Funding for a part of healthcare that is entirely private-pay, growing quickly, and assessed very differently from contracted practice.
We fund the business, not the patient. Everything on this page is finance for the clinic itself. We do not arrange finance for patients to pay for treatment.
Why aesthetics is assessed differently
A GP surgery or an NHS dental practice comes with contract income a lender can rely on. An aesthetic clinic does not. Every pound of revenue is discretionary consumer spending, won and re-won.
That changes what a lender examines. Instead of contract security, they look at trading consistency, how much revenue depends on individual practitioners, your patient acquisition cost and whether it is rising, and how the clinic performed the last time consumer confidence dipped.
None of this makes aesthetics hard to fund. It makes it a different case, and one that needs presenting on its own terms rather than borrowed from contracted-practice logic.
What we arrange for the clinic
- Equipment finance for laser, IPL, RF, injectable and body-contouring systems. See laser and aesthetic equipment finance.
- Fit-out funding for treatment rooms and consultation space. See clinic fit-out finance.
- Commercial mortgages where you own or are buying clinic premises
- Working capital for marketing, recruitment and seasonal variation
- Card turnover facilities where the clinic has consistent card income
- Unsecured lending for growth without tying up property
The practitioner dependency question
Aesthetics is unusually practitioner-led. Patients frequently follow an individual injector rather than a clinic brand, and lenders know it.
If most of your revenue is generated by one practitioner, particularly if that practitioner is you, expect that to be probed. A clinic with several trained practitioners, a recognised brand and a retention record independent of any one person is a materially stronger case.
It is worth thinking about before you apply, not because you can change it overnight, but because how you present it makes a difference.
Card turnover facilities
Aesthetic clinics typically take a high proportion of revenue by card, which makes merchant cash advance genuinely usable here in a way it is not for an NHS-contracted practice.
Repayment flexes with income, so a quiet January costs less than a busy June. That suits a seasonal business. It is an expensive way to fund anything long-term, and we will tell you when a cheaper structure fits better. For short-term working capital against strong card takings, though, it has a real place.
Regulation
Lenders will want your regulatory position in order. Depending on the treatments offered and where you operate, that may mean CQC registration in England, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales or the RQIA in Northern Ireland.
The regulatory landscape for non-surgical cosmetic procedures has been moving. A clinic that can evidence it is ahead of requirements rather than reacting to them presents better. See how regulators affect healthcare lending.
Common questions
Can you help us offer finance to our patients?
No. Offering patients a way to spread the cost of treatment is regulated consumer credit, and a clinic that introduces patients to a finance provider generally needs its own FCA permission or to operate under a provider that holds it. That is outside what we do. We arrange unregulated finance for the clinic business only.
Can a new aesthetic clinic get funding?
Equipment finance is usually achievable earlier than property lending, because the security sits in the equipment. Premises lending generally wants trading history. We will be honest about which stage you are at.
I trade as a sole practitioner. Does that matter?
It can. Where the borrower is a sole trader or a partnership of two or three partners and the amount is £25,000 or less, the agreement is regulated consumer credit, which we do not arrange. We will tell you at the outset if that applies. Above that level, or for a limited company, it does not.
Does adding injectables to an existing practice need separate funding?
Not necessarily. A dental or GP practice adding aesthetics can often fund the equipment through the existing business, which is usually cheaper than funding it as a standalone venture.
How do lenders view a clinic with one practitioner?
Fundable, but priced and sized for the concentration risk. Building a second trained practitioner into the business changes the profile more than most owners expect.
All figures are indicative and subject to lender assessment, your circumstances, valuation and prevailing market conditions. Commercial mortgages and unregulated bridging loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Property offered as security may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments.