Running a hospitality business in 2026 means navigating rising costs, tighter margins and constant pressure to invest in better equipment — all at the same time. Equipment finance gives you a way to do it without draining your cash reserves. Here’s how it works and why it makes sense for the hospitality sector specifically.
Why hospitality businesses need equipment finance right now
The hospitality sector is one of the UK’s most capital-intensive industries. A commercial kitchen fit-out can run to tens of thousands of pounds. A full bar refit, new refrigeration, a coffee machine upgrade, EPOS systems, outdoor furniture — the list of things that need replacing, upgrading or expanding never stops.
At the same time, 2025 and 2026 have brought a perfect storm of cost pressure. Employer National Insurance contributions rose in April 2025 from 13.8% to 15%. The National Living Wage increased again in April 2026 to £12.71 per hour. Business rates relief — which provided many hospitality businesses a 40% discount — ended in March 2026, replaced by a more limited permanent reduction.
In that environment, spending £40,000 of working capital on a kitchen upgrade is simply not an option for most businesses. Equipment finance lets you spread that cost over 24, 36 or 60 months — keeping your cash where you need it most: in the business.
What equipment can hospitality businesses finance?
The short answer is almost anything. If it is used in your business and has a useful life, a specialist lender can almost certainly finance it. For a full breakdown see our What Can Be Financed page. For hospitality businesses that typically includes:
You can often finance a bundle of equipment under a single agreement rather than applying separately for each item. This simplifies the paperwork and makes the monthly repayment more manageable.
The main types of equipment finance for hospitality
Finance Lease — the most popular option. You use the equipment throughout the agreement and make fixed monthly payments. The lender retains ownership but payments are typically fully tax-deductible as a business expense. Ideal for equipment you will replace or upgrade at the end of the term.
Hire Purchase — you pay fixed monthly instalments and own the asset outright at the end of the agreement. You can claim capital allowances on the asset. Best suited to equipment you plan to keep long-term such as commercial refrigeration, extraction systems and built-in equipment.
Asset Refinance — if you already own equipment outright, you can release the value tied up in it as working capital without selling it. Useful for managing cash flow or funding other investments.
Sale and Leaseback — if you purchased equipment within the last three months you can sell it to a lender and lease it back, releasing that cash into the business while continuing to use the equipment as normal.
Can a new or startup hospitality business get equipment finance?
Yes — and this is one of the most common misconceptions we encounter. Many lenders on the broker market specifically serve startups and businesses in their first one or two years of trading. High street banks tend to require two or three years of accounts, which rules out a huge proportion of hospitality businesses still in their growth phase.
Specialist lenders take a different view. They look at the strength of the business plan, the experience of the operator, the quality of the asset being financed, and the overall picture — not just the number of years you have been trading. Find out more about how we approach startup funding.
When Lollo Rossa Italia needed to finance a full commercial kitchen fit-out, we found them a competitive finance lease through our lender panel — with a decision in under 24 hours and funds released within the week. You can read similar stories from Casa Brasil Restaurants, Come Fry With Me and Cafe M.
The tax advantages of leasing equipment
With a finance lease, your monthly payments are typically treated as a business operating expense and are fully deductible against taxable profits. So if you are paying £1,200 per month on a kitchen equipment lease, that £14,400 per year reduces your taxable income directly.
With hire purchase, you can usually claim capital allowances on the asset — which lets you deduct a proportion of the asset’s cost from your taxable profits each year. The Annual Investment Allowance currently allows businesses to deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment purchases up to £1 million per year.
For a full breakdown of the financial advantages see our Lease v Buy guide and other advantages of leasing.
How much does equipment finance cost for hospitality businesses?
The rate you pay depends on your trading history, credit profile, the asset type and the term. As a rough guide for a well-established hospitality business with a clean credit history, finance lease rates typically start from around 4–8% APR for standard commercial kitchen equipment.
A £25,000 commercial kitchen equipment package financed over 36 months at 6% APR would cost approximately £760 per month. That same £25,000 spent upfront would wipe out cash reserves that most hospitality businesses cannot afford to lose. Startup businesses or those with adverse credit can still access finance but may pay a higher rate — typically 12–20% APR depending on circumstances. Use our online calculator to run your own figures.
What the application process looks like
Tell us what you want to finance, how much it costs and a bit about your business — this takes around 10 minutes. We then approach our panel of 200+ lenders simultaneously to find the best fit and rate for your situa
Talk To Us About Funding Your Next Purchase
Complete Leasing Solutions has been arranging business finance since 2004, with more than 30,000 completed transactions and a dedicated account manager on every deal. We work with a wide panel of UK lenders, so you get the right facility rather than whatever one bank happens to offer.
Tell us what you need and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and what it is likely to cost.
A quick call to understand the asset, the budget and the timescale.
We match your requirement to the most suitable lender on our panel.
Paperwork handled, decision confirmed, and your supplier paid.