Specialist Asset Finance

What Specialist Asset Finance does

Specialist Asset Finance Limited (SAF) is a UK-based asset finance broker and introducer headquartered in Godalming, Surrey, founded in July 2017 by Shane Thomas and Kevin Green. The company operates as an intermediary, connecting business borrowers seeking asset finance with a network of new start, overseas, and established lenders, and earning transaction-based brokerage and intermediation fees from funders rather than direct charges from borrowers. Its core technology is the brokering platform itself, comprising a curated funder network and a team of sector-specialist relationship managers who present borrower transactions to optimise pricing and structure.

SAF offers eight core borrower-facing products spanning different ownership, cash-flow, and security structures: Stock Funding (advances of 85%-110% of CAP clean value, terms up to 180 days, interest-only), Hire Purchase, Operating Lease, Finance Lease, Sale & Leaseback, Asset Finance Loan/Mortgage, Invoice Finance (typically 80%-95% of debtor book value), and Receivables Finance. The company also provides a strategic advisory service line for funders covering asset finance capability setup and optimisation, portfolio acquisition sourcing, and origination support. Customers are segmented across five verticals: Transport, Manufacturing & Construction, Renewables & Technology, Agriculture, and Healthcare.

SAF operates with a team of 10+ professionals whose directors and senior staff have held executive roles at RBS, Lombard, GE, and Barclays, contributing over 250 years of combined industry experience. The business is privately held, founder/management-owned, operates exclusively in the United Kingdom, is part of the broader SAF Group, and is registered in England and Wales (Company No. 10851095).

Name

Specialist Asset Finance

Legal name

Specialist Asset Finance Limited

Website

https://specialistaf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Specialist Asset Finance is a UK-based asset finance broker founded in 2017 that connects business borrowers across five sectors (Transport, Manufacturing & Construction, Renewables & Technology, Agriculture, Healthcare) with a network of lenders, earning intermediation fees from funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Asset Finance Brokerage

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Equipment & Asset Finance Brokerage (FSAEAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

Keywords

• Asset finance brokerage
• Commercial asset lending
• Finance brokering services
• Equipment finance solutions
• Business asset funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Godalming

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brokerage/Intermediation Fees: SAF operates as a finance introducer and broker to lenders and investors, earning fees or commissions for matching borrowers with appropriate funders. Revenue is generated through intermediary arrangements with the funder network rather than direct charges to borrowers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Specialist Asset Finance is a UK-based finance broker and introducer that arranges asset-based finance and advisory services for business borrowers and funders. It connects borrowers seeking asset-backed funding (stock funding, hire purchase, leasing, sale and leaseback, invoice/receivables finance) with an extensive network of new-start, overseas and established lenders, and provides strategic advisory support to funders on asset finance capability, portfolio transactions, and origination. Revenue is generated through intermediary fees and commissions from funders rather than direct charges to borrowers.

