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Equipment finance

Compare Equipment Finance & Leasing

What we do

Compare Advantage is a free comparison service. Tell us the equipment you need, whether it is a new kitchen, a clinic’s imaging kit or an office of laptops, and our partner, FCA-authorised broker Halo Corporate Finance, checks your enquiry against the 130+ lenders on its panel. You see the options before you agree to the supplier’s own lease.

  • Kitchens, coffee machines, IT, salon and clinic kit
  • Hire purchase or leasing, new or refurbished
  • Several items from different suppliers on one agreement

Prefer to talk? Call 0330 057 7175

Café owner behind the counter next to a commercial espresso machine

What equipment do you need?

Free to enquire. No obligation to apply.

1 of 5
Amount needed

£75,000

£5,000£1,000,000

By sending this form you agree to our terms and conditions. We pass your details to Halo Corporate Finance Ltd so they can contact you about your enquiry. See our privacy policy.

Compare before you apply

Check the panel before you sign the supplier’s lease

Equipment is often sold with finance attached. The supplier quotes a monthly figure, the paperwork is ready, and it is signed the same day. That lease may be competitive, or it may carry a long minimum term, a high end-of-lease fee or a service charge bundled into the rental. Comparing first, on the same equipment and term, shows you which.

  1. 1

    Tell us once

    Two minutes on the form: how much, what it is for and a few details about the business.

  2. 2

    The panel is checked

    Halo Corporate Finance matches your enquiry against the 130+ lenders on its panel.

  3. 3

    You choose

    Halo talks you through the options that fit. You decide whether to apply. There is no obligation.

What to compare

  • The supplier’s finance against the panel. Equipment suppliers often offer a lease at the point of sale. It is convenient, but check what the same kit costs through other lenders first.
  • Owning against upgrading. Kit that lasts ten years, like an oven, suits hire purchase. Kit that dates in three, like laptops, often suits a lease you can refresh.
  • The minimum term and what ends it. Many equipment leases cannot be cancelled early without paying most of the remaining rentals. Know the exit before you sign.
  • What happens at the end, whether you own the kit, keep renting it for a small fee, or must return it, and who pays for collection.
  • Service and maintenance, which a supplier may bundle into the rental. Check what you are paying for the kit and what you are paying for the service.
Compare equipment finance

What you can finance

Equipment for almost every kind of business

If it is used to run the business and has a value, a lender on the panel can usually fund it, from a single item to a full fit-out.

  • Cafés, restaurants and hotels

    Commercial ovens, combi ovens, dishwashers, refrigeration, espresso machines, extraction and EPOS. Often replaced or added to when a site is refitted.

  • Offices and IT

    Laptops, servers, networks, telephone systems and audio-visual kit. Print kit too, through our printer leasing comparison.

  • Clinics, dental and vets

    Dental chairs, imaging, lasers and diagnostic equipment, usually funded by specialist lenders who know the profession and its income.

  • Salons, spas and gyms

    Treatment beds, lasers, styling stations, cardio and resistance equipment. Fit-out and equipment can sometimes go on one agreement.

  • Workshops and garages

    Ramps, diagnostic systems, compressors, spray booths and tooling. Larger production machinery is covered on our plant and machinery page.

  • Energy and premises

    Solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, EV chargers and LED lighting, where the saving on running costs helps cover the payment. See renewables finance.

How lenders see your kit

Hard assets and soft assets

Lenders sort equipment into two broad kinds. Knowing which yours is explains most of the differences in what you are offered.

Hard assets

Equipment with a working life of many years and a second-hand market, such as ovens, ramps and dental chairs. A lender can recover and resell it, so more lenders will fund it, often over longer terms.

Soft assets

Equipment that loses value quickly or is hard to resell, such as computers, software, installation and fit-out. Fewer lenders fund it, terms are shorter, and the lender leans more on the strength of the business.

Most packages are a mix. A restaurant fit-out might be ovens and refrigeration (hard) plus extraction, installation and the EPOS software (soft). Putting them together on one agreement can help the soft items get funded.

Baker taking bread from a commercial oven

Technology

Keep up with technology without buying it twice

Laptops, phones and servers rarely last as long as a five-year loan. Buying them outright, or on a long hire purchase, can leave a business paying for kit it has already replaced.

A lease with a refresh option matches the payments to the useful life. At the end of the term, or sometimes part way through, the old equipment goes back and new equipment comes in on a fresh agreement. The monthly cost stays predictable, and the business is not left holding hardware that is worth little.

The trade-off is that you never own it. For equipment that lasts, such as a commercial dishwasher or a vehicle ramp, owning it at the end on hire purchase usually works out cheaper over its life.

