Gym Equipment Finance: what you need to know

Whether you’re starting up or are already established, managing and maintaining a gym at the heart of your local community isn’t always easy. As well as hiring trained instructors, acquiring suitable premises and installing upbeat furnishings, no gym would be complete without actual gym equipment. However, purchasing high-quality gym equipment that can withstand constant use is expensive, especially when you're buying in large quantities. But before you decide to draw from your own savings, applying for Gym Equipment Finance could offer you the tools necessary for your vision to succeed. So if you’re eager to share your passion for health and fitness with your local community and beyond, here’s what you need to know about Gym Equipment Finance.

What is Gym Equipment Finance?

Gym Equipment Finance is designed to help you gain access to all of the equipment your gym needs to operate successfully. Regardless of whether you require dumbbells to exercise benches, leg curls, squat racks, treadmills and rowing machines to cross-country ski machines, you can support all of the costs involved whilst reducing the strain upon your finances. But as well as aiding with purchases, Gym Equipment Finance also provides the means to borrow equipment and release equity in any unencumbered assets (equipment, machinery or vehicles) that you currently possess. So, regardless of what gym equipment you require, or in what quantity, Gym Equipment Finance offers you the confidence to achieve your vision and succeed.

Looking for a cost-effective way of acquiring gym equipment? Need help sourcing an appropriate agreement? Apply for Gym Equipment Finance or learn more about how your gym could benefit.

What Gym Equipment Finance solutions are available and how do they work?

What makes Gym Equipment Finance such an invaluable tool for your fitness business to take advantage of are the finance solutions that it provides access to. Rather than relying upon your own savings for support, you can ensure that you’re providing your members with access to the latest equipment by applying for:

• Hire Purchase
• Leasing
• Asset Refinance

But in order to make an informed decision for your gym, enhancing the services you provide, it’s essential that you fully understand how each of these products functions beforehand.

Hire Purchase

If you’re seeking to gain access to high-quality gym equipment and eventually become its owner, Hire Purchase could be a useful finance solution to consider. It operates by the lender purchasing the equipment you require from a trusted supplier and giving your gym members access to it once you’ve paid the Initial Deposit. The Initial Deposit usually involves the equipment’s full VAT and an agreed percentage of its total purchase price, which is subject to negotiation. As soon as this has been paid, you can begin using the equipment in your gym whilst making Fixed Monthly Repayments over an agreed term that could last up to 5 years, plus interest. Once the agreement has matured, with all relevant payments resolved, ownership of the equipment is transferred to your gym.

However, because Hire Purchase is what's known as a secured finance arrangement, should your business fall behind in the repayment scheme for any reason, the lender will have the right to remove the equipment from your gym.

Leasing

Meanwhile, if you’re looking to try out new equipment for a limited period or if the equipment quickly depreciates, another solution that could prove useful is Leasing. Rather than pursuing ownership, Leasing enables you to borrow gym equipment whilst making Fixed Monthly Rental Payments over an agreed term which may last up to 5 years, plus interest. But if the equipment is particularly expensive, some lenders may be willing to offer agreements for as long as 7 years. Yet, once the agreement has matured, you have 3 choices available - you can either return the equipment, extend the lease or upgrade to another model.

Nevertheless, what you need to appreciate is that leasing agreements are secured against the equipment that you’re borrowing. So if you fall behind or stop making rental payments for any reason, the lender will remove the equipment from your gym. Plus, you’ll also be responsible for maintaining the equipment and carrying out repairs when necessary.

Asset Refinance

On the other hand, if you own unencumbered assets such as equipment, machinery or vehicles that aren’t fixed into the structure of your premises, you could release up to 100% of the equity held within one or more of these assets using Asset Refinance. Plus, the lump sum that you may receive usually isn’t subject to any usage restrictions, allowing you to support upfront gym equipment purchases or any other goals that you have in mind. In addition, Asset Refinance also uses a Fixed Monthly Repayment scheme and offers terms lasting up to 5 years, plus interest.

Although this is a useful way of generating funds for your gym using the assets logged on your balance sheet, they are also secured agreements which use the equipment you put forward as collateral. Therefore, if your business falls behind in the repayment scheme and defaults for any reason, the lender will have the right to repossess these assets.

Looking for a cost-effective means of gaining access to equipment for your Fitness Centre?

The health and fitness sector is continuing to enjoy a rise in demand, making it a great time to consider starting or investing in your own gym. But in order to make the most of the opportunities that are available, you also need to ensure that your gym has access to all the necessary support. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome is the cost of acquiring and replacing gym equipment, which can easily destabilise your finance if you’re not careful. Fortunately, you can negotiate these issues and enhance your offer to your members by applying Gym Equipment Finance. The only thing you need to consider is how to source an appropriate finance agreement for your gym.

At Rangewell, we’re an Access to Finance specialist who has mapped over 400 lenders, enabling us to offer you an overview of more than 23,000 business finance products. Our services are completely free to use and we’ll also guide you through the application process. So if you’re looking for a cost-effective means of offering high-quality gym equipment to your members, apply for Gym Equipment Finance today or find out more with Rangewell.