Loan to fit out a shop, restaurant or café

Capex funding for fitting out new premises. Different from buying the premises (commercial mortgage) and from buying equipment (asset finance). Often blends the three.

Who needs this

Hospitality opening a new venue, retailers fitting a new shop, healthcare clinics moving to new premises. The funding mix typically involves: term loan for soft costs, asset finance for equipment, commercial mortgage if owner-occupied.

Products that fit

  • Term loans for soft costs (decoration, signage, IT, branding)
  • Asset finance for kitchen equipment, fixtures
  • Commercial mortgage for owned premises

Top UK lenders

  • Allica Bank (asset + commercial mortgage stack)
  • Funding Circle for unsecured working-capital portion
  • Aldermore for asset finance

Watch outs

  • Fit-out budgets always overrun; build 15-25% contingency into the ask.
  • Post-fit-out cashflow gap until trading volumes ramp; size the working-capital portion accordingly.

Alternatives worth considering

  • Landlord contributions to fit-out (negotiate at lease stage)
  • Phased fit-out funded from initial trading

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Last reviewed: 2026-04-26.

Trusted comparison data sourced from

UK FinanceABFABusiness MoneyFundInvoiceBCR PublishingThe Gazette
85 providers compared Updated April 2026 Independent editorial