What are some customer benefits to leasing?

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Why are so many UK companies choosing to lease their equipment rather than buy it? It all comes down to the benefits of leasing for the customer and what the business can do for them. In this blog below are 6 reasons why leasing is a better choice over buying company equipment.

1. Preserve existing cash flow

One of the major reasons why companies choose to lease is for this reason. You can keep your cash for the working capital requirements of your business.

2. Pay for the equipment as you go

Monthly repayments give you flexibility with the equipment. Would you give a new employee three years’ salary in advance? No, you wouldn’t. Monthly repayments give you the ability to spread the costs and keep your own cash within your business.

3. Offers a new source of funding

Leasing companies are often a new source of funding for a dental company. This also means you won’t have to use existing lines of credit.

4. Important tax benefits

With the £1m AIA (Annual Investment Allowance) for most SME companies, there are no real tax benefits to a lease rental agreement. Lease purchase (HP) agreements may be a better option. Not to mention the new Super Tax deduction for Limited Companies.

5. Easier budgeting

Paying a monthly rental makes budgeting a lot easier for your business. The payment will cover the cost of the interest as well as the asset depreciation.

6. Keeps it useful

With equipment leasing, the rental term is usually the same as it’s useful life. Many companies will therefore lease equipment and then upgrade it at the end of the agreement.

Contact Us

If you would like any more information on what some of customer benefits to leasing are here at WestWon Dental, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 01494 611 456 or alternatively email us on hello@westwon.dental

How WestWon Dental supports your finance journey

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Read more

Sustainable and socially conscious finance and leasing

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In May 2020, the pandemic took hold in the UK and rest of the world. UK dentistry began to come out of its three-month shut down. This was when WestWon made a confident and bold move to invest in the business. They launched our dental professional offering. Read on for sustainable and socially conscious finance and leasing options…

Supporting this move into the dental sector, the Dental Finance App from WestWon was launched. This provides a real-time rate and monthly cost for dental practices. For those looking at their finance options prior to an investment.

Because the app is reviewed and updated regularly, it creates transparency. This is to the best rates that are available to everyone within the dental sector. In turn, it shines a light on WestWon for being open, honest, and transparent to the dentists and suppliers by making this available to all.

WestWon’s commitment to and expertise within the sector

This was proven at last year’s Dental Industry Awards. We won the award for ‘Outstanding Business of the Year (less than 25 employees)’. Also, we were highly commended in the ‘App of the year’ category.

Not one to rest on our laurels, at WestWon Dental, our team is always looking to do our bit where we can. This includes supporting charities we care about or helping others in some capacity.

The team is extremely proud to introduce The WestWon Woodland. We are doing our bit to help combat climate change in partnership with Ecologi. They are a UK-based social enterprise that helps plant trees both home and abroad.

From this year, when you complete a lease agreement with us, we will plant a tree for every month of the lease term in The WestWon Woodland. It’s as simple as that. We don’t need anything from you, and you will receive a certificate of plantation as well as a link to our very own WestWon forest. Here, you can see your trees being brought to life.

Our aim is to plant 100,000 trees within The WestWon Woodland and remove 7,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere in the next five years.

Read our article on sustainable finance by clicking on the link below.

Read here

Contact Us

We would love it if you could help us do all this! So, if you are a UK dentist and think your business could benefit from any sustainable and socially conscious finance and leasing, please call 01494 611 456 or email hello@westwon.co.uk. In addition, further information is available at WestWon.

Private Dental Practice Finance Tips

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During this blog, we will be running through how investment can elevate private dental practices without affecting cash flow. This blog is bundled with top tips on how to get started and get the best deal.

It is unlikely to have escaped your notice that dental practices are in a growth phase. This is something that is obviously always a boon, but perhaps even more so given the challenging couple of years we have all lived through.

There is general demand from people unable to access NHS dentistry due to never ending waiting lists. Many of whom are realising that your hygiene department might well be an ideal first port of call. As well as those who, after seeing themselves for so many hours on screen during meetings, feel they might benefit from cosmetic dentistry.

Making the most of opportunities

It may be that providing a full service to your patients post-COVID to make the most of these opportunities requires some investment on your part.