Tax relief in 2026

Capital allowances on equipment, as of November 2026

If you buy equipment, or take it on hire purchase, your business can usually claim capital allowances once it is in use. The rules changed in 2026 and may change again in 2027.

Annual Investment Allowance

Deduct the full cost of most plant and machinery, new or second-hand, up to £1 million a year. Available to companies, sole traders and partnerships.

Full expensing

Companies can deduct 100% of the cost of new, unused main-rate equipment, with no upper limit, or 50% for special-rate assets. Second-hand kit, cars and assets bought to lease out are excluded.

40% first-year allowance

From 1 January 2026, a 40% first-year allowance covers new main-rate plant and machinery. Unlike full expensing, it is open to sole traders and partnerships, and to assets bought to lease out in the UK.

Writing-down allowance

Spending above the allowances goes into a pool and is written down each year. The main rate fell to 14% from April 2026.

The October 2026 Budget proposed raising the first-year allowance to 50% from 1 January 2027 and cutting the main writing-down rate to 12% from April 2027. These are not law yet. If the timing of a large purchase could make a difference, talk to your accountant before you commit.

Equipment finance in figures

How UK businesses fund their equipment

Equipment finance grew in 2025. It has been flatter through 2026, down 3% in the year to August.

  • £1.8bn

    of business equipment finance written in 2025, up 6% on the year before

  • £1.3bn

    of IT equipment finance written in 2025, up 4%

  • £1m

    a year of plant and machinery spending that can be deducted in full under the Annual Investment Allowance

Sources: Finance & Leasing Association, new business figures for 2025 and the 12 months to August 2026; HMRC.

Potter working at a wheel in a small workshop

Before you enquire

What to have ready

  • The supplier’s quote, with model numbers and any installation or delivery costs
  • Whether the equipment is new, refurbished or second-hand
  • How long you expect to use it before replacing it
  • Whether you want to own it at the end or hand it back
  • Your latest accounts, or management figures if you are newer
  • Any finance quote the supplier has already given you

The supplier’s own quote is useful, not a problem. It gives the lenders on the panel something to compare against.

Questions

Equipment finance questions

Need vans or lorries? See commercial vehicle finance.

Compare equipment finance

What is equipment finance?

Equipment finance lets a business get the equipment it needs now and pay for it monthly, through hire purchase or a lease. It is a kind of asset finance, used for anything from a coffee machine to a dental chair.

What is the difference between equipment finance and equipment leasing?

People use the terms loosely. Strictly, leasing means the finance company owns the equipment and you rent it, while hire purchase means you own it at the end. Both are forms of equipment finance. See our hire purchase vs finance lease guide.

Can I finance refurbished or second-hand equipment?

Often, yes, particularly for hard assets such as catering and workshop equipment. Lenders will want to know where it is coming from and its age. Second-hand equipment does not qualify for full expensing, but can qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance.

Can I finance equipment from several suppliers?

Yes. A refit or a new site often means kit from several suppliers. Many lenders will put it on one agreement, paying each supplier directly against their invoices.

Can I finance software and installation?

Some lenders will, usually as part of a package with the hardware. Software, installation and fit-out are soft assets with little resale value, so fewer lenders fund them on their own and terms tend to be shorter.

Can a new business get equipment finance?

Some lenders on the panel consider start-ups, especially for hard assets with a good resale market. A deposit, a personal guarantee or a strong business plan all help. Our small business loans page covers other options for new firms.

Can I end an equipment lease early?

Usually only by paying most or all of the remaining rentals, less any rebate the agreement allows. Some leases let you upgrade part way through by rolling the balance into a new agreement. Check the early termination terms before you sign.

Do I pay VAT on equipment finance?

On hire purchase, VAT on the full price is normally due at the start and a VAT-registered business can reclaim it. On a lease, VAT is added to each rental. If cash flow is tight, that difference can matter.

Who claims the tax relief on leased equipment?

On most leases the finance company owns the equipment and claims the capital allowances, and you deduct the rentals as a business cost. On hire purchase your business claims the allowances. Long funding leases are an exception. Your accountant can advise which is better for you.

Are capital allowances changing again?

The October 2026 Budget proposed raising the 40% first-year allowance to 50% for spending from 1 January 2027 and cutting the main writing-down rate to 12% from April 2027. These are proposals in the Finance Bill and are not yet law.

Sources

Written by the Compare Advantage team, Chorley. Facts checked against the sources above on 4 November 2026. This page is general information, not financial advice.

Compare Advantage Ltd (FRN 1028452, company no. 14289362) is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Halo Corporate Finance Ltd (FRN 726655). We introduce business finance enquiries to Halo. We are not a lender and do not give financial advice. If you take out finance, the lender may pay commission to Halo Corporate Finance, and Halo may pay us a fee for the introduction. Finance is subject to status and is available to UK businesses only.