No matter your sector, remaining competitive is increasingly costly. The number of elements in your business that need to be invested in to stay on top or catch up with those who are already there is becoming greater and greater. Whether it's hiring the best talent or needing to constantly innovate to keep up with competitors, being at the top can be a challenge.

Thankfully, a modern financing solution helps to keep your cash, yours. With regular, predictable monthly payments, you can upgrade equipment and software without needing to drain your cash reserves, allowing you to spend on other areas of your business that need investment. Here, we’ll explain how to upgrade smartly without waiting for capital to accumulate.

Shire has been helping UK SMEs keep cash in their business for 35 years, and we don’t intend to stop now. If you’re interested in upgrading, get in touch with us today.

Upgrading Smartly with Equipment Leasing

Every business wants the best equipment. However, there’s one problem with wanting the best, and that is that it typically involves large upfront costs. These costs can cause businesses to stagnate, leaving them with equipment that isn’t as quick or efficient as what their competitors are using. Equipment leasing prevents this stagnation by removing the long delays associated with waiting for savings plans to meet a certain goal to pay for equipment.

With the help of an equipment finance company such as Shire, you can have the latest equipment in your office or on your site in a matter of weeks. And, crucially, because the finance agreement is held against the asset, newer SMEs aren’t necessarily prevented from accessing these solutions, and risk tends to be reduced.

Five Key Benefits of Equipment Leasing

1. Cash flow protection:

Spending thousands of pounds on equipment that will depreciate, meaning you won’t make money back on a resale, isn’t sustainable in uncertain markets. Leasing lets you keep more of your sales and investment capital in the business so you can focus on hiring top talent and boosting your marketing efforts.

2. Tax efficiencies:

A leasing option can often be treated as a business expense, meaning you could reduce the tax on the profits you make from them. With a leasing agreement, your upgraded equipment is not only working to grow your revenue but may also save you money on the amount of tax you pay on it.

3. Quicker access to tech:

Outdated equipment makes work harder by slowing your team down. This can’t be allowed to manifest, with speed being so important for SMEs. Leasing allows businesses that need the latest tech stacks to survive and thrive to get them into their offices and be used by their teams within days.

4. Reduced exposure to risk:

Selling old, outdated assets is a logistical and financial headache businesses don’t have time for. Equipment finance limits the risks associated with depreciation and resale because the assets aren’t technically owned by the SME. If something goes wrong, your time and money aren’t spent fixing issues.

5. Tailored agreements:

Modern leasing solutions meet the needs of modern businesses with agreements that respond to seasonal demands and the nuances SMEs face. Leasing agreements are largely predictable, and in industries that may not always be that way themselves, this solution becomes priceless.

Access the assets you need as well as all these benefits with Shire’s flexible equipment leasing solutions. Contact us today and be the next SME we help.

Popular Equipment SMEs Lease to Grow

1. Manufacturing machinery

Large machinery, such as CNC machines and automated assembly lines, requires a huge upfront investment. This can leave firms without capital to spend on hiring talent to work said machinery.

2. Fleet vehicles

Leasing everything from cars to specialist vehicles such as diggers lets SMEs access exactly what they need, when they need them, without saving up to buy these notoriously depreciating assets outright.

3. IT and tech equipment

In sectors that rely on tech and IT, the ‘latest model’ is only that for a short time. Faster, more efficient products could well be available in 12 months, leaving you stuck with an expensive, outdated asset.

4. Medical or scientific tools

With lives often quite literally on the line, firms in these industries need the latest precision instruments and diagnostic tools to continually provide patients and users with the highest degree of medical care.

5. Catering and hospitality equipment

Leasing enables new and existing hospitality businesses to use the best commercial ovens and refrigeration units to delight customers. In such a fast-paced industry, faulty equipment can spell disaster, and leasing makes it easy to swap out assets with minimal commercial disruption.

How Shire Supports Access Without the Burden

Our decades of helping businesses mean we’ve seen the changes their industries have gone through. We’ve led the way in giving SMEs fast, flexible leasing agreements, helping them access the latest innovations and stay competitive without long waits or rigid payment terms.

We keep business projects moving with our online portal that gives decisions on finance applications in as little as six seconds. And by working directly with top-quality suppliers, we ensure those projects are completed using only the best, most efficient equipment.

Act Like a Bigger Player Without the Capital

Leasing helps SMEs compete with large firms by levelling the playing field. Just because you’re a younger company, your commitment to providing great products or services is no less than a legacy business.

We want every SME to be able to compete with larger firms, and our equipment finance solutions help them do just that. We help them seize the opportunities to grow faster with quick approvals and flexible agreements.

So if you’re an SME that wants to keep more cash in your business without sacrificing the quality of equipment you use, speak to our team today.