This might involve the purchasing of expensive equipment, which will be well worth the investment over the long term. But there is an obstacle- cash flow health. After all, we all need to keep money flowing in and out of our businesses every month to pay our bills.

One possible solution to this quandary is equipment finance or a capital loan. Both of these options offer a number of benefits beyond the aforementioned preservation of cash flow, including:

  • Alternative lines of funding – you do not need to use up a bank facility
  • VAT consideration – on rental agreements, the VAT is included in the rental, not in a lump sum
  • Pay for the equipment as you use it – companies pay employees over time as they work, so why pay all the cost for dental equipment in advance?
  • The latest equipment – always have the latest dental technology at your disposal by implementing a recycling strategy, whereby you replace equipment at the end of the lease term
  • Tax planning – using a lease rental agreement, 100% of your rental is deductible against your company’s corporation tax.

The super-deduction tax scheme

You may have heard the term ‘super deduction’; this government scheme allows companies to cut their tax bill by up to 25p for every £1 they invest, enabling those who take advantage of it to keep hold of surplus cash.

As a leasing company that has its finger on the pulse of finance, we have got involved in the super deduction tax scheme. This means we can provide clients with 130% tax relief once they sign a lease purchase agreement.

Because of the surplus cash that this scheme has enabled businesses to hold on to, there is considerable merit in moving away from lease rentals and towards lease purchase agreements.

Indeed, the scheme has provided faster tax relief for investments, which has allowed businesses to invest and grow, even after the hard times of the pandemic.

The super deduction tax will end on 31 March 2023, meaning businesses will have only a few months from now to take advantage of it, so don’t delay!

Read more on the super-deduction tax scheme here.

Dental equipment leasing

Having established that dental equipment leasing offer benefits for all dental practices, the question is – how do you get started?

First of all, I invite you use our free dental finance calculator by clicking here. A simple process, it provides a really good idea of what your monthly payments would be. Alternatively download our award-winning, real-time app, which gives you the best rates from the top leading lenders.

Download on Apple StoreDownload on Google Play

If you then choose to take the next step, at WestWon there is a very simple process, as follows:

1. Ask your supplier for a quotation, giving the capital cost
2. We provide a free, no-obligation finance illustration
3. You make the call when you are ready to get started
4. Credit acceptance is sought by us, with the aim of obtaining it within 24 hours
5. The rental agreement is sent to you, to be signed and returned, and any deposit the supplier requires is paid
6. Equipment is ordered and delivered
7. You confirm delivery and only then does the rental start.

We have created a service where you can be assured our team is working hard to provide a range of financial services that is tailored to suit the specific needs of dental practices across the UK.

There are, obviously, other leasing companies out there. But it is absolutely worthwhile giving due consideration to the potential benefits provided by a company that specifically works in the dental sector, and, of course, is award-winning!

Working capital loans

Beyond the desire to acquire specific pieces of equipment for the practice, there may be everyday aspects of keeping the business running that need a cash injection.

Certainly, a lack of capital need not hold you back, and there are short-term options if you need to bridge a financial gap. For instance for website creation, team expansion, and recruitment, working capital loans are ideal.

It works a little like a bank overdraft, and there are a variety of flexible repayment options available at fantastic rates nowadays.

One example is as follows:

Company Finance: Company X
Loan value: £25,000.00
Term: 36 months
Repayment: £812.75 per month
Rationale: The recruitment of a team member and website development.

A loan like this can make a project that will benefit not only the business but also the dental team and the patients a reality, helping to set your private practice up for future success.

For more information on any of the issues raised in this article, please get in touch on 01494 611 456, or send an email to hello@westwon.co.uk

WestWon Dental leasing and asset finance- Our Roots

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Here at WestWon Dental, we are dedicated to providing finance solutions to those within the UK dental sector. We are an industry leading leasing and asset finance company that supports dental businesses across the UK in their growth. Have a read of this blog to learn all about our journey.

Let’s back track a little…

In May 2020, the pandemic took hold in the UK and rest of the world, and UK dentistry began to come out of its three-month shut down. As a result, our parent company WestWon, made the bold move to invest in the dental sector and launched a dental professional offering.

