Armada Asset Finance review: soft asset leasing for UK businesses

Armada Asset Finance is a Devon based leasing company that funds equipment and soft assets for small businesses, and it only works through brokers. It is best known for taking on assets and businesses that mainstream funders turn away, such as gym kit, café equipment and fit outs. Armada is one of the lenders on our panel, so we can put your case to it and compare its offer with other leasing companies at the same time.

01About Armada Asset Finance

Armada Asset Finance is a trading name of Armada Investments Ltd, registered in England and Wales, with its office at Odhams Wharf in Topsham, near Exeter. The company says it has over 50 years of experience in asset finance.

Its pitch is independence from automated credit scoring. Armada says its underwriters assess each proposal by hand, focusing on whether the business is viable rather than leaning only on a credit score, and that it can usually give a decision on the same day. It describes its taste in assets as eclectic, including intangible and unusual items that other funders will not consider.

02What Armada Asset Finance funds

Armada's public site focuses on lease finance for equipment and soft assets rather than a long product list. In practice that means:

Soft assets are things like furniture, signage, software and fit out work: useful to the business but hard for a lender to resell. Many lenders avoid them or ask for heavy security. Specialists like Armada build their model around them. If you are fitting out premises, our guide to fit out finance explains the wider options.

Armada's broker pages say plainly that start ups do not scare it. A new business can be considered with a business plan and bank statements showing working capital, which is less common among leasing companies.

03Who Armada Asset Finance suits (and who it may not)

Armada is likely to suit:

• Cafés, restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses buying kitchen kit or furniture.
• Gyms and leisure operators, including those covered in our gym business loans guide.
• New businesses with a credible plan but little trading history.
• Owners whose credit file is not perfect but whose business makes sense, given Armada's stated focus on viability over scores.

It may not be the best fit if:

• You need more than £250,000, which is above Armada's stated range.
• You are buying high value hard assets such as HGVs or plant, where mainstream lenders may offer longer terms.
• You want to apply direct. Armada only accepts business through brokers.

Armada's public site focuses on lease finance for equipment and soft assets rather than a long product list.

04What Armada Asset Finance looks at

Armada publishes a short document list for brokers. For established businesses it asks for:

• A completed asset finance proposal form.
• Recent business bank statements.
• The latest full accounts and current management accounts if available.
• Permission to run credit searches.

For start ups the list is a proposal form, a business plan if you have one, bank statements showing working capital and credit search permission. It also helps to have the supplier quote and a clear explanation of how the equipment will earn its keep.

05Pros and cons

Pros

• Open to start ups and to sectors some funders avoid, such as hospitality and leisure.
• Human underwriting, with decisions usually the same day.
• Funds soft and unusual assets, including fit outs.
• Low minimum, so small purchases are possible.

Cons

• Maximum of £250,000 per proposal.
• Broker only, so you cannot apply directly.
• Specialist soft asset leasing can cost more than mainstream equipment finance for strong, established businesses.

06Applying through a broker vs going direct

With Armada there is no direct route, but the more useful point is that a broker can test more than one door. Soft asset leasing is priced on risk, and a business that qualifies with a mainstream funder may do better there. We search the market, present your proposal clearly with the documents lenders ask for, and approach suitable lenders with one application. It is free to enquire; any broker fee is disclosed separately before you proceed.

Use our Instant Quotes tool to compare lenders in minutes. Smart Funding Solutions is an independent broker and is not part of Armada Asset Finance. Armada's own background is on its website.

07Alternatives to Armada Asset Finance

• Black Arrow Finance is another long established soft asset specialist, worth comparing for fit outs and office equipment.
• Admiral Leasing and Loans is another small ticket leasing option, worth comparing on lower value purchases.
• Rivers Leasing funds smaller equipment leases and is a useful second opinion on modest purchases.

For a plain English comparison of leases and other structures, read our finance lease guide.