equipal secures £16.25m from Altum Capital Management

What's the deal? equipal, a fintech that funds business equipment, has secured £16.25 million from Altum Capital Management to grow in the UK asset finance market.

The package combines a £1.25 million equity investment with a £15 million forward flow facility, with Altum providing both.

equipal embeds its platform at the point of sale across more than 75 equipment vendors, letting customers arrange automated finance on purchases up to £250,000.

It funds hard assets from CNC machines to coaches over terms of up to five years, serving sectors including manufacturing and transport.

Why now? The deal lands at a tough moment for platform lending and private credit, as investors retreat and squeeze smaller players.

equipal has built a track record to counter that caution: a 1.26% default rate, zero credit losses, and 69% of funded customers returning for more.

What could go wrong? Altum structured the transaction conservatively, building in strong credit enhancement and legal protections against a fragile market.

equipal also plans to scale fast, expanding its team to 12 over the next year across business development, marketing, operations, credit, and data. Hiring quickly while keeping credit discipline is a delicate balance.

The signal: The funding shows backers will still write cheques for lenders that prove disciplined underwriting, even as private credit tightens.

equipal is betting that a fully digital platform can replace the slow, email-heavy process that has long defined asset finance.

"While the market environment has been challenging, our operating resilience and discipline on credit, while keeping the customer front and centre, has helped us get here," said founder Eamonn McMahon.

The deal also has roots: McMahon and Altum founder Marjorie Hogan both worked at Bear StearnsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → earlier in their careers.

Read more: uk-manufacturing-online.co.uk

Image credit: AI-generated image (Gemini)