Our mission was simple – to help support our clients and partners in their quest for business growth. We did this by providing expert and timely services, combined with the best possible customer journey, and highest degree of integrity.

Pressure-free finance app

Supporting this move into the dental sector, we launched our Dental Finance App. Our app provides real-time rates and monthly cost for dental practices looking at their finance options prior to an investment.

Anyone can download this app and enter the loan amount required and understand what their agreement will look like. In terms of the rates available, the app shows 12-, 24-, 36-, 48- and 60-month terms – alongside the expected monthly repayments for each of those terms.

The availability and transparency of this information allows confidentiality prior to commitment. Additionally, the promise that you are looking at the lowest rates on the market up front. This is an easier route than shopping around. As we understand that engaging in what can be often somewhat ‘pressured’ phone calls to discuss and agree rates and terms can be time consuming.

We pride ourselves upon being open, honest, and transparent. Thus, our app is reviewed and updated regularly, offering transparency as to the best rates that are available to everyone within the dental sector. We are proud to say that our app is an industry first in the dental sector that gives a live rate to everyone.

For dental suppliers and manufacturers, it gives their customers choice over how they wish to make payment. To add, we have a Partner Portal, advance, that supports our suppliers, should their customers wish to proceed with a finance option. Advance allows our suppliers to create finance quotes for their customers. They also have access to a document library full of marketing material personally branded to them for them to offer their customers.

Our winning formula

Our commitment to and expertise within the sector was proven at last year’s Dental Industry Awards when we won the award for ‘Outstanding Business of the Year (less than 25 employees)’. We were also awarded highly commended in the ‘App of the year’ category.

The objective of The Dental Industry Awards is to recognise the talent within dentistry. As you might assume, the event is for those who work in and alongside the UK’s dental industry. The event creates the opportunity for those people to be officially acknowledged and celebrated for their achievements.

The Dental Industry Awards 2021 were particularly special as it was the first time the event was held since the pandemic hit and so was doubly thrilling for us.

Transitioning to an industry devoted website

As a step forward in our growth as a division, we took it upon ourselves to create a website devoted solely to the sector. We thought it only made sense due to the increase in demand of our dental finance services. You can read more about our changeover here.

We thought this was the best way to offer our services to dentists in the UK. Our website offers an abundance of information on each service of ours. We hope for this to be one stop place for UK  dentists seeking a finance option. And we like to think that we have made it effortless for dentists to obtain all of their finance needs all in one place.

Branch out and plant a tree

Not one to rest on our laurels, but our team is always looking to do our bit where we can.

We kicked off 2022 in style, with corporate responsibility front and centre with our new environment-focused scheme, The WestWon Woodland. Our current climate crisis is becoming increasingly worrying to us all. That is why we have prioritised doing our bit to help combat climate change.

Therefore we have teamed up with climate centred companies, Plant for the Planet, and Ecologi. These are both organisations that are dedicated to the restoration of our planet. They work towards this objective through various strategies, however, this mostly entails planting of trees across the globe.

So, how does the WestWon Woodland work?

When you complete a lease agreement with us, we will plant a tree for every month of the lease term in The WestWon Woodland. It’s as simple as that. We don’t need anything from you, and you will receive a certificate of plantation as well as a link to our virtual woodland. Here, you can see the trees being brought to life. You also have the option to go that extra mile by posting your certificate to LinkedIn and tagging us. By doing this, we will then have 10 additional trees planted on your behalf!

Therefore, this simple and quick process of undertaking an agreement through us not only benefits you, but in this case aids the environment and climate.

After all, we all need to do our bit to help fight climate change. In our own private lives, many of us have made positive changes to reduce our carbon footprint. But we believe that is important for businesses to follow in the same direction.

It’s therefore so important that we make efforts to offset our carbon footprints. There are many ways to do this, but one obvious solution is by planting trees. That’s why The WestWon Woodland is so important. The more we work together to reduce our carbon footprints, the better our climate will be in the future.

Our 5-year aim is to plant 100,000 trees within The WestWon Woodland. As well as to remove 7,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

With the UK average carbon footprint thought to be 10 tonnes of CO2 per person per year, you can see what a difference this scheme will make in the fight against climate change.

