Quick answer
Commercial kitchen equipment finance pays for ovens, cooktops, fridges and freezers, cool rooms, dishwashers, exhaust hoods and coffee machines over time. New branded equipment is often financed against itself; used or installed items like cool rooms and canopies are easier to fund with an unsecured business loan. Hospitality is a tough industry, so keep repayments well inside what the kitchen can produce in a slow month.
Key points
- Freestanding equipment holds value; installed items like canopies and cool rooms don't.
- Used gear from closing venues can save a lot, if it's checked properly.
- Size repayments to a slow month, not a busy one.
- A breakdown replacement and a planned upgrade need different approaches.
- Common purchases
- Combi ovens, coffee machines, cool rooms, hoods
- Structures
- Equipment-secured, unsecured, property-backed
- Watch
- Installation and compliance costs
- Unsecured range
- Typically $5,000 to $500,000
A commercial kitchen is a wall of expensive machines that all need to work at 7pm on a Saturday. Whether you’re fitting out a new café, upgrading a tired restaurant line or replacing a combi oven that died mid-service, commercial kitchen equipment finance lets you get the gear working now and pay for it from the meals it helps you serve.
What kitchen equipment do businesses finance?
- Cooking: combi ovens, deck and pizza ovens, ranges, fryers, grills, salamanders.
- Refrigeration: upright and under-bench fridges, freezers, cool rooms, display cabinets.
- Coffee: espresso machines, grinders, water filtration.
- Cleaning: commercial dishwashers and glasswashers.
- Ventilation: exhaust canopies, fans and fire suppression.
- Prep: mixers, slicers, food processors, benches.
Freestanding or installed: why it matters
Financiers like equipment they could take back and resell. That splits a kitchen in two:
| Item | Resale value | Typical funding |
|---|---|---|
| Branded combi oven | Good | Equipment-secured finance or a loan |
| Espresso machine and grinders | Good | Equipment-secured, supplier deal or a loan |
| Cool room | Low once installed | Unsecured loan |
| Exhaust canopy and ducting | Almost none | Unsecured or property-backed loan |
| Used gear from an auction | Varies | Unsecured loan or cash |
When a project mixes both, it’s often simpler to fund the lot in one loan rather than splitting it across contracts. If the kitchen is part of a bigger venue build, see fit-out finance.
New or used?
Used kitchen equipment from venue closures can cost a fraction of new. It’s a smart buy for:
- Stainless benches, shelving and sinks (nothing to go wrong).
- Simple mechanical gear like mixers and slicers.
- Ovens with a known service history.
Be more careful with:
- Refrigeration without a technician’s check: compressors are expensive.
- Anything gas without current compliance.
- Dishwashers and coffee machines with no service records.
Our guide on whether to buy outright or finance helps decide which items to pay cash for and which to spread out.
Emergency replacement or planned upgrade?
They’re different jobs.
Breakdown replacement. Speed matters most. An unsecured loan based on recent bank statements avoids asset and property paperwork. Have the supplier quote ready and say it’s urgent.
Planned upgrade. You have time to compare structures, chase used options and time the purchase. If the upgrade lifts output, such as a combi oven that lets one chef do the work of two stations, work out that saving before borrowing.
Illustrative example. A Geelong café’s espresso machine fails in winter. A new two-group machine with a grinder and filtration comes to about $24,000. The café turns over around $40,000 a month with clean bank statements. A short unsecured loan gets the new machine in quickly, and because the café owns it outright, it’s free to keep buying from the local roaster it already uses rather than signing up for a supplier deal.
How much should a hospitality venue borrow?
Less than the maximum offered. The Reserve Bank’s October 2026 Financial Stability Review notes insolvencies remain elevated in hospitality. A sensible approach:
- Look at your slowest month in the last year.
- Subtract wages, rent, food costs and existing repayments.
- Make sure the new repayment fits comfortably in what’s left.
Run your numbers through the payback calculator to see how quickly the equipment covers its cost.
What compliance costs come with kitchen equipment?
Kitchen equipment rarely just plugs in. Budget for the work that makes it legal and safe to use:
- Gas fitting and compliance certificates for gas appliances.
- Electrical work, especially for three-phase equipment like combi ovens.
- Plumbing for dishwashers, coffee machines and grease traps.
- Exhaust and fire suppression requirements under your council and building rules.
- Food safety requirements from your local council for new or relocated equipment.
These costs can add materially to a project, and they’re easy to forget when comparing equipment prices. Get your installer to quote them alongside the equipment, and include them in the amount you borrow so you’re not paying for compliance from the till.
When you’re buying used, ask whether the equipment has the right certification for your state, especially gas appliances. A cheap oven that can’t be legally connected isn’t cheap.
Kitchen kit to buy? Let’s get it working
Whether it’s urgent or planned, tell us what you need and we’ll find a way to fund it sensibly. Asking us doesn’t put anything on your credit file; a credit check is only talked about once you choose to proceed. We don’t spray your details to a list of lenders. A real person who understands hospitality looks at your venue and calls you with options.
Fill in the form accurately, especially the equipment, the cost and your monthly turnover, so we can match you properly first time. Get your kitchen equipment funded.
Frequently asked questions
Can I finance used commercial kitchen equipment?
Yes. Used equipment from venue closures and auctions can be excellent value. Some equipment financiers won't fund it, particularly private sales, so an unsecured business loan is often the simpler route. Have it checked by a refrigeration or appliance technician before you pay.
My oven died mid-service. What's the fastest way to replace it?
An unsecured business loan based on your bank statements is usually the quickest path, since there's no asset or property paperwork. Have the supplier quote and recent statements ready. A real person will talk you through realistic timing on the first call.
Should I lease a coffee machine?
Many cafés get machines through a coffee supplier deal, which ties you to their beans. Owning your machine, cash or financed, gives you freedom to switch roasters. Compare the total cost of each over three years, including bean pricing.
Can I include installation and the exhaust hood in the loan?
With an unsecured or property-backed loan, yes. Equipment-secured finance usually covers the equipment itself and may not stretch to installation, plumbing, electrical or canopy work, which has no resale value.
How much should a hospitality business borrow?
Less than the bank or supplier will offer. Hospitality cash flow swings with seasons, weather and staff costs, and insolvencies in the sector remain elevated. Make sure the repayment still works in your slowest month.