This allows you to reclaim the VAT from HMRC before making the payment to the finance company along with your usual third monthly payment.
A fantastic cashflow tip!
We have active lines with dozens of providers, including most high street bank and most of the major asset finance providers plus a number of niche players.
We haven’t been asked to fund an asset that we weren’t able to place somewhere.
Nothing. Zero. Not a penny!
For asset finance business we do not charge our clients any fees at all. We are paid commission by the finance providers for successfully placing business with them, and we only get paid if we deliver a finance solution that you are happy with.
As a result we ask all clients to engage with us on the basis of good faith, in that, if we are asked to secure funding and do indeed deliver what we promised, that our clients complete the transaction with us.
Secure your business with UK’s
Business Moneyfacts Asset Finance
Broker of the Year 2024
OR CALL 01443 800621