Contact Us

We would love it if you could help us do that! So, if you are a UK dentist and think your business could benefit from any of our finance products, please call 01494 611 456. Or, drop us an email to hello@westwon.co.uk.

Take me to The WestWon Woodland

The Dentist Article

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The Dentist Article

WestWon Dental had some very exciting news in March. We had a news article in the renowned The Dentist Magazine! We are extremely excited to share this with both our suppliers and partners, as well as the content inside. The article titled “Your financing choices can help combat climate change” expands on how choices you make can impact the planet. Also how choosing WestWon Dental as your preferred finance and leasing business, through our new climate positive workforce and tree planting scheme, will help you to further embrace your corporate responsibility. Click on the button below in order to download The Dentist article and read it for free.

Read here

WestWon Woodland

This article focuses also on our new tree planting scheme, the WestWon Woodland. Our scheme “branch out and plant a tree” focuses on the plantation of trees through a company called Ecologi. They work with a number of organisations around the world, including in places such as Kenya and Madagascar. Our parent company WestWon will be planting a tree for every month of a lease agreement that a client of ours undertakes with us. To date, we have planted 5,667 trees in our virtual woodland. We have also reduced 88.3 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

At WestWon we have the goal to reduce 750 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere in 5 years. We also want to be able to plant 100,000 trees in the WestWon Woodland in the next 5 years. We are excited to see what impact this scheme will have. Not only on the integrity and trust between us and customers, as we are showing we care about our company’s corporate responsibility. However, we are also excited to see the impact on the environment. A reduction in carbon emissions brings about many important and significant changes the world’s climate. As does planting thousands of trees!

Contact Us

If you would like more information on the article itself, as well as any financing needs you may have, then please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can either call us on 01494 611 456, or alternatively email us on hello@westwon.co.uk.

Reaching our first major green goal!

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Here at WestWon Dental we are proud to announce we have reached our major milestone of planting over 10,000 trees in the WestWon Woodland. We are extremely proud of what our green initiative has been able to do so far. We are also thankful to all our clients who have made this possible through completing lease agreements with us. Making a difference to our planet has been at the core of our green agenda, and along the way we have tried to encourage other small businesses to take action. If we all make a small change, it will lead to a big difference. However, we also know that we have a long way to go in terms of implementing our green agenda. If you would like more information on us reaching our first major green goal, then read on…

What’s to come for WestWon Dental

As you may have seen mentioned before on our website, we have 2 major goals to be completed within the next 5 years. The first of those is to plant over 100,000 trees in the WestWon Woodland. This should therefore lead to us reducing over 7,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. Through our parent company WestWon Limited we have been able to implement an array of changes also. These include adding recycling bins to every floor in the office and being paperless for over a decade. We have also installed LED lighting, use 100% recycled paper only when absolutely necessary and encourage staff to cycle or walk to work.

If you would like to read more on our climate positive journey, then please see here. We are thrilled to have reached this milestone. However, we are even more excited about what this will do for the planet. We can’t wait to see what else the future holds for the green agenda of WestWon Dental!

Contact Us

If you would like more information on us reaching our first major green goal, please get in touch. You can either call 01494 611 456 or send an email to hello@westwon.co.uk. You can also see more over on WestWon’s LinkedIn page.

New Dental Practice, New Dental Laboratory

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Over the years we have helped many Dentists and Dental Lab owner’s setup their businesses from a squat site into a beautiful working location. Here at WestWon Dental our priority is to support you and your business’ success. That is why we provide a range of services that enables you to get setup with your dream location and practice.

In this pack we will cover the fundamentals on what is needed to support your equipment finance requirements and what the lender will be looking for when opening a new squat practice or dental lab. This will also apply to an existing practice you may have purchased and are looking to refurbish or replace equipment.

The following is on the assumptions the building is already secured, and the change of use has all been confirmed.

The process:

When looking to organise the equipment finance for a new dental practice or lab, quite simply, the lenders will seek key information to ensure that the risk to them is minimal and they are comfortable with the lend. Most lenders request the same information. Some may wish to dig a little deeper on information provided. So be prepared for further questions as the application progresses. For example, “will you continue to be an associate part time as the new practice grows, if so for how long?”

