Every asset finance provider on the Lendus panel, with the rate, facility size, decision speed and trading history each one publishes, plus 5 picks for specific jobs.
Last reviewed by the Lendus editorial team. Lendus is an introducer, not a lender.
Asset finance lets a UK business pay for vehicles, machinery and equipment over time rather than buying outright, using the asset itself as security. That is why it is often open to businesses that would struggle to get an unsecured loan of the same size. Providers differ far more in who they will accept than in what they charge: Shire Leasing publishes a 3 month minimum trading requirement, while Novuna Business Finance publishes 3 years. A large part of the market publishes no rate card at all and quotes each deal individually, which the table below records rather than fills in with an estimate.
5 of the 18 panel lenders below, chosen for a specific job. Every figure in these cards is read from that lender's own record. The full panel follows.
Close Brothers writes asset finance from £10,000 to £5 million and publishes a rate range of 5% to 18% per year, so a mid-market plant, machinery or commercial vehicle purchase can sit with one lender instead of being split across several. It runs specialist sector teams rather than a single underwriting desk. It asks for 24 months of trading and £250,000 of turnover, the highest turnover floor of these five picks, and takes 3 to 5 working days to decide.
Lombard covers £3,000 to £50 million, so a single van and a whole fleet refresh sit with the same lender, and its asset coverage runs across vehicles, plant, machinery and technology. It publishes 4% to 15% per year and decides in 2 to 5 working days. Like Close Brothers it wants an established business, asking for 24 months of trading and £100,000 of turnover.
Novuna Business Finance publishes same-day decisions on standard deals up to £100,000, and works through manufacturer and dealer partnerships so the finance can be arranged at the point of purchase. It covers £1,000 to £5 million at 4% to 18% per year. The trade-off is eligibility: it asks for 3 years of trading, and £50,000 of turnover on smaller tickets rising to £250,000 on larger facilities.
Aldermore Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, firm reference number 204503, and still publishes same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000. It lends £2,000 to £10 million at 4.5% to 20% per year across its product range, and asks for 12 months of trading and £100,000 of turnover on most products, with lower thresholds on some asset finance.
Shire Leasing publishes a 3 month minimum trading requirement, no minimum turnover and deals from £1,000, which is the combination a young or micro business actually needs. It places business with a panel of funders rather than lending from one book, which is why its published range runs as wide as 5% to 25% per year and why specialist funders may price higher still. Lendus has not confirmed its regulatory status against a primary source, so check the FCA Register before you commit.
Lendus has not confirmed this firm's regulatory status against a primary source. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before you commit.
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Check EligibilityEvery provider on the Lendus panel whose record carries asset finance, from small ticket equipment through to multi-million pound plant and fleet deals. The trading history column is usually what decides whether you qualify, not the rate.
Lenders that publish a rate are listed first, then those that quote every deal individually. Within each group the order is alphabetical, so a lender's position in this table is not a score.