Product overview

Specialist Asset Finance is a finance broker and introducer providing a portfolio of asset finance products to borrowers and strategic advisory services to funders. Its core borrower-facing product suite comprises eight distinct finance offerings: Stock Funding (vehicle/asset stocking finance), Hire Purchase, Operating Lease, Finance Lease, Sale & Leaseback, Asset Finance Loan/Mortgage, Invoice Finance, and Receivables Finance — each addressing different asset ownership, usage, and cash-flow structures. Complementing these, SAF offers sector-specialist services for borrowers seeking the best pricing and terms from its funder network, and consulting/advisory services for funders looking to build, optimize, or transact asset finance portfolios. The company operates across five sectors: Transport, Manufacturing & Construction, Renewables & Technology, Agriculture, and Healthcare.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stock Funding Stock Funding facilities provide vehicle and asset finance for purchases against existing stock, with advances from 85% to 110% of CAP clean value, funding periods up to 180 days, and interest-only payments without reciprocal retail volume requirements. Targeted at vehicle and asset dealers needing competitive wholesale stocking lines.
• Hire Purchase Hire Purchase enables businesses to spread the cost of an asset over its economic life with fixed regular payments, adjustable balloon payments and deposits, and title transfer upon final payment.
• Operating Lease Operating Lease allows businesses to use assets for a fixed regular rental without ownership, keeping the asset off balance sheet (subject to auditor sanction), with potential extension at reduced rentals.
• Finance Lease Finance Lease lets businesses rent an asset over a specified term at fixed monthly rental adjusted to cash flow, with an initial deposit and final balloon payment, extending indefinitely at peppercorn rental thereafter.
• Sale & Leaseback Sale & Leaseback enables businesses to sell owned assets to a funder to unlock cash while continuing to use the assets through regular lease payments.
• Asset Finance Loan/Mortgage Asset Finance Loan/Mortgage provides borrowing secured against a single asset or group of assets, with adjustable deposit amounts and balloon payments relative to asset value, offering flexibility across structured financing situations.
• Invoice Finance Invoice Finance allows businesses to raise funds against their debtor book immediately, typically advancing 80% to 95% of book value, with the loan repaid upon invoice payment and new invoices eligible for ongoing revolving credit.
• Receivables Finance Receivables Finance provides funding against contracted receivables streams from customers, lending based on the strength of contracts and asset value, with potential premiums for managed services agreements.
• Services for Borrowers Borrower services leverage an extensive funder network and over 250 years of combined industry experience to source competitive rates and flexible terms for individual or repeat asset funding across sectors.
• Services for Funders Funder services offer strategic advisory, commercial strategy development, sector-by-sector reviews, asset finance capability setup and optimization, risk management, portfolio acquisition sourcing, and due diligence for lenders.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• EquifaxsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCredit reference agency used by SAF and its lenders to assess credit ratings of borrowers. SAF supplies borrower information to credit reference agencies as part of the financing process.
• ExperiansupportingTechnology or IntegrationCredit reference agency used by SAF and its lenders to assess credit ratings of borrowers as part of the financing and credit search process.
• Call CreditsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCredit reference agency used by SAF and its lenders for credit referencing and fraud prevention purposes as part of the loan assessment process.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lombard (NatWest Group): One of the UK's largest asset finance providers, offering hire purchase, leasing and asset loans across the same asset classes SAF brokers. Functions as both a competitor funder and a key source of SAF leadership talent.
• White Oak UK: UK-based asset and business finance provider offering direct lending and portfolio acquisition services. Overlaps with SAF's lender-side advisory and competes for many of the same UK SME borrowers.
• BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions: Major European asset finance provider offering vendor and direct finance programmes across transport, agriculture, healthcare and technology. Broad incumbent operating in several of SAF's verticals at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Funding Circle UK: UK digital SME lending platform extending into asset-backed and business finance. Represents the emerging digital/disintermediation threat to traditional broker-led asset finance intermediation.
• Lendable: UK-based digital asset and consumer finance platform providing direct funding through an online application process. Emerging fintech that competes for borrowers seeking fast, online asset finance solutions.

Direct peers

• Blue Rock Finance: UK asset finance intermediary arranging hire purchase, leasing and asset-backed loans for SMEs across multiple sectors. Directly comparable broker-led model focused on UK borrowers.
• Simply Asset Finance: UK asset finance broker that matches SMEs with lenders across multiple asset classes including vehicles, equipment and machinery. Closely comparable business model and target customer base to SAF.
• Propel Finance: UK asset finance provider offering hire purchase, leasing and stocking finance to SMEs and dealers across sectors. Directly comparable product set and SME borrower focus.
• Henry Howard Finance: UK asset finance broker arranging vehicle, equipment and machinery finance through a panel of lenders. Similar intermediary business model with multi-sector UK focus.
• London & Scottish Finance: UK asset finance and vehicle finance broker working with multiple lenders to arrange funding for businesses. Comparable introducer model serving UK SME borrowers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/specialist-asset-finance

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Specialist Asset Finance