The application will always be looked upon favourably if you are qualified and can evidence your work history, not essential to the application however any management experience should also be highlighted for any new start.

It isn’t part of the criteria to be a homeowner now, so if you are in rented housing the application can still be filled. However, being a UK resident for 3 years is advantageous to majority of lenders. Additionally, being on the voter’s roll is crucial.

If you are in a partnership with a non-dental professional, this can in fact have a detrimental impact on the amount you can borrow.

What is required?

1. A business plan

new dental practice and dental lab

Showing you have complete knowledge of the new dental practice, equipment finance or new lab location and competition in the area is key. The age demographic will also impact your dental practice and marketing strategy. Therefore showing you have an understanding and grip on this will prove you have done your homework! In these instances, Google is your best friend! Always remember, you cannot give too much information. Download our FREE business plan template.

2. A cash flow forecast

Will you break even in the first year? If you don’t, it might not necessarily impact the decision. Yes, in an ideal world, in the first year you break even and book a holiday to the Maldives during the UK’s winter months for some R&R. But the lenders want to see an honest, transparent approach to what the business will look like. In this instance worst case and best case scenario is always a good idea. The cash flow forecast must show all the outgoings, by month. This should also include the cost of the finance repayments and all income from the new practice or new lab. Download our FREE cash flow spreadsheet template.

3. Personal Net Worth

new dental practice and dental lab

All our finance applications are unsecured. However, giving the lender a snapshot of your personal net worth gives them great insight into the affordability of any finance agreement. The stronger the net worth the more likely you will achieve the amount you are seeking. Download our FREE Personal Net Worth template.

4. Bank Statements

Regardless of the entity of the company (whether you are a sole trader, partnership, or Limited company), bank statements will always be requested for a new start up. If you have a business bank account that is trading, three months will be requested. If there is no business bank account trading, then three months personal bank statements will be asked for. Bank statements give the lender transparency on your outgoings. It also ensures that the affordability is there for any finance facility, red flags to a lender are going over your agreed overdraft and gambling outgoings.

5. Evidence of any personal funds being put into the project.

What lenders like to see is if you can show that you plan to or have already, invested your own funds. This shows the lender that not only are you committing your own money, but also making the underwriters look at the application more favourably.

Lease or Hire Purchase – Tax breaks

This is a big topic to cover, so if you wish to discuss more, please contact me.

On a new start business, we would always advise you to base the application on a lease rather than a hire purchase. There are tax breaks available on both. However, with a lease the tax breaks are spread over the entire term of the finance. This is better for you as a new start. Initially the profits will not be as high as years 3, 4 or 5 which enables you to make the most of them. A hire purchase enables you to claim all the tax breaks within the first year. This is advantageous for established businesses, and now limited companies can take advantage of the new 130% tax breaks.

Finally – The wish list

Working with leading suppliers we have a complete understanding on what’s required when setting up a new practice or lab. We will even attend joint meetings from the start to help support you initially. There

should always be a wish list, what you would ideally like, and what is operationally critical. For example, funding for a new dental chair over a £3k coffee machine is more of a priority. Working with our suppliers we can give you an unbiased, honest, and transparent approach on what is realistic and what may have to be delayed 6-9 months as the practice grows.

What we finance and what you should know

We have a duty of care to you to ensure everything we provide is affordable and realistic. Yes, on some occasions we have had to decline a proposal. However, 99.2% of our applications are nearly always approved internally prior to proceeding.  With the use of the highlighted information above, we expect a 98% approval rate on the application.

All dental equipment, soft furnishings and building works can be funded by WestWon Dental. With our chosen supplier relationships, we can even include the supplier deposit payments, installation costs and required pieces of equipment. If multiple suppliers are involved, we can even look to secure on one lease. This will save on admin fees, end of term fees, and give you one manageable outgoing. However, not all lenders will risk the full amount as on occasions they may feel it’s too rich for them. On this occasion we look to split out across other lenders to ensure we secure the funding you require.

Equipment financing is one of the most used methods for purchasing any dental equipment. This is because it enables the practice to keep up with the latest equipment and technologies whilst continuing to operate at a profit. If you are a new start, we would always advise you speak to an accountant on the best approach for your finances.

