Funding for garages, MOT centres and body shops
A garage's problem is rarely demand. It's that a £14,000 four-post lift, a diagnostic kit that's obsolete every three years, and fleet customers who pay in 60 days all land on a business whose bank wants three years of accounts before it will talk. We fund the equipment on the equipment, and the cash gap on the card and bank statements.
Two kinds of money a garage needs, and why they're funded differently
Most independent garages come to us with one of two problems. The first is equipment: a second lift to stop turning work away, a tyre changer and balancer so the tyre work stays in-house, an ADAS calibration rig because every car with a windscreen camera now needs one after a replacement, or the IMI-accredited EV kit that the local dealers are already sending hybrid work to. These are bought on asset finance, with the equipment itself as the security, over two to five years. The rate is lower than any unsecured product because the lender has something to repossess.
The second is cash flow: parts suppliers on 30 days, a fleet or lease-company customer on 60, and wages every Friday regardless. A garage doing £40,000 a month can be short of cash in week three every single month without doing anything wrong. That gap is funded from trading, either as a cash advance repaid from card takings if your retail customers pay on the card machine, or a working-capital facility sized on bank turnover if most of your income is fleet invoices paid by BACS.
Both decisions are made on six months of bank statements, card statements where relevant, and photo ID. We don't ask for accounts or a business plan, and we don't need to see the lease.
The garage cash-flow calendar
MOT demand follows the registration plate. Cars registered in March and September come due in March and September three years later and every year after that, so most independents see their two busiest months then, with a trough over Christmas when the workshop is shut for a week and a half and nobody books a service. Parts bills from March work arrive in April; wages don't wait.
Fleet and lease-company work smooths the diary but stretches the cash: a 60-day invoice raised in a busy March is paid in May. If a third of your turnover is fleet, you are permanently carrying two months of their work on your own cash. A working-capital facility sized on bank turnover is designed for exactly that; it's cheaper than a cash advance and doesn't depend on the card terminal.
What we look at for garages and mot centres
The four things our underwriters read first. None of them is a business plan.
Retail customers paying on the terminal, fleets paying by BACS at 60 days, and insurers paying body shops at 90 all look different. We underwrite the mix you actually have, not a generic garage.
Monthly statements from a motor factor on 30-day terms are normal. A supplier that's moved you to pro-forma is a signal we'll ask about.
Make, model, new or used, and the supplier's quote. Lifts, tyre machines, diagnostics, ADAS rigs, spray booths and EV equipment all qualify; the asset is the security.
DVSA MOT authorisation, IMI EV levels, manufacturer approvals and Trust My Garage or Good Garage Scheme membership all tell us the business is established and insured. They aren't required, but they help.
How it works
Four steps, with the timings we actually work to.
Apply online
Business name, what you do, roughly what goes through the till, the amount and what it's for. No credit search at this stage.
A specialist calls you back
Confirms it's a fit, tells you which product suits the numbers and what it would typically cost. If it isn't a fit, you hear that now.
Decision in writing
Send six months of bank statements (open banking takes under a minute), card statements if you take cards, and photo ID. The offer shows the amount, the total to repay and how it's collected.
Funds in your account
E-sign, and the money goes to the business account. Repayments start as agreed.
A worked example
| Monthly bank turnover | £46,000 |
| Equipment on hire purchase | £24,000 ex VAT |
| Deposit | £2,400 (10%) |
| Term | 48 months |
| Monthly payment | about £565 |
| Working-capital facility | £12,000 over 6 months |
| Monthly repayment | £2,180 |
| Total cost of both | £7,120 over the terms |
| Equipment security | The lift and rig; nothing else |
Illustrative figures using typical market terms; not a real customer. Your offer depends on your trading and our assessment.
Eligibility
- A UK limited company or LLP
- Trading six months or more
- £10,000 a month or more through the business bank account (card takings not required for asset finance or working capital)
- A UK business bank account in the company's name
- A director who can provide photo ID and six months of bank statements; for equipment, the supplier's quote
- Sole-trader mechanics: funding to individuals is regulated consumer credit, which we don't offer
- Equipment bought privately with no invoice or serial number
- Businesses in administration or a CVA, or with an unresolved CCJ
Which product fits which garage problem
| Problem | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A lift, tyre machine, diagnostic kit, ADAS rig or spray booth | Asset finance (HP or lease) | The equipment is the security, so the rate is lowest; 24 to 60 months; new or used |
| Fleet invoices paid in 60 days, wages every Friday | Working capital facility | Sized on bank turnover, not the card machine; term or revolving |
| Retail-heavy garage with most customers paying by card | Merchant cash advance | Repays as a share of daily card takings; smaller remittances over Christmas |
| EV accreditation: training, insulated tools, charging bay | Business loan | A fixed sum over 24 to 36 months while the EV work builds |
| Taking on a second unit or a body shop | Expansion funding | Staged drawdown around the fit-out and the first spray-booth install |
What garages & mot centres use it for
Personal guarantees, security and your credit score
On asset finance the equipment is the security; a director's personal guarantee is still usual but there is no charge on your home or the premises. On cash advances and working capital the facility is unsecured with a director's guarantee, as across UK business funding. The enquiry runs no credit search; any search at offer stage is done with your consent after we've told you.
A direct lender, in plain terms
Our own underwriters. Your file isn't sold on to a panel or passed around a market; the people who assess it are the people who fund it.
The total on your offer, nothing before funds are released. No application fee, no broker commission built into your price.
Finance to UK limited companies and LLPs for business purposes is not regulated consumer credit. The legal name of the funding entity is on every offer document.
Questions from garages & mot centres
Can I finance a used lift or tyre machine?
Yes. Used equipment qualifies for hire purchase or lease provided it comes from a dealer with an invoice and a serial number, and it's usually a better deal than a new unit on the same term.
How much can a garage borrow?
For equipment, up to the full ex-VAT price less a deposit of 0% to 20%. For working capital and cash advances, typically around one month of turnover, from £5,000 to £500,000.
Most of my customers are fleets who pay in 60 days. Does that matter?
It matters for which product we use, not whether we fund you. Fleet invoices paid by BACS count towards bank turnover, so a working-capital facility sized on that is the fit. A cash advance only suits garages whose customers mostly pay on the card machine.
Can I spread the cost of EV training and tooling?
Yes. The tooling can go on equipment finance; training and the charging bay are usually a fixed-term business loan over 24 to 36 months.
Do I need to be DVSA or IMI accredited?
No, but accreditations help: they show us an established, insured business. A newly authorised MOT station with six months of trading is fine.
What about a spray booth?
Spray booths, mixing rooms and ovens are financed on hire purchase with the booth as security, typically over 48 to 60 months because of the install cost.
Is hire purchase or leasing better for a lift?
Hire purchase if you want to own it and reclaim the VAT up front; leasing if you'd rather keep payments lower and replace it in five years. Your accountant will have a view; we'll quote both.
Does applying affect my credit score?
No. The enquiry runs no credit search. Any search at offer stage is done with your consent, and we tell you first.
How fast can equipment be funded?
Decision in as little as 3 hours once statements and the supplier's quote are in; the supplier is paid directly, usually within 24 hours of signing, so the equipment can be delivered the same week.
What documents do I need?
Six months of business bank statements (open banking takes a minute), photo ID for a director, and for equipment the supplier's quote or pro-forma. No accounts, no business plan.
Other trades we fund
Products mentioned on this page
See what your business could be offered
Two minutes to tell us about the business. A funding specialist calls you back, usually the same working day, with a straight answer.