Bus finance
Whether you maintain local council bus routes, manage school transport, or run a private coach company, learn more about your bus finance options below.
- Funding from £1,000 to £10 million
- Decisions in as little as 1 hour
- Compare funding options from trusted lenders
- Check your eligibility in minutes
It's fast, free and won't affect your credit score
What is bus and coach finance?
Bus and coach finance is specialist funding to help companies acquire new vehicles or upgrade their existing fleet without substantially draining working capital. Commercial bus finance helps you spread the cost of a bus into manageable monthly payments with financing options like business loans, Business Contract Purchase (BCP), and Hire Purchase (HP).
You can use bus finance to cover lots of vehicle-related costs. Use it to:
- Purchase single minibuses, midi-coaches, or full-sized double-decker or single-decker buses
- Upgrade your passenger fleets to electric or hybrid models
- Acquire both used and brand-new commercial transport vehicles
- Cover initial deposit costs for leases or long-term rentals
- Expand your fleet to meet large contract demands
Exploring your funding options: BCP, HP, and business loans
The best funding option depends on whether you want full vehicle ownership or prefer lower monthly payments.
Business Contract Purchase (BCP)
Business Contract Purchase (BCP) is a great choice if you’re after lower monthly payments with maximum operational flexibility. With BCP, you pay fixed monthly instalments based on the vehicle’s expected depreciation during the term.
When the BCP agreement ends, you have three options:
- Pay the optional final balloon payment and take full ownership of the bus
- Return your bus to the lender with no more payments (subject to vehicle condition and mileage limits)
- Part-exchange the bus for a newer model under a brand new agreement
Hire Purchase (HP)
If you want to own the vehicle outright, HP could be an option worth considering. You pay an initial deposit, which typically covers the VAT. Then you spread the remaining cost, plus interest, over the fixed monthly term (usually between two and seven years). And because your repayments are evenly spread, you can budget better, as it’s a predictable expense.
Benefits of Hire Purchase:
- You will eventually own the vehicle when you’ve paid the option-to-purchase fee at the end of the term
- You can list the vehicle as a business asset from the very first day, which means you can claim capital allowances
- There are no mileage restrictions (unlike BCP)
Unsecured and secured business loans
Applying for a small business loan gives you complete freedom to purchase your bus anywhere you want. You get a lump sum of funds into your business bank account, so you can use your business loan to:
- Purchase a bus outright from wherever you want, whether it’s a private seller, a dealership, or at auction
- Cover initial deposits or lease costs for a new fleet contract
- Fund significant refurbishment on your current vehicles or consider green conversions
You can apply for either a secured or unsecured business loan. Borrow up to £500,000 unsecured, and in excess of £2 million secured.
Bus and coach finance options for modern fleets
There are a lot of variable costs for you as a passenger vehicle business, things like tourism peaks and troughs and fleet maintenance can cause severely deplete cash flow. But many fleet lenders are ready to help you navigate these issues:
- You can structure your higher repayments during your higher income months and lower payments during slower periods, helping you better manage cash flow
- You can unlock equity tied up in modern buses you already own to help you fund new purchases
- You can also combine several minibuses or full-sized coaches into a single finance plan
Tailored bus finance for every business type
You can apply for vehicle finance whether you’re an established regional transport business or a brand-new private operator. Even if you’ve had some credit issues or have a limited trading history, our alternative lenders offer accessible, flexible funding for business owners with varying credit scores.
Although lenders will look at your credit score, particularly for an unsecured business loan, they'll also consider other factors when making their lending decision for asset finance (Hire Purchase and Business Contract Purchase).
They’ll consider:
- The age and condition of the vehicle you’re purchasing
- Your cash flow health
- The company's trading history
- And the duration of your secured transport contract (e.g. school contracts)
Compare eligible bus business loans today
If you’ve decided that a business loan makes the most financial sense to fund your bus acquisition or cover initial lease costs, use our free loan comparison tool to find and compare eligible loans.
Our self-serve platform allows you to compare all eligible loans in one place, without any obligation to proceed.
Bus finance FAQs
Yes, you can use bus finance for either used or brand-new vehicles. Lenders look at the mileage, age, and condition of the vehicle before calculating the maximum repayment term.
The HP monthly payments cover the total capital cost of the bus, so at the end of the term, you own the bus outright. With BCP, monthly payments are much lower because a large portion of the vehicle cost is deferred into a ‘balloon payment’ at the end of the term.
Yes. A business loan is given to you as a lump sum payment, so you can spend it however you want. You can cover initial deposits or pay outright for a used bus, whatever you want.
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Adrian T
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Amazingly fast, efficient service, minimal paperwork. So much faster than my business bank of twelve years.
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