Buying machinery, heavy equipment, or refurbishment tools outright can put a severe dent in your cash reserves. Commercial asset finance offers a highly practical solution for UK SMEs, allowing you to spread the cost while aggressively protecting your essential working capital.
This guide compares six of the leading asset finance providers operating in the UK market right now. At Fundur, we connect businesses with over 300 lenders to find the exact right match without the usual mountain of paperwork. Below, we break down how to choose the right provider and explain the differences between hire purchase, leasing, and other funding routes.
Read on to discover which provider aligns with your sector, deal size, and timeline.
Securing the right funding partner can feel like a maze. We evaluated these providers based on the factors that actually matter when investing in machinery, commercial vehicles, or refurbishment tools:
If you need to finance machinery or vehicles without the headache of approaching dozens of lenders individually, Fundur streamlines the entire process. As a specialist broker, we match your business to the most suitable lender from a panel of over 300 options, covering high-street banks and niche equipment finance specialists alike.
Fundur combines smart technology with deep human expertise. Our initial matching process takes just 30 seconds to highlight the lenders that suit your exact profile. From there, your dedicated finance expert handles the negotiations and paperwork, securing competitive terms tailored specifically to your sector and asset type.
We support funding from £25,000 up to £2 million. This makes Fundur an ideal fit for SMEs buying construction plant, manufacturing machinery, commercial vehicles, or refurbishment tools. Our team has extensive experience with hire purchase, finance leases, and asset refinancing, ensuring you get the most tax-efficient structure possible.
iwoca operates as a direct lender offering business loans that you can use for equipment purchases. The process is entirely online, and decisions often arrive on the same or the next working day. Funding ranges from £1,000 to £1,000,000, with terms up to 24 months for their standard products. They assess applications based on cash flow and business performance rather than relying solely on credit scores.
Funding Circle connects businesses directly with investors. Since 2010, they have funded over 130,000 UK businesses. Loan amounts range from £10,000 to £750,000, with terms extending up to six years. Their platform focuses heavily on fixed-rate loans, which provides great stability for budgeting when financing equipment over longer periods.
Fleximize is a flexible lender for SMEs, providing business loans with repayment terms that can adapt to seasonal cash flow dips and spikes. Standard funding goes up to £500,000. They offer great loyalty benefits for repeat borrowers, including access to increased limits and more favourable terms as your business grows.
Capify is built for speed, frequently processing applications and releasing funds on the same day. While they offer SME business loans, their primary speciality is the merchant cash advance. Funding ranges from £5,000 to £500,000. For businesses processing high volumes of card payments, Capify links repayments directly to daily revenue, easing the burden during quieter trading periods.
Nucleus Commercial Finance provides unsecured and secured business loans from £10,000 up to £2 million. They cater to a wide range of credit profiles, including businesses that may have struggled to secure funding elsewhere. They take a holistic approach to underwriting, looking at the overall strength of the business rather than simply checking a credit score.
| Provider | Lender Network | Maximum Funding | Dedicated Equipment Finance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundur | 300+ | £2m | ✓ |
| iwoca | 1 (Direct) | £1m | ✗ |
| Funding Circle | 1 (P2P) | £750k | ✗ |
| Fleximize | 1 (Direct) | £500k | ✗ |
| Capify | 1 (Direct) | £500k | ✗ |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | 1 (Direct) | £2m | ✗ |
Both options allow you to spread the cost of equipment over time, but they differ significantly in ownership and tax treatment.
With a hire purchase agreement, you own the asset after making all payments and paying a small option-to-purchase fee. This route typically allows you to claim capital allowances, including the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), which currently permits the deduction of qualifying asset costs up to £1 million per year.
Finance leasing means the leasing company retains ownership. You pay for the use of the equipment and can often sell it at the end of the term, retaining a portion of the proceeds. Lease payments are usually fully tax-deductible as a business expense. VAT treatment is also different; hire purchase requires the full VAT upfront, whereas leasing spreads the VAT across your monthly payments.
Going direct to lenders requires multiple applications, repetitive paperwork, and no guarantee that you are getting the most competitive rate. A specialist broker handles this heavy lifting for you.
Brokers also provide vital market intelligence. We know exactly which lenders favour specific sectors, asset types, and credit profiles. In a market that is actively expanding (according to the Finance & Leasing Association, new asset finance lending to SMEs grew by 13% in February 2026 compared to the previous year [Verified Source: FLA Statistics April 2026]), increased competition among lenders means using a broker is the smartest way to ensure you are seeing the full market picture.
Having access to the right lender is everything when financing heavy equipment, machinery, or refurbishment tools. Fundur gives you that access by connecting your business to over 300 funders through one straightforward application.
Our 30-second matching technology finds suitable lenders immediately, but it is our dedicated broker support that gets the deal over the line. Your named expert will negotiate hard on your behalf and guide you toward the most tax-efficient structure. If mainstream banks have turned you away, we open doors that would otherwise remain firmly shut.
Ready to explore your options? Start your Fundur application and get matched with suitable lenders in seconds.
It is a funding method that lets your business acquire equipment, machinery, or vehicles without paying the full cost upfront. You spread the payments over an agreed term while putting the asset to work immediately.
Timelines vary based on complexity. Fundur's initial matching takes around 30 seconds, and many straightforward applications go from enquiry to funding in just a few days.
Yes. Your options will depend on the broader picture of your business, but having an asset as security reduces the lender's risk and significantly improves your chances compared to unsecured borrowing.
In most cases, yes. Hire purchase allows you to claim capital allowances, while finance lease payments are typically deductible as a business expense. Always consult a qualified accountant to confirm your specific tax position.