Funding for private healthcare providers: clinics, cosmetic and aesthetic practices, diagnostic centres and private hospitals.
We fund the business, not the patient. Everything on this page is business finance for the clinic itself: premises, fit-out, equipment and working capital. We do not arrange patient finance, treatment plans or consumer credit of any kind. If you want to offer patients a way to spread the cost of treatment, that is regulated consumer credit and needs an FCA-authorised provider, which we are not.
What we arrange for private clinics
- Business finance for cosmetic and aesthetic clinics
- Funding for private hospitals and larger independent providers
- Commercial mortgages for clinic and consulting premises
- Fit-out and refurbishment finance
- Aesthetic and laser equipment finance
- Working capital and growth funding
- Card turnover facilities for clinics with high consumer payment volumes
How lenders view private healthcare
Private clinics are assessed on trading performance rather than contract income, which makes them a different proposition from an NHS-contracted practice. There is no government-backed income stream to underpin serviceability, so lenders look harder at the strength and consistency of your revenue, your patient acquisition costs and your dependence on individual practitioners.
Well-established clinics with several years of consistent accounts are straightforward. Newer clinics, or those in fast-moving parts of the aesthetics market, need a more carefully built case, and often a different lender.
What lenders will actually do
- Equipment: aesthetic and laser systems are well suited to asset finance and widely funded, on hire purchase or lease, typically with a minimum trading history of around three years for healthcare equipment.
- Fit-out: fundable through asset finance or an unsecured facility rather than taken from working capital while you are still building a patient base.
- Card turnover facilities: available where a clinic has consistent card income. Suits private-pay clinics; of no use to an NHS-contracted practice.
- Property: assessed on trading performance rather than contract income, so expect closer scrutiny of revenue consistency and practitioner dependency than a GP or dental case would attract.
Equipment is often the best route
Aesthetic and laser equipment is expensive, depreciates on a predictable curve and is readily identifiable, which makes it well suited to asset finance. Funding it that way, rather than through a general business loan, usually preserves your borrowing capacity for premises and keeps the cost matched to the revenue the equipment generates.
Regulation and lending
Lenders will want to see that your regulatory position is in order. That means the Care Quality Commission in England, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and Care Inspectorate Wales in Wales, and the RQIA in Northern Ireland. Registration status is not a formality in an underwriting file. A pending or conditional position will need explaining.
Common questions
Can a new clinic get funding?
Equipment finance is often achievable earlier than property lending, because the asset itself provides security. Premises lending generally wants trading history. We will be honest about which stage you are at.
Do you arrange finance for our patients?
No. Patient finance is regulated consumer credit and sits outside what we are permitted to arrange. We only arrange business finance for the clinic as a company.
Is a merchant cash advance a good idea?
It can suit a clinic with strong, consistent card turnover and a short-term need, because repayment flexes with income. It is an expensive way to fund anything long-term, and we will say so if a cheaper structure fits.
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.
This page was last reviewed in September 2026 and is next scheduled for review in March 2027. Lending criteria change frequently, so contact us for current terms rather than relying on published figures.