Up until earlier this year arranging finance for local authority funded schools and academies was limited to a specific type of agreement called an operating lease. This was all down to certain rules and regulations that schools had to abide by, meaning for accounting purposes they were not allowed to own the assets at the end of the term.
This has now changed, enabling schools to more easily overcome budgetary restrictions to fund the equipment they need. The Department of Education has provided a list of pre-approved assets that schools and academies are able to fund on a lease, without needing consent from the Secretary of State for Education.
The list is as follows:
- IT equipment
- Telephony
- Catering and cleaning equipment
- Furniture
- Bathroom and sanitary items
- Gym equipment
- Groundskeeping equipment
- Minibuses and other vehicles for the use of the school
- Temporary classrooms and equivalent structures
Any combination of these assets, with a minimum value of £2,000.00 plus VAT can be funded on a lease agreement:
- Terms from 2 to 5 year terms
- No deposit required
- Regular fixed payments
- Monthly or quarterly frequency options
- Payment by direct debit or invoice
The process is very simple and initial contact to paperwork signing can take place in as little as 24 hours.
Whilst this is a new offering for local authority schools and academies, Focus regularly arrange funding for private schools, colleges, universities and even student unions!
To provide a quote all we need is details of the equipment being funded and the legal entity the finance will be going in – we will then provide a bespoke illustration for a decision to be made.