Written by the Lendus editorial team. Last updated .
The best Haydock Finance alternatives include Novuna Business Finance and Aldermore Bank for published annual rates, Lombard for facilities up to £50 million, Close Brothers for larger established businesses, Shire Leasing for businesses trading only 3 months, White Oak UK for a published decision time, and Paragon Bank for a bank-funded facility to £1 million.
Haydock Finance has been writing asset finance from Blackburn since 1980. It offers hire purchase, finance lease, refinance and chattel mortgage, works through brokers and equipment vendors with sector specialisms including waste and recycling, is a patron member of the NACFB, and is an accredited British Business Bank delivery partner for the government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme. Over forty years in one market is not nothing.
The problem for a borrower comparing options is that Haydock publishes almost none of the numbers you need. There is no public rate card and no representative APR; pricing is quoted per deal. There is no published minimum trading history, no published minimum turnover, and no published decision timescale. Its own record notes it does not publish its FCA firm reference number on its website. And the facility range stops at £500,000.
That is a real gap when you are trying to decide whether to submit a case, and it is the reason most businesses end up comparing Haydock against lenders that do publish figures. Below are seven asset financiers that each beat Haydock on a specific, published dimension.
Novuna Business Finance, formerly Hitachi Capital Business Finance and now part of Mitsubishi HC Capital, publishes 4% to 18% per annum with an 8.9% APR representative on standard hire purchase. It also publishes its decision times: same day on standard deals up to £100,000, and 3 to 5 days for larger facilities. That is exactly the information Haydock withholds.
Rates and amounts: 4% to 18% per annum depending on asset type, term and credit profile; 8.9% APR representative; £1,000 to £5,000,000.
Eligibility: 3+ years trading; £50,000 turnover for smaller ticket deals, £250,000 for larger facilities; good credit required.
Speed: Same-day decisions on standard deals up to £100,000; 3 to 5 days for larger facilities.
Pros: Publishes both a rate band and a representative APR; ten times Haydock’s ceiling at £5,000,000; finances assets from £1,000; strong manufacturer and dealer partnerships.
Cons: Requires 3 or more years of trading, the strictest requirement in this comparison; less flexible on adverse credit than specialist providers; primarily accessed through the dealer and manufacturer channel.
Best for: Established businesses of 3 or more years buying standard vehicles, technology or equipment who want to see the rate before applying.
Lombard is part of NatWest Group and finances from £3,000 to £50,000,000, a hundred times Haydock’s £500,000 ceiling. It publishes 4% to 15% per annum with an 8.5% APR representative, the lowest representative figure and the lowest published ceiling rate in this guide. Decisions take 2 to 5 working days.
Rates and amounts: 4% to 15% per annum; 8.5% APR representative; £3,000 to £50,000,000.
Eligibility: 24+ months trading, £100,000 annual turnover.
Speed: Within 2 to 5 working days.
Pros: Largest facility ceiling here by a wide margin; lowest published rate ceiling at 15% per annum; clearing group balance sheet behind it; publishes a representative APR.
Cons: Needs 2 years of trading and £100,000 turnover, both unpublished at Haydock; 2 to 5 working days is slower than same-day competitors; large-corporate orientation can mean more documentation on a small deal.
Best for: Major plant, machinery or vehicle fleet finance at a scale Haydock cannot reach, where the lowest published rate ceiling matters.
Close Brothers Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA under firm reference number 124750. It publishes 5% to 18% per annum with a 9.9% APR representative and lends £10,000 to £5,000,000 across asset finance, invoice finance and business loans, so a business with several funding lines can consolidate them with one counterparty.
Rates and amounts: 5% to 18% per annum; 9.9% APR representative; £10,000 to £5,000,000.
Eligibility: 24+ months trading, £250,000 annual turnover.
Speed: Within 3 to 5 working days.
Pros: Dual-regulated bank; publishes a rate band and representative APR; ten times Haydock’s ceiling; asset finance, invoice finance and business loans under one roof.
Cons: £250,000 turnover requirement is the highest in this comparison; 24 months trading; £10,000 minimum deal size rules out the smallest asset purchases.
Best for: Established businesses above £250,000 turnover that want asset finance from a regulated bank rather than a broker-introduced funder.
Aldermore Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA under firm reference number 204503. It publishes 4.5% to 20% per annum with a 9.3% APR representative and finances £2,000 to £10,000,000. Its headline advantage is speed at scale: same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000, two and a half times the £100,000 threshold Novuna applies.
Rates and amounts: 4.5% to 20% per annum depending on product, asset type and credit profile; 9.3% APR representative; £2,000 to £10,000,000.
Eligibility: 12+ months trading for most products; £100,000 turnover for most products, with lower thresholds on some asset finance.
Speed: Same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000; 3 to 5 days for larger deals.
Pros: Highest same-day decision threshold here at £250,000; twenty times Haydock’s ceiling; 12 months trading is far more accessible than Novuna’s 3 years; publishes lower turnover thresholds on some asset finance.
Cons: Rate ceiling of 20% per annum is above Lombard, Novuna and Close Brothers; £100,000 turnover applies to most products.
Best for: Mid-sized purchases up to £250,000 where a same-day decision is the deciding factor and the business has at least a year of trading.
Shire Leasing accepts businesses from 3 months of trading with no minimum turnover, and states that start-ups are considered through its specialist funder panel. It is a broker-led model like Haydock’s, but the eligibility position is published rather than assumed. It finances £1,000 to £1,000,000 at 5% to 25% per annum, with same-day decisions on standard deals.
