New chairs and scanners without raiding practice reserves
A modern surgery takes serious money up front while patient income arrives month by month. See competing offers for equipment, fit-outs and acquisitions from one request, the initial check is soft, so your credit score is unaffected.
Steady underneath, lumpy on top.
An NHS contract pays monthly and feels steady, but it is capped by the contract and exposed to clawback if activity falls short by the year end. Private income, whether pay-as-you-go, plan-based or funded through patient instalments, is far less predictable and dips when patients are away.
Costs run the other way. Associates, hygienists, lab bills and materials are all paid well before a course of treatment completes, so the practice can be busy and profitable and still feel tight in a given month.
Funding partners like to see that recurring base. Where a large share of income is plan-based or contracted, a practice is often read as lower risk, which can widen the range of offers you receive.
The base smooths what the diary cannotNothing here is a monthly cost by nature.
A chair, a scanner or a fit-out is a large cost with a long life, and each one comes round again on its own cycle. Handled out of working cash, they arrive as a series of unwelcome shocks. Handled as finance, each is spread across the years it earns.
There is a quirk that catches a lot of principals out. Most dental treatment is VAT-exempt, so when you spend heavily on a chair, a scanner or a surgery fit-out you usually cannot reclaim the VAT. That makes a large purchase land harder on cash than it would in a VAT-registered trade, which is exactly why so many practices choose to spread the cost rather than pay outright.
Spread across the life you use it forThe right shape depends on the job in front of you.
Kitting out a surgery, buying a practice and bridging the gap between paying your team and getting paid are three different problems. Most owners use a mix of these over time, and the best fit changes as the practice grows.
Chairs, scanners and milling units
Dental chairs, cone beam and intraoral scanners, milling units, autoclaves and digital x-ray are the reason most practices borrow at all. Equipment & asset finance spreads each one over its working life and keeps cash inside the practice, with the asset itself usually carrying much of the case.
A practice, a squat build or a full fit-out
Buying an existing practice, building a squat from scratch, funding goodwill or fitting out a whole surgery is a planned cost with a known figure. Business term loan gives predictable repayments over a set term, repaid out of the capacity it creates.
Lab bills and associate pay
Associates, hygienists, lab work and materials are paid well before a course of treatment completes. Working capital covers that stretch, and the quieter months when elective treatment slows.
The costs that arrive out of order
Materials stock-ups, an irregular bill or a seasonal dip do not warrant a full loan. A business line of credit sits unused until you draw on it, so you carry only what you actually take.
Repayments that move with the diary
Where private fee income drives the month, a revenue advance is repaid as a share of card and private fee income, so a busy diary repays more and a quiet one repays less.
Because Capvant’s partners compete, it is worth comparing more than one structure for the same purchase. Every option is offered subject to the funding partner’s approval, and the amount, term and price are theirs to set rather than ours. You can see each shape beside the rest on the funding types Capvant covers.
See which structures your practice actually qualifies for before you commit to any of them. Comparing is a soft search that leaves no mark on your credit file.
Three places practice funding tends to end up.
Recognising which one you are in is usually the fastest route to the right structure, because a partner can then respond to the decision actually in front of you.
Capital equipment first
A modern surgery runs on expensive kit, and replacing or upgrading it is rarely something an owner wants to fund out of working cash. Digital workflows, intraoral scanners and in-house milling are common upgrades that pay back through faster treatment and fewer lab trips.
Acquisition and expansion
Buying an existing practice, building a squat, adding surgeries or refurbishing a tired reception are classic term-loan and equipment projects. Many owners also fund a shift towards more private and plan income, which means kit, marketing and a fit-out before the revenue arrives.
The unglamorous essentials
Day to day, practices use working capital and lines of credit for lab bills and associate pay before patient courses complete, materials, a tax bill landing at the wrong moment, and bridging the summer slowdown.
Pick the range the chair, the fit-out or the acquisition needs, and see what comes back with no hard check while you look.
Practices read well. The detail still decides it.
Dental practices are generally seen as resilient businesses, so they tend to be well regarded. The offers you actually receive still come down to what the figures show.
- 01
The figures, and the split behind them
Expect filed accounts and recent management figures, and close attention to the split between NHS and plan income and private fee income, along with the value and remaining length of any NHS contract. A recurring base is read as lower risk, which can widen the offers that come back.
- 02
That the practice is properly run
CQC registration, GDC-registered clinicians and clean decontamination and HTM 01-05 records all reassure a partner that the practice can keep trading, which matters as much as the profit line.
