Kit out your business ahead of the busy summer season

Summer is on its way. While most of the country will be thinking about long, sunny days and holidays, a lot of small business owners will be in the midst of planning for their busiest time of year.

If summer is your peak season, you’ll want to use every opportunity to maximise profits. That means working smarter, not harder – so maybe you’ll even have time to enjoy a short break yourself.  Here we suggest ways you could capitalise on peaks in trade this summer.

Investing in assets to help your small business grow

Warmer weather and longer days usually bring increased trade, footfall and consumer spend. As a small business owner, it presents opportunities to compete and grow.

Sit down and think about where your increased income comes from during the summer months. If it’s through an increase in contracts (eg. construction or gardening), is there any equipment that would help you work quicker? If you’re in an industry that benefits from a seasonal surge in customers (e.g. tourism, leisure, retail or hospitality), what would help you stand out from competitors, or increase capacity to serve more customers? How can you maximise these opportunities to make this summer the most profitable one yet?

Read for more tips on how to increase profits this summer.

How to finance assets

Financing investments before your busy period is always daunting. You’re likely running low on cash flow after a winter of slower business, so finding extra cash to invest is often not an option. 

Asset finance allows you to buy critical assets upfront and spread the cost over a defined repayment period, making the cost more manageable.

Asset finance can be used for a range of new and used business assets, such as commercial vehicles, cars, plant and machinery, and business equipment, as well as things such as furniture, IT and security.

Find out more in our guide to asset finance.

How to boost profits

Here are some examples of how asset finance could help you capitalise on increased trade this summer and maximise profit.

• Furniture – Investing in more tables and chairs will help you seat more customers; refurbishing interiors and exteriors will improve pavement appeal.

• Vehicles – Delivery businesses could grow their fleet of drivers to serve more orders and speed up delivery times, improving customer satisfaction.

• Equipment – Events companies could invest in staging, audio and lighting equipment to provide better experiences for their customers.

• IT – Upgrading booking or point of sales systems will increase efficiency and lead to a smoother customer journey.

• Fixtures & fittings – Modernising hotel rooms and facilities means you’ll be able to charge more for your rooms and help you stand out from the competition, especially in popular tourist spots.

• Technology – With the right technology, such as irrigation or cooling systems, agricultural businesses could avoid losses that can come from delays, bottlenecks or weather issues.

• Machinery – With an increase in demand for construction work during periods of fine weather, more efficient machinery will help businesses fulfil demand quicker or potentially offer new add-on services to existing clients.  

How asset finance can help

If you don’t have the cash upfront to fund investments, asset finance could be a good option for your business. 

• Asset finance allows you to spread the cost of the asset over a fixed term, the asset’s life expectancy or over an agreed payback term that matches your needs.

• The asset sits on your business’s balance sheet, allowing you to depreciate the asset over its life expectancy, or gain tax benefits.

• As you use the asset as security, it can be cheaper than other loans.

• Gives you the upfront capital to fund a new asset, which could be repaid with the extra revenue it may help generate.

• If you fail to pay, the lender can sell the asset to reduce the balance owed by your business.

• Less financial documentation is typically required when compared to other loans.

Read more: Seven benefits of asset finance that could help your business.

If you want to explore the option of asset finance, see how affordable your asset finance loan could be with our quick online calculator.

Alternatively, complete our simple online form and an account manager will contact you to review your options, find the right deals and put you in the best position to get approved.

At Funding Circle we’ll always look to get you the right product for your business. When you apply for asset finance through Funding Circle we can assess you for a business loan at the same time. If we believe one of our other products would be a better fit for you, we’ll let you know. 

27/04/26: While we want to help as much as we can, the information found here is provided solely for informational purposes and should not be considered financial or legal advice. To the extent permitted by law, Funding Circle does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained here. If you have any questions, please speak to your professional adviser or seek independent legal advice.