Fund the equipment without draining the cash.

Hire purchase, finance lease and operating lease each move the cost of an asset off day one cash and into a monthly payment, but they land differently. Under hire purchase you own the asset at the end, on payment of the option to purchase fee. Under a lease you generally do not, though extension and purchase routes are usually available.

If you already own equipment outright, sale and HP back lets a lender buy it from you and you repay over an agreed term while continuing to use it, which is a fast way to release cash without touching working capital. Soft assets such as IT and fit out depreciate differently to hard assets like plant and vehicles, and it is worth discussing capital allowances with your accountant before you choose a structure.