Briefing#
Equipment leasing spreads the cost of a specific asset into monthly payments without you needing the upfront capital, and the asset is owned by the funder for ...
[](https://daniellatto.co.uk/els-uk-business-finance-equipment-leasing-recommended/ "ELS: UK Business Finance & Equipment Leasing We Trust") # [ELS: UK Business Finance & Equipment Leasing We Trust](https://daniellatto.co.uk/els-uk-business-finance-equipment-leasing-recommended/\# "ELS: UK Business Finance & Equipment Leasing We Trust") 5 May, 2026 11:30 am One of the most common questions our UK business clients ask us has nothing to do with marketing. It is some version of: do you know anyone good for business finance? When the answer matters, we send them to ELS in Leicestershire. This post explains why, who they help, and how their two flagship products work for UK SMEs and schools. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 48-72h Typical Approval Time | FCA Authorised & Regulated | Whole Of Market Independent Broker | Guild Founding Members | UK SMEs and schools spend an enormous amount of time worrying about cashflow that they do not need to worry about. The equipment that would unlock real growth gets postponed because the upfront cost feels too painful. The seasonal lull between contracts gets weathered out of reserves rather than bridged with the right product. The right finance partner solves both problems quietly in the background, which is exactly what ELS do. ## Who ELS Are ELS, formally [Equipment Leasing Solutions](https://daniellatto.co.uk/equipment-leasing-daniel-latto-business-finance/ "Equipment Leasing") Ltd, is a UK business finance broker based in Stoney Stanton in Leicestershire. They are FCA authorised and regulated under firm reference 744837, and they operate as a whole of market broker rather than tying clients into a single funder. The business is led by founder Stuart McKee, who built ELS around a simple idea captured in their tagline: unlock your potential, not your capital. The point being that growing businesses should not have to drain their working capital to invest in the equipment, energy projects or cashflow support they need to grow. ELS exist to spread those costs into manageable monthly payments through a panel of trusted UK and Canadian funders including Siemens, Premium Credit, Armada Credit Group, PEAC, Fleximize, YouLend, Room 12 and MaxCorp. They are also founding members of the Guild of Business Finance Professionals, an independent body committed to ethics, excellence and education across the industry. Worth knowing because business finance is one of those sectors where the standards across brokers vary wildly, and being a founding member of an industry body that exists to raise those standards tells you something about how the team operates. | | | --- | | Featured Partner: ELS UK business finance and [equipment leasing](https://daniellatto.co.uk/4-reasons-why-you-should-be-livestreaming-more/ "4 reasons why you should be livestreaming more") for SMEs, schools and academies. FCA regulated. Whole of market. Approvals in 48 to 72 hours. [Visit ELS →](https://els.lease/) | ## Two Products Worth Knowing About ELS offer a wide range of finance products covering equipment, energy, education, vehicles, hospitality, healthcare and more. For most of our marketing clients, two products come up again and again. They are worth understanding even if you have never thought about business finance before. | | | | --- | --- | | 🏗️ Equipment Leasing Spread the cost of business critical equipment into monthly payments rather than paying it all upfront. Covers IT, office kit, catering, medical, beauty, dental, salon, automotive, gym and renewable energy equipment. The lease payments can usually be offset against taxable profits, so the structure is often more tax efficient than buying outright. [Equipment Leasing at ELS →](https://els.lease/equipment-leasing/) | 💷 Merchant Cash Advance A funding product based on your future card sales rather than traditional lending criteria. You receive a lump sum now and repay it as a small percentage of each card transaction going forward, so repayments scale up and down with your trading. Often the right answer when you need working capital fast and your business sees variable monthly turnover. [Merchant Cash Advance at ELS →](https://els.lease/merchant-cash-loan-advance/) | Both products solve different problems. Equipment leasing is the one most growing businesses underuse, because they default to either paying upfront and hammering cashflow, or going without and losing the upgrade entirely. The third option of leasing properly is often the most sensible answer and rarely gets considered until someone like ELS walks them through it. Merchant cash advances are different again, designed for businesses with strong card revenue who need quick working capital without the rigidity of a traditional loan. ## Why We Send Clients To ELS Specifically There are plenty of business finance brokers in the UK. The reasons we recommend ELS specifically come down to a handful of things you cannot fake. | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ⚡ Fast Approvals Most applications approved within 48 to 72 hours. | 👤 Real Account Manager A single point of contact who knows your sector. | 🌐 Whole Of Market Multiple funders, not one. Better matching for your needs. | 📋 Transparent Terms No hidden fees. Every agreement clear and structured. | 🚀 Startup Friendly Tailored options for new businesses, clinics and schools. | The whole of market piece is important. Most business finance brokers in the UK are tied to a small panel of funders, which means the product they recommend is almost always whichever one they earn the most commission on. ELS work across multiple funders and match the funder to the requirement, which is how you end up with terms that actually fit your business rather than terms that fit theirs. ## Real Examples From The ELS Case Studies The strongest evidence for any finance partner is what they have actually delivered for other clients. Three live case studies on the ELS site illustrate the breadth of what they handle. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | 🏫 Primary School, Co. Antrim LED lighting project funded over a 7-year agreement, delivering a 58% reduction in electricity costs and projected 10-year savings of £310,665. Zero deposit required. | 🎓 Multi Academy Trust, [Manchester](https://daniellatto.co.uk/facebook-ads-manchester/ "Facebook Ads Manchester | Daniel Latto Digital Marketing Agency") LED lighting upgrade across four schools, delivering a 63% reduction in lighting costs, £251,005 in 10-year savings and a 560 tonne carbon emissions reduction. | 💉 Aesthetic Clinic, Northern Ireland An £80k medical aesthetic laser machine financed via lease agreement. Cashflow protected, monthly repayments affordable, no upfront deposit, no ownership burden. | Each case study highlights a different version of the same underlying problem. A school that wanted to cut energy costs but did not have the capital sitting in reserves to fund the upgrade outright. A trust that wanted to act on environmental goals across multiple sites without disrupting their operating budget. A clinic that wanted to add a high-value service to their offering without committing £80,000 of cash to a single piece of kit. ELS solved all three through structuring rather than lending, and the businesses involved kept their working capital intact while still moving forward. ## Who ELS Are Built For ELS work with a wide range of UK businesses and education providers. The pattern across their client base is consistent: organisations that want to invest in growth, equipment or sustainability without draining their reserves to do it. | | | | --- | --- | | 🏫 Schools & Academies UK-compliant operating leases for schools and Multi Academy Trusts. LED lighting, solar PV, voltage optimisation, IT equipment, playground equipment, and other capital projects financed …
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_Source: [daniellatto.co.uk](https://daniellatto.co.uk/els-uk-business-finance-equipment-leasing-recommended/)_