While businesses across the UK look to grow sustainably and remain agile, outdated views on finance hold SMEs back from unlocking true growth. These finance myths mean businesses with outdated ideas of asset acquisition are being left behind and replaced by competitors not afraid to use modern financing methods.
Finance is no longer a survival tool; it is about enabling growth. Here, we’re going to be busting five common finance myths that hold UK businesses back, showcasing why they’re wrong and how Shire Leasing can help you. Our modern approach to finance is backed by 35+ years of experience. We’ve seen it all and know what SMEs need from a finance agreement.
To discover how we do this, get in touch with our experts today.
Not being able to buy assets outright used to be seen as a sign that a business was in a poor state. If it couldn’t afford the latest equipment, they were seen as a business that had poor cash reserves and couldn’t provide the correct service as a result. Today, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Owning assets that depreciate or become obsolete in a few years' time makes little business sense.
By utilising leasing and finance, you’re ensuring the asset works for you by paying for it in instalments for the time you need it. Many successful businesses now use finance to grow and support innovation and scaling. Financing ensures your cash flow and ability to invest are secure, allowing you to spend on other areas, be it marketing, hiring, or R&D.
Myth, busted: Leasing is a growth lever used by successful businesses.
Ownership isn’t the advantage it once was. Purchasing a fleet of vehicles, for example, brings operational and financial burdens from maintenance and resale value, to the fact that newer, more efficient models will no doubt arrive. All of this leaves you with the same business-critical issues that you had before you purchased the first fleet.
Leasing provides access to the latest tech and equipment (be it a fleet of vehicles or otherwise) without having to spend huge portions of your cash reserves on an asset that won’t be able to hold its value the more you use it. By avoiding ownership of assets that depreciate, SMEs will remain nimble and keep up with competitors by providing the same, or better, standard of service.
Myth, busted: Owning depreciating assets leaves your business vulnerable.
Modern finance is centred around fast approvals from firms such as Shire, which want to help businesses grow. The value of drawing out approval processes or making businesses jump through hoops is zero for both the lender, who themselves have competition from agile fintech companies, and the SME themselves.
Finance used to be a drawn-out process with rigid terms and inflexible agreements. Today, it is a process that reflects the modern buying journey and subscription models that feel familiar. Online portals and simple questionnaires are backed by friendly, proactive customer service that looks to open doors, not put up barriers, and create a frictionless process.
For example, Shire’s online portal provides automated finance decisions in 6 seconds or less. Asset finance technology complements human interactions, reducing complexity and making the whole process far more familiar. Finance used to be built for the banks lending the capital. Today, processes and approvals are moulded around the customer.
Myth, busted: Modern finance firms proactively make applications easier and quicker.
Speak to a Shire specialist to explore smart, flexible finance options.
The core benefit of asset finance is affordable monthly repayments for equipment, which are agreed upon by both parties before entering the agreement. This means that SMEs, as well as bigger businesses, can access finance because the nature of income and expenditure allows for assets to be acquired through these means.
Old-fashioned agreements had terms that only big businesses could meet, but now these firms offer more flexible payment terms that stimulate growth in a number of industries. Provided payment terms can be completed, Shire will approve a high percentage of applications. We understand the need for flexible criteria and the challenges SMEs face.
When competing against legacy businesses with bigger reserves, because we were once in that position 35 years ago. A key feature of asset finance for SMEs is the fact that the asset is used as security against the agreement rather than anything directly tied to the business. This means that SMEs with less established credit histories can still access the assets they need to grow.
Myth, busted: Asset finance agreements ensure that more small businesses can access the assets they need for growth.
Asset finance agreements are more flexible than ever, meeting the needs of modern businesses. Affordable monthly repayments reduce that feeling of being burdened, and the predictability of payment allows SMEs to include payments into their monthly outgoings, all while the assets are busy helping them grow.
Beneficial features of asset finance in 2025 include upgrade options and seasonal repayments. Features such as these further reinforce the idea that asset finance is not something designed to burden, but an affordable, fixed monthly expense spread across a pre-agreed number of months (much like a subscription) that gives SMEs assets and equipment that they can use to achieve their goals.
Finance can free you and your cash reserves to invest money into other areas of your business that would have otherwise been spent on expensive, depreciating assets.
Myth, busted: What actually ties you down is purchasing assets that you spend months paying back.
We’re passionate about asset finance at Shire. Not because of the assets available, of which there are many, but because of the way they can help innovative SMEs who want to make a difference in their industry hit their growth plans. Ambition and a desire to grow should not be aspirations reserved for certain businesses.
It's the ambitious SMEs and start-ups who are often the innovators in their sector, and we’re proud to support them here at Shire. Asset finance is a concept that any business in any sector can benefit from because the principle of equipment for a monthly repayment can apply to virtually any piece of equipment, from cows to coffee machines to vehicles.
Modern leasing is about working with teams of experts who have strong relationships with suppliers that can offer industry-leading equipment quickly.
The old way of thinking about asset finance is not only wrong, but it can also have an effect on growth and market share. The myths laid out in this piece create nothing but wasted potential, slow progress, and growth for just a set number of businesses.
We’ve been rewriting t he finance rulebook since being founded in 1990, and we do not intend to stop any time soon.
Discover just how quickly you can grow your business with Shire and contact us.