Insights
Why most hospitality equipment gets leased, not bought outright
Coffee machines, fit-outs, kitchen gear. Which one you should own and which you should lease comes down to how fast it wears out, not what kind of venue you run.
Most hospitality equipment gets leased for one reason: it wears out, or goes out of date, before a loan on it would be paid off. Fit-outs, cash flow and buying a venue follow the same logic. A lender wants detail on the asset and how you use it, not just the industry label on the application.
Why does leasing beat a chattel mortgage for most hospitality equipment?
Rental or leasing structures are more common in this sector than chattel mortgages, especially for equipment like coffee machines. It comes down to usage and expected lifecycle: gear that wears out fast or gets swapped for newer models regularly usually suits a lease better than ownership, since you’re not left holding an asset that’s lost most of its value by the time you’d want to upgrade.
Commercial kitchens are more mixed. Some equipment holds its value and utility long enough that owning it outright through a chattel mortgage makes more sense. It depends on the specific asset, not the venue type. See our asset finance page for the full chattel mortgage versus lease breakdown, and our dedicated chattel mortgage vs finance lease comparison for the GST and depreciation detail.
What about the fit-out itself, not just the equipment?
Yes, and outside the major banks too. Some products will fund the soft costs, like painting and wiring: work a lender could never repossess. That’s unusual. In most industries the security has to be something that can be unbolted and taken away.
What helps with cash flow in this sector?
There’s real breadth here, from merchant cash advances through to lines of credit and overdrafts. Which one fits depends on how you’re trading day to day, how quickly you need funds, and whether you’d rather pay for speed and simplicity or a lower ongoing cost. A venue with strong, steady card sales often suits an MCA. One with more predictable, established trading is usually better served by a cheaper revolving facility. That pressure is dated and real: the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review 2026 lifted modern award rates 4.75% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, up from 3.5% the year before, and that lands on the wage bill well before revenue necessarily catches up.
Buying an existing venue or retail business
Yes. Lenders want two things: real experience in the industry (ideally in that exact business) and a deposit that shows you’ve got skin in the game. With both, these deals get done. With neither, it’s a hard conversation. If you’re weighing it up without either yet, tell us, and we’ll say what needs to be in place first.
Fitting out, upgrading equipment, or buying a venue?
Tell us what you’re financing and we’ll tell you whether leasing, owning, or something else fits best.
Frequently asked questions
Give us the basics below and we’ll call you within the hour, or at the time you choose, then come back with the two or three offers worth your time.