equipal Secures £16.25m for Digitizing UK Business Equipment Lending
UK fintech equipal has raised £16.25 million to expand its digital financing platform for business equipment, aiming to streamline the lending process for assets including manufacturing machinery.
UK-based fintech company equipal has announced the successful securing of £16.25 million in combined equity and forward flow funding. The investment, led by Altum Capital Management, comprises a £1.25 million equity injection and a £15 million tiered forward flow facility. This funding is intended to bolster equipal's presence within the UK business equipment finance market.
The financial arrangement is structured to allow for future increases in senior funding capacity, providing equipal with scalability without the need for complete refinancing. The company's founder, Eamonn McMahon, highlighted the deal's structure as enabling future scale and offering operational flexibility.
equipal has developed a proprietary technology platform that is integrated at the point of sale with over 75 equipment vendors. This system automates financing for hard assets, such as CNC machines and coaches, with the objective of reducing the traditional complexities and time associated with equipment lending. The platform handles credit assessment, documentation, and funding within a single integrated experience.
To date, equipal reports a default rate of 1.26% and no credit losses, with a significant 69% customer retention rate for repeat financing. The newly acquired funds will be allocated to hiring across various departments, including business development, marketing, operations, credit, and data, with the team expected to grow to 12 employees within the next year.
This funding round highlights the growing trend of digitizing financial services within the industrial equipment sector. By embedding financing directly at the point of sale, equipal addresses a key friction point for businesses acquiring capital assets, including advanced manufacturing machinery. This approach mirrors efforts in other sectors, such as 3D printing, where financing programs are being developed to make high-value equipment more accessible to a wider range of businesses.
Edited by the news editor with AI from the original report — please refer to the original source.