Long lead times, split budgets and staged contracts shouldn't stall delivery. Oak Leasing funds manufacturers' stage payments, builds leasing into your bids and arranges finance across the UK and more than 30 European countries.
A bespoke pan-European funding facilitator for equipment finance across the UK and Europe. Established 1992.
Across the UK and Europe, governments are committing to sustained increases in defence and security spending, and programmes are moving faster. For suppliers and contractors, that means bigger orders, longer manufacturing lead times and heavier working capital demands, often before a single milestone payment arrives.
Equipment finance closes that gap. Funders pay manufacturers as work progresses, primes and contractors spread the cost of the assets they need to deliver, and suppliers offer finance in their bids so capital constraints stop slowing the order.
Most lenders have a checklist. Oak Leasing has a conversation.
Defence equipment is rarely bought off the shelf. Manufacturers ask for deposits and stage payments throughout a build that can run for many months. For a UK buyer purchasing European-manufactured equipment, that means tying up cash in an asset that hasn't arrived yet.
Oak Leasing arranges for the funder to make those payments. Each stage is secured by an advance payment guarantee from the manufacturer's bank, the buyer pays only interest on the amounts drawn while the equipment is built, and the full lease begins on delivery.
Manufacturer issues an advance payment guarantee for the deposit.
Funder pays deposit · You pay interest onlyEach milestone payment is funded against a further guarantee.
Funder pays stages · You pay interest onlyEquipment delivered and accepted; guarantees fall away.
Final balance paid to manufacturerFixed payments start once the asset is working for you.
Lease or hire purchase over the agreed termNo cash locked into a build. Interest only until delivery, then fixed payments on an asset that is already earning.
Deposits and stage payments arrive on schedule, from a funder, without waiting on the customer's capital cycle.
Orders placed sooner, production slots secured and delivery dates held.
Available for European-manufactured equipment purchased by UK businesses, subject to funder approval, guarantee terms and export control compliance.
A vendor leasing programme lets defence suppliers present a payment profile alongside the price. Primes and contractors can commit without waiting for capital release, Oak Leasing places the deal with a funder that understands the sector, and you are paid on delivery. Programmes also support smaller orders, from £10,000, because the volume sits across your customer base.
Defence programmes cross borders: a UK contractor buying from a German manufacturer, a Nordic supplier delivering to a French integrator. Finance rarely does. Oak Leasing works with more than 40 funders across 30+ countries, structures deals in pounds or euros, and places each transaction with a funder whose sector appetite and local practice fit.
UK buyers of European-built equipment funded from first deposit to delivery.
Sale and leaseback of existing equipment through a European funder, up to €100m per transaction.
One relationship and one process across countries, rather than a different lender in every market.
Relocatable hangars, fabric structures, command shelters and temporary facilities.
Tugs, power units, loaders, de-icing and airfield equipment.
Mobile communications units, ground stations and deployable networks.
Radar systems, surveillance towers and UAV ground control stations.
Test rigs, calibration and diagnostic equipment for maintenance and production.
CNC, robotics and manufacturing equipment for the supply chain.
Transport, logistics and specialist support vehicles.
Hardware, data centres and secure infrastructure.
Generators, battery storage and site power systems.
Funder appetite varies by asset and end use. All transactions are subject to funder policy, sanctions screening and applicable export control requirements.
We learn the contract, the build schedule, the buyer and the markets.
Stage payments, guarantees, term and end-of-term options set out clearly.
Matched to a funder with appetite for the asset, sector and country.
Stages funded through the build; the lease starts on acceptance.
Oak Leasing is not a direct lender. We arrange funding through our panel of funders, who typically pay our fees on activation.
“With such an informed, smooth, team-spirited and swift service, Oak Lease is now our preferred partner for leasing solutions.”
George Maguire, Managing Director, Fluid Transfer International Ltd
“John is one of the most honest and straight forward people I have had the pleasure to deal with.”
Charles Towers Clark, CEO, Pod Group of Companies
Stage payment funding is where a funder pays a manufacturer's deposit and milestone payments during the build, each secured by an advance payment guarantee. The buyer pays only interest on the amounts drawn until delivery, after which a lease or hire purchase agreement begins.
Oak Leasing arranges stage payment funding for UK businesses buying European-manufactured equipment, where the manufacturer requires deposits and payments before delivery. It suits long-lead equipment for defence, aerospace, transport and industry.
An advance payment guarantee is issued by the manufacturer's bank and protects the funder: if the manufacturer fails to deliver, the amounts paid in advance are repaid under the guarantee.
Yes. Through a vendor leasing programme, suppliers present a payment profile alongside the price in tenders and proposals, and are paid on delivery or in stages while the funder collects payments from the customer.
Typically support, infrastructure and dual-use equipment, including hangars and shelters, ground support equipment, communications and command units, radar and surveillance systems, test and diagnostic equipment, vehicles, production machinery and IT. Funder appetite varies by asset and end use.
Oak Leasing arranges equipment finance in more than 30 countries, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, the Benelux, the Nordics, Spain and Italy, through relationships with over 40 funders. Deals can be structured in pounds or euros.
No. Oak Leasing is a bespoke pan-European funding facilitator, established in 1992. We arrange finance through a panel of funders, who typically pay our fees when an agreement is activated.
Talk to Oak Leasing about stage payment funding, a vendor programme for your defence customers, or refinancing equipment you already own.
Oak Leasing Ltd · Lynx House, Ferndown, Northwood Hills, Middlesex HA6 1PQ · Founding member of the Guild of Business Finance Professionals