Asset finance in Edinburgh
CoreFi is a commercial finance broker arranging asset finance for Edinburgh businesses. We help fund equipment, vehicles and plant through hire purchase and leasing, working across a whole-of-market panel. We do not lend; the asset-finance house decides the deal and sets the rate.
CoreFi is a commercial finance broker arranging asset finance for Edinburgh businesses that need to fund equipment, vehicles or plant without draining working capital. From commercial kitchens along the Royal Mile to lab and IT equipment at the BioQuarter and CodeBase, and vans for trade and delivery firms across Leith and Sighthill, asset finance spreads the cost of a purchase over its working life. We introduce your case to asset-finance houses on our whole-of-market panel; we do not lend ourselves.
Asset finance usually takes the form of hire purchase, where you own the asset at the end, or leasing, where you use it for a fixed term. Which suits you depends on the asset, your tax position and how long you expect to keep it. We help you weigh those options and take your case to the lenders most likely to fund it. Rates, deposits and terms shown here are indicative only; the asset-finance house makes the final decision on both approval and pricing.
- 1
Tell us what you need to fund
Describe the equipment, vehicle or plant, its rough cost and how long you expect to use it. That tells us whether hire purchase, leasing or refinancing is likely to fit best.
- 2
We match you to asset-finance lenders
We approach lenders on our whole-of-market panel with appetite for your asset type and sector, from hospitality kit to lab equipment, and prepare the case for their assessment.
- 3
You choose and complete
We bring back the offers and explain the deposit, term and end-of-term options in plain terms. The lender sets the final rate and decision; nothing is guaranteed until terms are issued.
The Edinburgh sectors that use asset finance
Edinburgh's asset-heavy sectors are more varied than its financial-services reputation suggests. Hospitality is a major one: hotels, restaurants and licensed venues in the Old Town, Grassmarket and around the New Town regularly fund commercial kitchens, refrigeration, bar fit-outs and coffee equipment, often timed around the Festival season. The food and drink cluster in Leith and out at Newbridge uses asset finance for production lines, packaging machinery and cold storage. Tech and life-sciences firms at the Edinburgh BioQuarter at Little France and around CodeBase fund laboratory instruments, servers and specialist IT that would be costly to buy outright and dates quickly. Trade, construction and maintenance businesses across Sighthill, Newbridge and the city fringes finance vans, tools, access equipment and plant. Even professional and creative firms in the city centre use it for office fit-outs, audio-visual kit and workstations. The common thread is that these businesses would rather keep cash in the business than tie it up in a single large purchase, which is precisely what asset finance is for.
Hire purchase versus leasing
The two main routes are hire purchase and leasing, and the right one depends on your business and the asset. With hire purchase you pay a deposit and fixed instalments, then own the asset outright at the end of the term. It suits equipment you will keep and use for years, such as kitchen fit-outs, production machinery or vans, and it can carry capital allowance benefits worth discussing with your accountant. Leasing, including operating and finance leases, lets you use an asset for a set period without owning it, which can make sense for equipment that dates fast, such as IT, lab instruments or audio-visual kit that a Fountainbridge tech firm or BioQuarter lab might refresh regularly. Some lenders also offer refinancing against assets you already own, releasing cash from plant or vehicles onto your balance sheet. We help Edinburgh businesses understand the trade-offs, then approach the asset-finance houses on our panel whose criteria fit. As always, the structure, rate and end-of-term options are set by the lender, not by us.
How CoreFi arranges it
We are a broker, so our role is to match your Edinburgh business to the right asset-finance lenders and present a clean case. Independent asset-finance houses, challenger banks and manufacturer-backed funders all have different appetites: some specialise in hospitality equipment, some in commercial vehicles, some in high-value or soft assets like IT and lab kit. Because we work across a whole-of-market panel rather than one funder, we can steer a Leith food producer, a Grassmarket restaurant and a BioQuarter lab to different lenders in the same process. We prepare the paperwork, explain the deposit and term implications, and bring back offers for you to compare. We do not lend and we do not make the credit decision; the asset-finance house assesses your business and the asset, then decides whether to fund and on what terms. If a deal completes, the lender pays us a commission, so there is usually no separate broker cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
What can Edinburgh businesses fund with asset finance?
Almost any business equipment, vehicle or plant: commercial kitchens, refrigeration, production machinery, lab instruments, IT, vans and access equipment. It is used across Edinburgh hospitality, food and drink, tech, life sciences and trade sectors.
Should I choose hire purchase or leasing?
Hire purchase suits assets you will keep and own long term, like kitchen fit-outs or vans. Leasing suits fast-dating equipment like IT and lab kit. We help you weigh the options, but the structure and terms are set by the lender.
Does CoreFi provide the asset finance itself?
No. CoreFi is a broker. We introduce your case to asset-finance houses on our whole-of-market panel. The lender assesses your business and the asset, then decides whether to fund and at what rate.
Can I refinance equipment I already own?
Some lenders offer refinancing against assets you already own, releasing cash back into the business. Whether it is available and on what terms depends entirely on the lender's assessment of the asset and your business.
What does asset finance cost through CoreFi?
When a deal completes the lender pays us a commission, so there is usually no separate charge to you for the introduction. Any fee that might apply is explained upfront before you commit.
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Tell us what your business needs and we will match you with lenders whose criteria fit. No obligation, no cost to start the conversation, and a straight answer about what is realistic for your situation.
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