Praetura Asset Finance: what it lends and who it suits

Praetura Asset Finance is an independent asset finance lender for UK SMEs. Companies House lists Praetura Asset Finance Limited under company number 08426091, incorporated on 1 March 2013, with its registered office at Ewood House in Blackburn. Its website says it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of consumer credit lending activities, under firm reference 737408.

It is part of the Praetura Group. Praetura says the group's asset finance division, made up of Praetura Asset Finance and Kingsway Finance, lends from £10,000 to £5 million, and that it works in partnership with brokers and intermediaries rather than mainly direct.

For how asset finance works in general, read our guide to asset finance. In short, you use an asset now and pay for it over time, with the asset itself as the main security.

Praetura lists three funding solutions:

Praetura also says hire purchase interest and charges can be offset against pre-tax profits and that lease payments can be treated as a trading expense. Tax treatment depends on your business, so check it with your accountant. Our guides to hire purchase and sale and leaseback explain the agreement types in more depth.

Praetura focuses on hard assets. Its rule of thumb is that if you kick it and it hurts your foot, and it is used for business, it is likely to qualify. It lists these as preferred assets:

• Vehicles. Vans, lorries and trucks; buses, coaches and minibuses; motorhomes and campervans; tractors and trailers; company cars; classic, luxury and performance cars.
• Equipment. Yellow plant; farming and forestry; engineering; manufacturing; industrial plant and machinery; printing and packaging.

It says it may help with assets outside that list and has funded custom-built horseboxes, brewery equipment and fairground rides. The sectors it says it regularly works with are construction, agriculture and forestry, manufacturing, printing, transportation, and waste and recycling. For sector context, see our guides for construction and transport and logistics.

Soft assets sit with its sister company Kingsway Finance, which Praetura describes as business loan and soft asset funding experts. Kingsway's own site lists commercial and professional loans, Growth Guarantee Scheme term loans, leasing, hire purchase and sale and lease back.

Praetura Invoice Finance is a separate group company. It says it offers working capital facilities from £50,000 to £1.5 million and advances up to 90% of the value of unpaid invoices, paying the rest when your customer pays. It offers two forms:

• Invoice factoring. Praetura manages the sales ledger and chases payment, on a disclosed or confidential basis.
• Invoice discounting. You keep credit control and your customer relationships, again disclosed or confidential.

For larger needs, Praetura Commercial Finance offers asset-based lending against several assets at once. Praetura says group funding can range from a £10,000 asset purchase to a £35 million asset-based lending package for a management buyout or buy-in. Our guides to invoice finance and asset-based lenders compare these products.

From what it publishes, Praetura suits UK SMEs buying or refinancing hard assets, especially in construction, agriculture, manufacturing and transport, that come through a broker. It also suits businesses that may need more than one facility: Praetura says a growing share of its deals combine several group companies, such as asset finance alongside invoice discounting or a stock facility.

Praetura says that while its own platform, Praeview, may recommend outcomes, every decision remains with an underwriter, and that it is adding automated reading of PDF bank statements to support them. It does not publish minimum trading time, turnover or credit criteria on the pages we read, so any decision is subject to status and lender criteria.

Praetura does not publish rates or fees for its asset finance, so the price is quoted deal by deal. It does say that its hire purchase comes with fixed interest rates, so the monthly payment is known from the start. What you pay will depend on the things any asset lender weighs:

• The asset. New, widely traded kit with a strong resale market is easier to lend against than bespoke or older equipment.
• The deposit. A larger deposit reduces the amount financed and the lender's risk.
• The term. A longer term lowers each payment but adds to the total interest.
• The business. Trading history, accounts, bank conduct and the directors' credit records.
• The structure. Hire purchase, finance lease and refinance are priced differently, and a lease may carry end-of-term charges.

Ask for the total amount payable in pounds, the documentation and option to purchase fees, and how early settlement is calculated. Our guide to APR explained shows how to compare offers quoted on different bases, and equipment finance covers how lenders assess a deal.

Praetura works in partnership with brokers and intermediaries, and runs a broker portal for proposals. In practice, most businesses reach it through a commercial finance broker. Expect to provide details of the asset and supplier, recent accounts and bank statements, and information about the directors.

Capzy is a credit broker, paid by the lender. We introduce businesses to lenders on our panel whose criteria fit, and we do not claim a relationship with any particular lender here. You can check your eligibility with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A lender's full application may involve a hard search, and any offer is subject to status and lender criteria.

Praetura publishes testimonials and case studies on its own site; we do not summarise reviews, because we cannot verify them. Instead, check the facts that matter:

• Look up Praetura Asset Finance Limited, number 08426091, on Companies House to confirm the company you are contracting with.
• Check firm reference 737408 on the FCA's Financial Services Register.
• Ask for the total amount payable, all fees and any option to purchase fee in pounds.
• Ask how early settlement is calculated and what happens at the end of a lease.
• Read any personal guarantee before signing.

Compare the offer with others. Our lender directory lists asset finance providers by product, and our guide to finance leases and operating leases explains the end-of-term choices. Capzy does not give financial or tax advice.