- 03
On an acquisition, whether the income stays
Where you are buying, partners look closely at patient retention, whether the associate team is staying on, and whether income is concentrated in one departing principal. Goodwill is only worth what continues after completion.
- 04
The people behind the company
Because most practices trade as limited companies or partnerships, expect questions about the principals and, on larger facilities, a personal guarantee. None of that changes how Capvant works: checking your options does not affect your credit score, and you commit only when you accept an offer.
You can compare with very little to hand: the last set of filed accounts, a few months of recent bank statements and a clear idea of the amount and purpose. For an equipment purchase a supplier quote helps, and for an acquisition the practice accounts and sale details matter most. Capvant does not lend or set rates, our partners do, which is why it pays to let them compete. The full path is on how Capvant works.
Frequently asked questions
Can my dental practices business get funding through Capvant?
Yes. Capvant works with funding partners that fund dental practices businesses across the United Kingdom. One request matches you with the partners most likely to say yes.
What funding suits dental practices businesses?
It depends on your goal, common options include equipment & asset finance, business term loan, working capital, business line of credit, revenue advance. Compare them side by side and pick what fits.
Will checking my options affect my credit score?
No. Seeing your options through Capvant is a soft search, so it leaves no mark on your credit file. A lender only runs a full credit check if you decide to accept an offer.
Is Capvant a lender?
No. Capvant is a funding marketplace, we match you with funding partners and you choose the offer that suits you. Funding decisions, rates and terms are set by the lender, subject to approval.
How fast can I get funded?
Once you accept an offer, many businesses receive funds within a few working days, some products fund same day.
Equip the surgery without draining the practice.
One request puts your practice in front of a network of competing funding partners, and comparing what comes back leaves your credit score exactly where it is.
No obligation. Checking your offers won’t affect your credit score.
Disclaimers & footnotes
- 1Capvant is a funding marketplace, not a lender. We match business owners with third-party funding partners; we do not make credit decisions, lend money, or set rates or terms. All funding decisions, rates, terms and approvals are made solely by the lenders in our network, subject to their criteria.
- 2Checking your options through Capvant does not affect your credit score. A lender may carry out a soft or hard credit search depending on the product, stage and your consent. A full hard credit check is only carried out where required by a lender before you proceed.
- 3Funding speed, including any reference to funding in as little as 24 hours, is typical for some products and lenders and is not guaranteed. Actual timescales depend on the lender, the product, and how quickly requested information and documents are provided.
- 4Funding amounts and ranges are indicative only and vary with your business profile, trading history, the lender and the market. Figures shown are not an offer of finance and do not guarantee any particular amount, rate or approval.
- 5Any offers, rates or repayment figures shown in illustrations or examples are for demonstration only and are not real quotes. Your actual offers, if any, are provided by lenders and are subject to approval.
- 6Product availability varies by market. Some products are only available in certain countries. Capvant currently serves businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Capvant is not a lender and does not make credit decisions, we introduce businesses to third-party funding providers. Capvant is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Capvant does not compare every lender, broker, funding product or offer available in the market. We only show options from funding partners in our network that may be relevant based on the information you provide.
Capvant may receive compensation from lenders, brokers, funding partners or referral partners when a customer is introduced, approved, funded or takes another qualifying action. This compensation does not guarantee that any lender will approve an application or offer specific terms. Capvant does not charge business owners a fee to compare funding options unless clearly stated otherwise.
If you access Capvant through a partner, introducer or embedded funding page, that partner may receive a referral fee or commission if your request results in funding. This does not increase your cost unless expressly disclosed.
Capvant is intended for business-purpose funding only. Eligibility may depend on entity type, location, trading history, revenue, industry and lender criteria. In the UK, Capvant currently focuses on limited companies, LLPs and plcs, and does not currently support sole traders or ordinary partnerships.
Information on Capvant is general information only and is not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. You should consider whether funding is suitable for your business and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Calculators, eligibility checkers and funding-readiness tools are estimates only. They are based on limited information and assumptions, and do not represent a credit decision, quote, approval or recommendation.
Company information may be sourced from public registers such as Companies House, or from information you provide. Public register data may be incomplete, delayed or inaccurate and should not be treated as a full credit assessment.
The Business Credit Score by Capvant is an independent statistical assessment based on public register data. It is not provided by a credit reference agency and may differ from scores used by individual lenders.
By submitting an application or funding request, you authorise Capvant to share relevant business, owner, request and document information with funding partners, service providers and introducers where necessary to process your request, subject to our Privacy Policy.
Some US commercial financing offers may be subject to state-specific disclosure requirements. Where required, additional disclosures will be provided and must be accepted before a transaction is finalised.