Asset Based Lending

Benefits of business growth funding & acquisition finance 

Unlock funding from existing assets to support acquisitions, company expansion, business investment, major contracts and working capital requirement.

Here's what sets Aldermore apart:

  • Funding built around your business: Funding structured around your business, assets and ambitions, giving you the flexibility you need.
  • Specialist by design: As a specialist bank, we know that successful businesses don't always fit standard lending criteria. We take a practical approach to complex funding requirements.
  • People who know your business: Direct access to experienced Relationship Managers who take the time to understand your business, business plans and what success looks like for you.
  • Confidence from day one: Clear types of funding structures, transparent pricing and optional Bad Debt Protection, helping you make informed decisions with greater certainty.
  • More flexibility, more funding power

    Receivables only need to make up 25% of the facility

  • Multiple assets. One facility

    Combine receivables, inventory, property, and plant and machinery

  • Funding that scales with you

    Facilities available from £1 million to £50 million

How Aldermore can help

Every business growth journey is different. Aldermore’s asset based lending (ABL) helps established businesses unlock value from a mixture of assets to fund:

  • Acquisitions and mergers
  • Management buyouts and buy-in
  • Investment and expansion in business 
  • Working capital finance
  • Cashflow

Our tailored asset based loans supports cash flow management, helps address business challenges and provides business cash flow funding to support your business growth strategy.

How it works: 

An asset based loan unlocks value from eligible business assets to provide funding for business growth and scaling up a business.

  1. We visit your business to value your company assets.
  2. We provide a clear breakdown of costs and funding terms.
  3. Once agreed, we release the funds.
  4. Your locally based Relationship Manager provides ongoing support as your business grows, helping you build a sustainable business.

Every business growth journey is different. Aldermore’s asset based lending (ABL) helps established businesses unlock value from a mixture of assets to fund:

  • Acquisitions and mergers
  • Management buyouts and buy-in
  • Investment and expansion in business 
  • Working capital finance
  • Cashflow

Our tailored asset based loans supports cash flow management, helps address business challenges and provides business cash flow funding to support your business growth strategy.

How it works: 

An asset based loan unlocks value from eligible business assets to provide funding for business growth and scaling up a business.

  1. We visit your business to value your company assets.
  2. We provide a clear breakdown of costs and funding terms.
  3. Once agreed, we release the funds.
  4. Your locally based Relationship Manager provides ongoing support as your business grows, helping you build a sustainable business.

Lending criteria

Receivables only need to account for 25% of the overall ABL facility, creating greater flexibility to structure funding around a wider mix of assets. A multi asset class can be combined within a single facility, including receivables, inventory, property and plant and machinery. 

Funding is available from £1 million to £50 million, supporting a broad range of business requirements.

Funding can be structured against assets such as:

  • Overdue invoices and receivables, using unpaid customer invoices to support funding.
  • Stock and inventory, unlocking value from eligible stock held within your business.
  • Plant and machinery, using eligible equipment and machinery assets to support funding.
  • Commercial property, securing funding against eligible commercial property assets.

Get in touch with our team

Anthony Hicks

Business Development Manager

Joshua Owens

Business Development Manager

Alex Hazell

Business Development Manager

Scott Pendlebury

Business Development Manager

What are you looking to do?

From a new business idea and delivering a market expansion strategy to acquisitions and ways to improve cash flow, explore our business lending solutions. Whether you're looking to grow a business or understand how to get funding for your business, find the route that best meets your business funding needs.

At Aldermore, we support SMEs with acquisition finance for a range of business needs, including:

  • Business growth: Funding to support expansion, investment and new opportunities.
  • Mergers and acquisitions: Mergers and acquisitions finance to help fund business purchases and strategic growth.
  • Buyouts: From a management buy out and MBO finance to a leveraged buyout, helping fund changes in business ownership.
  • Buy in: Funding to support new owners or management teams buying into an existing business.
  • Succession planning: Funding to support ownership transitions and help secure the future of a business.

Whether you're exploring business acquisition finance, considering a business purchase loan (through a bank) or looking for finance to buy a business, we take a practical approach to complex funding, structuring solutions around your business and ambitions.

We can also help you understand how to finance a management buyout and the options available for your circumstances.

Aldermore helps SMEs manage cash flow, release working capital and cover business costs with tailored business financing options, including cash flow lending and a flexible business loan. 

Examples:

  • Cash flow management: Covering wages, supplier payments and overheads while waiting for customer to pay overdue invoices.
  • Working capital: Stock financing, materials and day to day operating costs.
  • Business growth: Funding new equipment, taking on larger contracts or expanding into new markets.

Unlike traditional asset based lending, which unlocks working capital from assets your business already owns, business asset finance can help SMEs fund specific assets and investment.