| Lender | Facility size | Published rate | Decision speed | Minimum trading history | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldermore Bank | £2k to £10m | 4.5% to 20%per year | Same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000; 3–5 days for larger deals | 12+ months for most products | |
| Bibby Financial Services † | £50k to £15m | 1% to 3%of invoice value per month | Facility setup typically 1–2 weeks; initial funding within 24 hours of facility agreement | 6+ months preferred; startups with strong order books considered | |
| Close Brothers | £10k to £5m | 5% to 18%per year | Within 3–5 working days | 24+ months | |
| Lombard | £3k to £50m | 4% to 15%per year | Within 2–5 working days | 24+ months | |
| Novuna Business Finance | £1k to £5m | 4% to 18%per year | Same-day decisions on standard deals up to £100,000; 3–5 days for larger facilities | 3+ years | |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | £3k to £2m | 1.5% to 5%per month | Within 24 hours | 6+ months | |
| Shire Leasing † | £1k to £1m | 5% to 25%per year | Same-day decisions on standard deals; 24–48 hours for complex cases | 3+ months; startups considered via specialist funder panel | |
| Ultimate Finance † | £20k to £5m | 0.8% to 2.5%of invoice value per month | Facility setup 5–10 working days; initial funding within 24 hours of activation | 3+ months with invoice history preferred | |
| Cynergy Business Finance | £200k to £40m | No public rate card | Cynergy Business Finance describes its decision-making as fast, positive and assured, but does not publish a specific turnaround time (such as a number of hours or days) on its website as of August 2026. | Not publicly stated by Cynergy Business Finance. Eligibility appears to be assessed on the strength of the underlying receivables, stock, property or other assets on a per-business basis rather than against a published minimum years-trading threshold. | |
| Haydock Finance | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. | |
| Investec | £5k to £100m | No public rate card | No standard timeline is published. Facilities are arranged through a dedicated relationship banker and underwritten individually, so timescales depend on the complexity and size of the deal rather than an automated same-day decision. | Not publicly stated. Investec assesses each business individually rather than publishing a minimum trading history requirement. | |
| Paragon Bank | £5k to £1m | No public rate card | Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal based on complexity and asset type. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. | |
| Praetura Asset Finance | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. | |
| Propel Finance | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. | |
| Simply Asset Finance † | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | Not confirmed; Lendus could not access the lender's website to verify this during research. | Not confirmed; Lendus could not access the lender's website to verify this during research. | |
| ThinCats | £1m to £30m | No public rate card | No fixed published turnaround time. ThinCats describes its process as relationship-led, aiming to provide a decision within the timeframe the borrower needs, via a dedicated regional business development manager and human underwriting rather than an automated instant decision. | Not stated as a fixed minimum number of years; ThinCats lends to established mid-sized SMEs rather than start-ups or very early-stage businesses. | |
| Time Finance † | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | Not confirmed; Lendus could not access the lender's website to verify this during research. | Not confirmed; Lendus could not access the lender's website to verify this during research. | |
| White Oak UK | £5k to £500k | No public rate card | White Oak UK states an average loan decision turnaround of around 4 hours, though this is not a guaranteed timescale for every deal. | Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting. |
Figures are taken from each lender's own published material on the date shown and are indicative, not offers. Where a lender publishes no rate we say so rather than estimating one. A monthly rate and a factor rate are not APRs and do not convert cleanly into one.
A lender's published rate can cover more than one of its products. Each lender's profile carries the full note, including which product the figure applies to and any fees charged on top.
† Lendus has not confirmed the regulatory status of Bibby Financial Services, Shire Leasing, Ultimate Finance, Simply Asset Finance, Time Finance against a primary source, so this page makes no regulatory claim about them. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before you commit to any lender.
Reviewed 25 August 2026. This page is built from the Lendus lender panel rather than from a shortlist. Every provider whose record carries asset finance appears in the table below, in an order generated from the records themselves: lenders that publish a rate come first, then lenders that quote every deal individually, alphabetically within each group. Position in that table is not a score. The picks above it are editorial, and "best" here means best for a stated job, such as the largest facility, the shortest trading requirement or the fastest published decision. The reason is written next to each pick, so you can disagree with it. We do not score lenders out of 5 and we do not rank them against one another, because the right lender depends on your size, your trading history and what you are funding. Rates, facility sizes, decision times and eligibility are taken from each lender's own published material on the date shown against it, and are indicative rather than offers. Where a lender publishes no rate, we print that rather than estimating one, and we print a rate in the unit the lender quotes it in, because a monthly rate and a factor rate are not APRs. We make no statement about a firm's regulatory status unless we have confirmed it against a primary source and recorded that source on the lender's own page; where we have not, we say so and point you to the FCA Register.
Lendus receives a commission or referral fee from brokers and lenders when a business we introduce goes on to receive funding. It does not affect the rates you are offered, and it cannot affect the order of the table above, which is generated from the lender records rather than set by hand.
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