Types of Business Finance Solutions

Hire Purchase

Hire purchase is a popular business finance solution for those who require cars or equipment, but do not have the available funds to buy them up front. Hire purchase is a great asset finance solution if you want to have ownership of the asset at the end of your agreement and is sometimes referred to as a lease purchase.

What is Hire Purchase?

A business hire purchase agreement is similar to a finance lease and is one of the most popular finance solutions on the market. Commonly used for car finance, hire purchase enables you to spread the cost of your asset over a period of time (the agreed duration of the lease) and then have the option to purchase ownership title at the end of the lease.

When you choose to finance an asset via hire purchase, an initial deposit is required and the VAT must be paid upfront. Once this is paid, you then make monthly/quarterly payments for a fixed period. Once you have come to the end of the hire purchase agreement, you can then become the legal owner of the asset through a nominal transfer of ownership fee at the end of the contract. There is also a possibility of becoming the owner of the asset earlier than agreed by making a lump-sum payment to settle the remainder of the finance.

Hire Purchase Benefits

• Ownership – the asset can be yours at the end of the agreement
• Fixed interest – with both the interest rate and payment amounts fixed and agreed from the outset, you are able to budget more effectively
• Tax advantages – you may be able to capitalise the asset in your accounts and claim full capital allowances

If you are looking to spread the cost of new equipment, hire purchase can be a particularly beneficial asset finance solution for your business. Get in touch with Shire Leasing today to find out more.

Sale and Leaseback

Shire Leasing offer sale and leaseback as a business finance solution for equipment and assets your company has recently purchased, such as gym equipment, catering equipment and much more. Once the asset has been purchased from you, we will offer it back to you on a finance lease agreement. If you’re looking for a quick way to inject cash and working capital into your business, then sale and leaseback could be for you.

What is Sale and Leaseback?

A sale and leaseback agreement is when a business chooses to sell their equipment to Shire Leasing, often for the full invoice value paid. Shire Leasing then takes on ownership of the assets, and they are leased back to you over an agreed period of time.

The Benefits of Sale and Leaseback

• 100% cash injection – the cash released through our purchase goes directly into your business, providing you with valuable working capital
• Enhances your cash flow – simplify your budgeting through fixed rate rental payments
• Reduces risk – sale and leaseback reduces the risk for your organisation. By selling your assets, you have passed the ownership of the assets to Shire Leasing. Therefore, you will not incur any losses should the value depreciate over time.

A sale and leaseback contract can be an effective solution for your SME should you need to increase your working capital while also allowing you to continue using the equipment critical to your business. Get in touch with us to find out more.

Master Lease

A master lease is ideal for businesses that wish to make multiple purchases under the same direct debit and terms and conditions without having to re-negotiate a new contract for each new equipment purchase. We offer a master lease for gym equipment, manufacturing equipment and many more assets.

What is a Master Lease?

A master lease is an agreement – a single document signed at the offset – with your finance provider to allow leases to be established for a range of equipment acquirements. Shire Leasing can arrange a credit limit for multiple purchases under the same direct debit and terms and conditions, without having to re-negotiate a new contract. Due to this, it is ideal for businesses that have regular, ongoing requirements for particular kinds of assets or equipment.

The Benefits of a Master Lease

• Multiple purchases on that same document
• Clear banking – one single payment from your bank account to Shire Leasing
• Add additional equipment – further equipment can be added to the agreement as your needs change, and costs spread over remaining rentals

With benefits in terms of future planning and ease of leasing new equipment, contact us to find out more about a master lease with Shire Leasing.

Educational Operating Lease

Schools, colleges and universities will always need equipment, and an educational operating lease can help to spread the cost and ease procurement of this. In contrast with a financial lease, with an operating lease, schools and colleges only pay a proportion of the capital value of the equipment, reducing the cost of the rentals.

What is an Educational Operating Lease?

An Educational Operating Lease is a finance solution that supports schools, colleges, and universities when it comes to financing equipment. An operating lease is the only lease compliant with the Local Education Authority.

With an operating lease, you will only finance a percentage of the total cost of the equipment over the term of the lease, as the provider of the finance must retain a proportion of the original cost (the “residual value”). By calculating a fair residual value on the asset, the lease rentals can be reduced during the term of the agreement, which can be up to 3 years.