Examples of how funding can help

  • Equipment and machinery: Funding equipment needed to support operations and growth.
  • Vehicles and fleets: Financing vehicles to run or expand your business.

What can make business growth challenging?

Business growth strategies and implementation plans often requires investment before the additional returns are realised. This can create cash flow issues and pressure, making it more difficult if you're looking to expand your business to fund expansion while continuing to meet every day operating costs.

Growing a business often requires significant upfront investment. Whether you're considering:

  • Machinery finance to purchase new equipment,
  • Exploring finance for equipment to increase capacity,
  • Using fleet finance to grow your vehicle operations,
  • Investing in technology on finance to improve efficiency, or
  • Securing commercial property loan to support expansion plans

Accessing the funding needed to keep pace with growth can be a challenge. 

For many businesses, finding the right way to fund these investments is a key part of scaling up a business successfully.

Even with a strong business growth strategy, growth can put pressure on day-to-day finances.

Additional costs often arise before new revenue is generated, making cash flow management more challenging. This can lead to business cash flow problems, particularly for companies that are scaling up a business.

Access to working capital finance or business cash flow loans can help bridge this gap, providing the flexibility needed to support expansion plans and achieve how to grow business ambitions with confidence.

A common challenge when growing a business is that valuable capital can become tied up in business assets, stock and outstanding customer invoices. 

Without access to asset based finance, funds held in inventory and unpaid invoices may be unavailable to support day-to-day operations or future investment. 

Businesses can also face delays caused by customer payment terms, creating reliance on invoice finance solutions, accounts receivable financing or support against a financial debtor book. 

Outdated equipment, vehicles or premises can limit productivity, constrain growth and make it harder to meet customer demand.

Access to funding can help businesses:

  • Secure machinery finance to upgrade or replace equipment
  • Obtain finance for equipment to support operational investment
  • Access business equipment finance to increase capacity and efficiency
  • Use asset finance to fund growth without tying up working capital

Entering new markets or launching new products can be a significant growth challenge, often requiring additional expertise, investment and long-term planning.  Businesses may also compare funding options for business, innovative funding services, strategic equity capital and multi asset investment when considering how to expand a business or how to grow a business.

Developing a successful market expansion strategy or market expansion plan can take time, particularly when pursuing new market expansion or international expansion opportunities. Businesses may also need access to business growth funding to support product development, recruitment and operational costs.

In some cases, growth may be accelerated through acquisition finance or management buyout finance, while larger transactions may involve corporate finance mergers and acquisitions. Aligning these opportunities with a clear business development strategy is often a critical part of successful market expansion.

Business growth at a glance

  • Business growth can include increasing revenue, expanding capacity, hiring staff or entering new markets
  • Growth often requires investment before returns are realised
  • Common barriers include limited capital, cashflow pressure and outdated equipment
  • Finance can help SMEs invest in assets, unlock working capital and scale more sustainably
  • The right funding approach depends on the type of growth a business is pursuing
Smiling café owner

Business Growth & Acquisition FAQs

Business growth can include increasing revenue, expanding product lines, improving operational capacity, entering new markets or hiring staff.

For many SMEs, growth demands investment in equipment, technology, and physical assets, as well as the ability to unlock working capital from existing assets. When structured correctly, growth enhances competitiveness, resilience and long‑term profitability.

While working capital finance helps businesses manage short term operational cash needs, growth finance is typically used to support longer term expansion, such as investing in equipment, vehicles, technology or additional capacity.

ABL is a flexible funding solution that lets businesses borrow against the value of existing assets like machinery, property, stock and receivables.

When growth opportunities require investment or when capital is tied up in assets that could be leveraged.

Asset finance (Hire Purchase, Leasing, Refinancing)

Ideal for acquiring equipment, machinery, vehicles or technology needed for expansion.

  • Hire Purchase: spread the cost and own the asset at the end
  • Finance Lease: long-term access without full ownership
  • Asset Refinance: release cash tied up in existing asset

Asset-Based Lending (ABL)

Unlocks value from existing assets such as equipment, stock or receivables. 

Commercial Real Estate finance

Invest in new or leverage cash from existing commercial property.

Working capital loans

For operational expenses during growth.

Invoice finance

Releases cash locked in unpaid invoices to fund expansion.

Growth or expansion loans

Structured funding for scaling activities such as hiring or market expansion.

Trade and stock finance

Supports inventory and materials needed for growth.

Businesses can grow more sustainably by planning investment carefully and using funding that spreads costs over time. This can help support expansion while protecting cashflow for day to day operations.

Yes. Many SMEs use finance to invest in equipment, vehicles or expansion without putting pressure on day to day working capital. This can help preserve cash for operational costs while supporting growth.

Related guides

Subject to status. Security may be required. Any property or asset used as security may be at risk if you do not repay any debt secured on it.