Rates and amounts: 5% to 25% per annum depending on asset, funder and credit profile, with specialist funders potentially higher; £1,000 to £1,000,000.
Eligibility: 3+ months trading; start-ups considered via specialist funder panel; no minimum turnover.
Speed: Same-day decisions on standard deals; 24 to 48 hours for complex cases.
Pros: Lowest published trading requirement in this guide at 3 months; no minimum turnover; finances from £1,000; twice Haydock’s ceiling at £1,000,000; same-day decisions on standard deals.
Cons: Rate ceiling of 25% per annum is the highest here, and specialist funders may price above it; broker panel model means the eventual funder may not be Shire itself. Check its current regulatory status on the FCA Financial Services Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.
Best for: New and very young businesses acquiring their first equipment, where every bank-owned lender in this comparison would decline on trading history.
White Oak UK covers the same £5,000 to £500,000 band as Haydock and, like Haydock, prices per deal with no public rate card. The difference is that it publishes a speed figure: an average loan decision turnaround of around 4 hours, though it notes this is not guaranteed on every deal. Its own site puts its average loan size at around £60,000. It also offers business loans and invoice finance.
Rates and amounts: Priced per deal, no public rate card and no representative APR; £5,000 to £500,000; average loan size around £60,000 per its own site.
Eligibility: Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting.
Speed: Average loan decision turnaround of around 4 hours, not guaranteed on every deal.
Pros: Publishes an average decision turnaround where Haydock publishes none; identical deal size band, so it is a straight like-for-like second quote; asset finance, business loans and invoice finance available together.
Cons: No published rate card, so it shares Haydock’s central weakness; no published trading history or turnover requirement; where White Oak UK itself acts as the lender, its own site states that specific product is not FCA-regulated, so confirm which entity is contracting with you.
Best for: Getting a second per-deal quote on exactly the same size of transaction, from a lender that at least commits to a turnaround figure.
Paragon Bank plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA under firm reference number 604551. It finances £5,000 to £1,000,000, double Haydock’s ceiling, across asset finance and business loans. Like Haydock it prices per deal with no published rate card, so the reason to choose it is the bank balance sheet and the higher ceiling rather than price transparency.
Rates and amounts: Priced per deal; no public rate card and no representative APR published for asset finance; £5,000 to £1,000,000.
Eligibility: Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting.
Speed: Not publicly stated; timescales are assessed per deal based on complexity and asset type.
Pros: Dual-regulated UK bank with a published firm reference number; twice Haydock’s maximum facility; same £5,000 entry point; asset finance and business loans from one lender.
Cons: Publishes no rate card, no eligibility criteria and no decision timescale, so it is no more transparent than Haydock on any of those points.
Best for: Businesses that want the same per-deal underwriting approach as Haydock but from a deposit-taking bank, on facilities up to £1 million.
| Lender | Amount range | Published rate | Min trading | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novuna Business Finance | £1,000 to £5,000,000 | 4% to 18% per annum | 3 years | Same day up to £100,000 |
| Lombard | £3,000 to £50,000,000 | 4% to 15% per annum | 24 months | 2 to 5 working days |
| Close Brothers | £10,000 to £5,000,000 | 5% to 18% per annum | 24 months | 3 to 5 working days |
| Aldermore Bank | £2,000 to £10,000,000 | 4.5% to 20% per annum | 12 months | Same day up to £250,000 |
| Shire Leasing | £1,000 to £1,000,000 | 5% to 25% per annum | 3 months | Same day on standard deals |
| White Oak UK | £5,000 to £500,000 | Per deal, not published | Not published | Around 4 hours on average |
| Paragon Bank | £5,000 to £1,000,000 | Per deal, not published | Not published | Not published |
| Haydock Finance | £5,000 to £500,000 | Per deal, not published | Not published | Not published |
Choose Novuna Business Finance if you have 3 or more years of trading and want a published 4% to 18% per annum band and an 8.9% APR representative to benchmark against.
Choose Lombard if the asset is large, the fleet is big, or the facility runs past £500,000, because £50,000,000 and a 15% per annum ceiling are the strongest published figures here.
Choose Close Brothers if your turnover exceeds £250,000 and you would rather deal with a dual-regulated bank across asset finance, invoice finance and business loans together.
Choose Aldermore Bank if your deal is under £250,000 and a same-day decision decides it, since that is the highest same-day threshold in this comparison.
Choose Shire Leasing if you have traded 3 to 24 months, because every bank-owned lender here will decline you on history alone.
Choose White Oak UK if you simply want a second per-deal quote in the same £5,000 to £500,000 band from a lender that publishes a turnaround figure.
Choose Paragon Bank if you want per-deal underwriting from a deposit-taking bank on a facility between £500,000 and £1,000,000.
One caution when comparing asset finance. Several UK asset financiers, including Propel Finance and Praetura Asset Finance as well as Haydock, White Oak UK and Paragon Bank, publish no rate card at all and quote each deal individually. That is normal in this market rather than a warning sign, but it means the only reliable comparison is the total amount payable over the full term, including any documentation fee, option-to-purchase fee and end-of-term charge. Ask for that figure in pounds from every lender you approach. Lendus is an introducer that compares the panel; it is not a lender and does not make credit decisions.
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