Contact Us

We are more than just money, and will support you every step of the way. For more information on how we can help get your dental practice and dental lab established, please get in touch by emailing us on hello@westwon.co.uk. Alternatively, call us on 01494 611 456.

Our new article in with the BDJ in Practice

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An exciting yet tricky profession, dentistry now looks toward an optimistic future. One of the challenges that many dentists face in the industry is that of finance. However, now there are options to choose from that will allow you to breathe a sigh of relief. Here at WestWon Dental we are always on hand to help you with your finance needs, whatever they may be.

Impact on the dentistry industry

In dentistry, it’s not all bad. After the Covid pandemic hit us all, there has been a rise in the amount of people realising the need for preventative healthcare. This has intertwined with the increase of platforms like Zoom where people are on teams calls all day staring at themselves on a screen. This has in turn created a higher desire for cosmetic dentistry!

If you are looking for ways to safeguard your dental practice, then we have the solution for you. Contrast to what some people believe this is much easier than most think. Depending on the amount you wish to finance, or what you wish to finance, working with someone who understands all this is key. Therefore, we at WestWon Dental believe that we are the best people for the task.

Where you can read our new article

If you would like to read more about the information above, then look no further. You can now read our new article with the BDJ in Practice on “Where financial and emotional wellbeing meet” by clicking on the button below. You can read it in full here, or similarly, there is an option to download it as a PDF.

View article

Contact Us

If you would like any more information on our new article in with the BDJ in Practice, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 01494 611 456 or alternatively email us on hello@westwon.co.uk.

How does Super-Deduction apply to leasing?

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Starting 1st April 2022 until March 2023, companies that invest into new plant and machinery assets can gain from the Super-Deduction tax benefits. This meaning that they can take full advantage of the 130% tax breaks. You can find out more about the scheme here.

We are accustomed to speaking about the tax benefits of dental finance. However, these conversations have shifted ever since the introduction of the new Super-Deduction.

During this blog, we will outline how the new version of the Super-Deduction scheme might affect you.

Can I claim Super-Deduction tax relief on a finance agreement I take out?

Yes! You can! A hire purchase agreement has the same tax policies as if you were paying upfront for the asset. Therefore, enabling you to take advantage of the 130% tax breaks.

Can I claim Super-Deduction tax relief on a finance agreement I take out?

Yes! You can! A hire purchase agreement has the same tax policies as if you were paying upfront for the asset. Therefore, enabling you to take advantage of the 130% tax breaks.

Can I get Super-Deduction relief on a lease rental or hire agreement?

Unfortunately not. This is because you do not have title of the equipment in these instances. Nevertheless, you are able to offset all of your lease payments against your profits by using the annual capital allowances you can reduce your tax bill this way.

How does this affect the investment in the UK?

The super deduction scheme is predicted to boost UK capital equipment investment by 10% in 2022. Although, a fraction of this will just be companies bringing forward investments from future years. Saying that, here at WestWon Dental, we have already seen a significant rise in clients looking to take advantage of the scheme.

Will the use of business funding increase due to the scheme?

Yes. It is highly anticipated that the use of business finance will surge this year. There is also belief that companies will shift from lease rental, to hire purchase. This only makes sense due to the huge tax breaks that hire purchase provides accompanied with the super-deduction scheme.

What about leasing and the financing of non-qualifying assets?

Particular assets do not qualify for the super-deduction tax relief. For example, surgery fit outs come under this umbrella unfortunately. Aspects of the fit out will qualify, such as furnishings. However, if the asset is part of the composition of the building, the tax guidelines will be different.

With regards to these non-qualifying assets, you’ll be pleased to know that you can still claim some sort of tax break on a lease rental or commercial loan. Furthermore, we can support you by creating a finance agreement tailored to your needs. We can make your agreement the most tax efficient by dividing the project into two. Therefore, we will look to take a lease purchase agreement on your qualifying assets and then a business loan for those non-qualifying assets.

Get in Touch

Contact us to for more information on the super-deduction tax scheme and how it may benefit your business. Our expert team can provide you with the best advice and support on how you can make the most of the scheme. Call us on 01494 611 456, or, send an email to hello@westwon.co.uk.

 

 

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