United Trust Bank: products, terms and eligibility

United Trust Bank is a UK provider of asset finance. The legal entity named on its site is United Trust Bank Limited, company number 00549690. It is based in London. Companies House shows the company was incorporated 1955.

United Trust Bank was incorporated in England in 1955 as a specialist lender providing development finance to SME house-builders. It was acquired by Insinger de Beaufort in 2001, and a management buyout in 2004 restored the original name and private ownership. It is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA. Its head office is in London, with a Manchester office opened in 2024.

In its own words on scale:

• Says its loan book reached £3.5 billion in December 2024.

Everything on this page comes from what United Trust Bank publishes itself. We show the date we last checked it, and we do not rate or rank lenders.

United Trust Bank publishes 3 products for UK businesses. The table above gives the amounts and terms as it states them.

• Hire purchase: Payments tailored to requirements; option to own the asset at the end.
• Finance lease: Use the asset without owning it; option to continue renting or purchase at the end.

Hire purchase

A secured agreement with payments tailored to the customer, with ownership at the end of the finance period. Secured against the financed asset.

Finance lease

Use of an asset without ownership during the lease term, with options to continue renting or purchase afterwards.

Refinance

Releases the value in assets already on the balance sheet for reinvestment elsewhere in the business.

United Trust Bank says its finance is used for:

• Funding prestige and classic cars
• Commercial vehicles
• Construction and agricultural equipment
• CNC and injection moulding machinery
• Releasing cash from owned assets

United Trust Bank publishes these criteria. Meeting them does not mean an application will be accepted: every lender makes its own decision.

• New applications are accepted only through approved asset finance brokers.
• Assets listed include prestige and classic cars, light and heavy commercial vehicles, bus and coach, trailers and municipal vehicles.
• Also construction, agricultural, waste recycling, CNC and engineering machinery, injection moulding and media equipment.

United Trust Bank describes its process like this:

1. Use an approved asset finance broker; UTB accepts applications only through intermediaries.

Every application is subject to status and the lender’s own criteria at the time.

Asset finance spreads the cost of equipment, vehicles or machinery, with the asset itself as the main security. Under hire purchase you own the asset once the final payment is made; under a lease you pay to use it and hand it back, extend or replace it at the end.

Lenders look at the asset’s age, condition and resale value as well as the business, and many fund used as well as new equipment. Sector pages such as transport and logistics finance and construction finance show how it is used in practice.

Points United Trust Bank publishes that are worth knowing:

• Does not take direct applications for a new asset finance loan; broker introduction required.
• Hire purchase is secured on the asset being funded.
• Existing customers can request settlement figures through a broker or directly.

Security and guarantees

Products are secured against the assets being financed.

United Trust Bank’s site states: “United Trust Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the Financial Ombudsman Service.”

Protections differ by borrower type and loan size. Most lending to limited companies is not regulated consumer credit, so read the agreement and ask the lender what applies to you.

Other providers of asset finance with profiles here include Admiral Leasing & Loans, ALG Finance and Allica Bank. Each profile uses that lender’s own published terms.

The full list, grouped by product type, is in our directory of UK business lenders.

Capzy is a credit broker, not a lender, and gets paid by the lender. One application lets your business compare options across lenders, so you can weigh this kind of facility against the alternatives. You can check your funding options with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A full application to a lender may involve a hard search, and any offer is subject to status and lender criteria.