The Benefits of an Educational Operating Lease

• Off-Balance Sheet Solution – this element makes it LEA compliant
• Rentals are treated as a business expense – therefore being 100% offset against profits
• VAT is included in the rentals – allowing for lower upfront costs

Get in touch with Shire Leasing today to find out whether an operating lease is the most appropriate equipment leasing strategy for your school.

Business Loan

Shire Leasing offer business loans for UK companies, as we understand the financial need to help make those ambitious business plans become a reality. A loan is a great financial solution that can really benefit start-up companies, small businesses and established businesses, helping you to achieve your business goals with a cash injection.

What is a Business Loan?

A business loan is where your company borrows a certain sum of money over a long period of time. The loan amount and requirements are discussed with your account manager and tailored to what your business needs.

Our business loans are offered to limited businesses over 2-5 years when there is a large element of non-asset based lending. Typical rationales include non-identifiable assets, building costs, fixtures and fittings, and professions loans. Our loans can also be provided to sole traders and partnerships if over £25k and for business purposes.

Benefits of a Business Loan

• You control the payments to your suppliers
• Finances intangible assets not suitable for leasing or hire purchase
• Supports start-up businesses to get things up and running
• Can be cheaper than a business overdraft

Choosing Shire Leasing for your business loan will not only give you the money you need to support your business, but also access to our expertise. Our team will be able to help find the right financial solution for you when you need it most. If you think a business loan would benefit your company, get in touch with us today.

Seasonal Lease

At Shire Leasing, we understand that your business may be highly seasonal, with some months responsible for delivering the majority of your revenue and profit. This is where a seasonal lease can really benefit your business.

What is a Seasonal Lease?

A seasonal rental agreement is simply a more flexible finance lease, designed for businesses with seasonal trading periods. With a seasonal lease, you can pay larger rentals for equipment during your more profitable months, with lower repayments during less profitable periods, rather than paying a fixed, linear amount every month.

Benefits of a Seasonal Lease

• A flexible leasing option
• Works for your seasonal business to ensure the rentals match your high or low income periods

If you think your business could benefit from seasonal leasing, then Shire Leasing can offer the right financial solution to help your business.

Contract Hire

Contract Hire offers large and small businesses the opportunity to add assets, without the burden of owning them outright. Contract hire is a great financial solution for businesses who want to simply keep an asset for a period of time in a similar way to a finance lease, before ultimately returning the item.

What is Contract Hire?

Contract hire is when a business takes control of assets from a lender without actually owning them. It works the same way as a contract offer for cars – it is yours to drive but you do not own it. You reach an agreement with a leasing company to make fixed payments for the duration of the contract. Once the period of the contract has been completed, the asset is returned to the lender.

Benefits of Business Contract Hire

• No major upfront costs
• For just a small outlay you can use assets immediately
• Flexible repayment structure
• Rental payments can be tailored to match your cash flow
• No future ownership consideration

The flexibility offered by contract hire can help you keep on top of your finances and have the assets required to grow. For more information on contract hire for business equipment, get in touch with us today.

Refinance

Shire Leasing offer an asset refinancing financial solution for UK businesses as a quick way of accessing the value of assets already owned, and redeploy that value elsewhere within your business. Refinancing equipment offers an alternative business finance option for unlocking capital in the company to sale and leaseback of assets.

What is Asset Refinance?

If you own equipment, machinery or vehicles, refinancing can be an ideal way to raise more working capital for your business or to restructure your existing finance agreements. Through asset refinancing, you can sell your equipment and hire it back over an agreed period. One major benefit is that refinancing equipment can be fully tax deductible, meaning that you can offset payments against your business’ tax bill. In turn, you can use this working capital in order to expand your business while retaining use of your existing equipment.

Benefits of Refinancing Equipment

• Give your business a cash injection or use the money to buy other assets, giving your business a wider choice of options
• Have uninterrupted use of the asset keeping business efficiency to a maximum
• Reduced monthly payments
• Asset refinancing can assist with restructuring your entire company

A refinancing package can be a fast solution for unlocking valuable cash to help your business grow. For more information on asset refinancing, get in touch with us today.