Asset finance
Asset finance
Buy the equipment your business needs without draining the cash it runs on. Asset finance spreads the cost of machinery, vehicles, technology and other business assets over their working life — so the kit pays for itself as it earns.
Tera is a credit broker, not a lender. Any finance is subject to status and the terms of the finance provider.
How does asset finance work?
Instead of paying the full price upfront, a lender buys the asset and you pay for it monthly over an agreed term, typically two to five years. The asset itself secures the agreement, which is why asset finance is often easier to obtain than an unsecured loan — and why it's available to businesses that are still building their credit history. At the end of the term, depending on the structure, you either own the asset outright or hand it back.
What's the difference between hire purchase and leasing?
The two main structures work quite differently, and the right one depends on your cash flow and tax position — not just the headline rate.
With hire purchase (HP), you pay a deposit (typically 10%), make fixed monthly payments, and own the asset at the end. For tax purposes you're treated as the owner from day one, which means you can usually claim 100% of the asset's cost against your taxable profits in year one through full expensing (new assets) or the Annual Investment Allowance (new or used, up to £1m).
With a lease, there's usually no deposit and the monthly rentals are treated as a business expense — deductible against profits as you pay them, spread across the term rather than claimed upfront. You don't own the asset, which suits kit you'll replace before it wears out.
Not sure which suits you? Our HP vs Lease vs Cash calculator does the full after-tax comparison for your numbers — it's the honest maths most brokers don't show.
How much does asset finance cost?
Here's a representative example so you can see the whole picture, not just a monthly payment.
Say you're financing a £50,000 machine on hire purchase: 10% deposit (£5,000), 60 months, at a representative 9.9% APR. Your monthly payment would be around £954, and you'd pay roughly £12,200 in interest over the term — so about £62,200 all-in.
But that's not the real cost. If your company sits in the £50,000–£250,000 profit band (26.5% marginal corporation tax), claiming 100% first-year relief on the machine saves about £13,250 in tax, and relief on the interest saves roughly another £3,200. Your true net cost is closer to £45,700 — less than the machine's ticket price, while £45,000 stayed in your business earning its keep.
Rates vary with your trading history, the asset, and the lender. Enquiring through Tera doesn't affect your credit score, and we'll always show you the all-in cost, not just the payment.
What can you finance?
More than most owners expect. Lenders on our panel fund construction plant and machinery, commercial vehicles and fleets, agricultural equipment, manufacturing and engineering kit, catering and refrigeration, medical and dental equipment, IT hardware, gym equipment, and renewable installations like solar. Both new and used assets qualify — used equipment is financed every day, and it still attracts 100% tax relief through the Annual Investment Allowance. If it's a physical asset with a serial number and a resale market, there's usually a lender for it.
Does my business qualify?
Asset finance is one of the most accessible forms of business funding because the asset itself is the security. Lenders typically look for a UK-registered business, usually two or more years' trading (although newer businesses can qualify with a director's guarantee or stronger deposit), and affordability supported by your accounts or bank statements. Imperfect credit isn't an automatic no — the strength of the asset matters as much as the strength of the file.
How quickly can funds be arranged?
For straightforward deals — standard assets, established businesses — decisions often come back within 24–48 hours and the supplier can be paid within days. Complex or high-value assets take longer, but if you've found the right piece of kit at the right price, speed is usually not the reason you'd miss it.
Why arrange asset finance through Tera?
Tera is a fee-free brokerage — we charge you nothing for arranging your finance, ever. We're paid a commission by the lender, which we'll disclose, and because we work a whole-of-market panel rather than one lender's products, our job is to find the structure and rate that fits your business, not to fit you to a product. You deal with a person, your options come back quickly, and the comparison we show you includes the tax treatment — the part of the decision most quotes leave out.
Asset finance FAQs
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