Finance equipment with security
We will help you finance the equipment your business needs, with security properly documented.
Equipment is the engine of many businesses, and the financing arrangement you put in place determines whether you have reliable access to it or find yourself exposed to claims you did not anticipate. Businesses that acquire equipment on finance frequently under-document their arrangements, leaving gaps that only surface when an enforcement situation arises, a lease expires on unfavourable terms, or an insolvency appointment triggers a priority dispute. We assist lessors and lessees to put in place equipment lease facilities with appropriate security, structured clearly from the outset.
What is an equipment lease facility?
An equipment lease facility is a financing arrangement under which a lessor (typically a finance company) makes equipment available to a lessee (the business user), who pays periodic rent in exchange for use of the equipment. Depending on how the lease is structured, the lessee may or may not have an option to purchase the equipment at the end of the term. Critically, the lessor’s ownership interest in the leased equipment (or a lender’s security over it) must be properly registered on the Personal Property Securities Register to be enforceable against third parties, including a liquidator or trustee in the event of insolvency. Without that registration, what appears to be a secure position can collapse entirely.
What happens to leased equipment if my business goes into insolvency?
Does a lender taking security over equipment need to register on the PPSR?
Yes. Under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth), a lender who takes a security interest over personal property (including equipment) must register that interest on the Personal Property Securities Register to have priority over other creditors and to be enforceable against a liquidator. Failure to register or registering incorrectly can result in the security interest being defeated entirely. We handle PPSR registrations as part of every equipment finance transaction.
Documentation that protects both sides.
Security registrations done correctly.
Advice on the right structure for your transaction.
Getting the structure right at the start is far cheaper than fixing it later.
Equipment finance arrangements that are poorly structured or under-documented create problems that only become visible at enforcement, which is exactly the worst time to discover them.
An unregistered security interest over equipment is no security at all.
You are putting, or already have a leasing arrangement in place and the equipment represents significant value to your business or your lending position. But if the underlying interest is not properly documented and registered, that value can disappear the moment a competing claim is made. The gap between thinking you are protected and actually being protected is exactly the space where disputes live.
- We will prepare equipment lease documentation tailored to your transaction.
- We will advise on the appropriate facility structure for your commercial needs.
- We will register security interests so your position is enforceable.
- We will review existing lease documentation and identify gaps or risks.
You are financing equipment your business depends on.
You are a business owner who needs to finance a piece of capital equipment — whether that is a commercial vehicle, manufacturing machinery, medical equipment, or specialist technology. A finance company or private lender is prepared to fund the acquisition or lease the equipment to you, and the terms seem reasonable. But the documentation is dense, you are not sure what obligations you are taking on at the end of the lease, and nobody has confirmed whether the lender’s interest is being registered correctly.
You need the equipment, but you do not want to discover a problem two or three years from now when it is too late to fix.
What's included in your equipment lease facility service
- Equipment lease agreement preparation.
- Advice on appropriate lease structure.
- Security interest registration on the relevant register.
- Review of lender's or lessor's existing documentation.
- End-of-lease terms review and negotiation advice.
What goes wrong when equipment finance is under-documented?
Equipment lessors who fail to register their interest correctly find out about the error at the worst possible moment — when the lessee’s business collapses and a liquidator takes possession of the equipment as an unencumbered asset of the estate.
Similarly, lessees who sign equipment leases without understanding the end-of-lease obligations can find themselves facing substantial residual payments, return conditions they cannot satisfy, or replacement obligations they never anticipated. A business that has been using equipment for three years under a lease it does not fully understand is in a far weaker position to manage those obligations than one that understood them at the outset. The cost of fixing these problems is almost always greater than the cost of getting the documentation right from the start.
Here is how we structure your equipment facility to hold under pressure.
We review the proposed transaction and advise on the structure that best suits your commercial needs. We then prepare or review the documentation to make sure every key obligation is clearly recorded.
We register the relevant security interests in the correct form so the lender’s or lessor’s position is protected from day one. And we explain what you have signed in plain terms, so there are no surprises when the lease ends or when something goes wrong along the way.
From transaction structure to registration, we handle the detail.
Choose the right structure.
We advise on the appropriate facility type for your transaction so you commit to an arrangement that works for your business.
Document and register.
We prepare tailored equipment lease or finance documentation and register all security interests correctly, so your position is enforceable from settlement.
Execute with certainty.
With documentation signed and security registered, you proceed knowing exactly what you have agreed to and what protects you if something changes.
Commercial finance lawyers who act for equipment lessors and lessees across a wide range of industries.
We have acted on equipment finance transactions across a wide range of sectors. We know the documentation standards that lenders expect, the registration errors that are most commonly made, and the lease terms that create the most disputes at enforcement.
When you engage us on an equipment lease transaction, you benefit from that experience and from a team that moves quickly without compromising accuracy. Equipment finance moves fast, our job is to keep pace with the transaction without cutting corners.
We understand you want to know the cost, before we get started.
We will map out our process, from beginning to end, so you know what the journey will look like before you get started.
We will provide you with a clear and detailed Work Proposal covering each step along the way.
Our fair fees are all-inclusive. No hidden costs for telephone calls, emails, photocopying, couriers, or coffee.
Our great lawyer guarantee
We want to be part of your team over the long term. We achieve this by adhering to these core principles:
Take the time
We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve. Then we thoroughly explain our advice and step you through the documents. You can be sure you know the full consequences.
Share our knowledge
We will pass on as much knowledge as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions. We want to make you truly independent.
Stick to our knitting
We only do what we're good at. You can be confident that we know what we're doing and don't pass on the cost of our learning.
Work as one team
Someone will always be available to answer your questions, or point you in the right direction. You will also benefit from a range of perspectives and experience.
Fair pricing
For advice and documents, we provide a fixed or capped quote so you don't take price risk. If you're in a dispute, we map out the process and costs so you know what to expect.
It's your show
We're not in this for our egos. We're in it for a front row seat to witness your success.
