How to finance a canopy for your school

If your school wants to make more of its outdoor space, a canopy could be the answer. Shelters and covers might be the last thing on anyone’s mind during the peak of summer, but at all other times of the year, they can make all the difference. 

Schools with strategically placed canopies are able to offer their pupils all the physical and mental health benefits of being outdoors – in all seasons.

And those benefits are substantial: children who spend time outdoors experience:

• Improved physical health and well-being with more opportunities for movement than indoor classrooms
  
• Better motor skills, coordination, and balance
  
• Positive effects on mental health due to natural light increasing happiness, reducing stress and promoting healthy sleep

They are also able to experience hands-on exploratory learning connecting them with nature, which promotes their intellectual and psychological development. 

What kind of canopy could I finance?

You can use a canopy to create:

• An outdoor classroom

Outdoor classrooms are the perfect way to balance screen-intensive work with time spent in nature, getting plenty of fresh air.

• A covered walkway

If your school’s corridors are heaving at breaktime, a covered outdoor walkway can be the perfect solution.

• An outdoor dining area

Pupils can enjoy all the health and wellbeing benefits of eating outside without worrying about weather.

• A sheltered play area

Give your pupils an all-year-round space to learn through play, develop friendships and stay active.

The question, of course, is how to finance such a significant asset. The good news is that if your school wants to own a canopy without having to pay the whole fee upfront, recent changes to the rules around leasing-to-own (finance leases) have made this kind of funding far easier for your school to access.

The new rules about finance leases

Previously, if your school wanted to enter into a finance lease where you own the asset at the end of the payment term, you needed approval from the Secretary of State. This is because, unlike operating leases (where you hand the asset back at the end of the payment term), you had to add the asset to your balance sheet as a liability. Finance leases were considered short term loans, which schools were not permitted to enter into without prior approval.

As of 1st April 2024, finance leases fall under a piece of accounting legislation called IFRS 16, equalising them with operating leases. 

Finance vs operating leases

Previously, operating leases were the only way state-funded schools and academies were allowed to lease equipment, as they were treated as renting to use an asset rather than borrowing to buy it. Having to gain the approval of the Secretary of State for Education for a finance lease meant long waits and cumbersome paperwork and for the majority of applications, approval was almost always denied. Operating leases, on the other hand, as hire rather than credit arrangements, got an automatic green light. But, while they were easier to obtain, operating leases weren’t particularly well-suited to long-life assets like canopies, which schools usually want to keep on a permanent basis.

Now, the arrival of the IFRS 16 means that both kinds of leases are categorised as borrowing and must be approved by the Department for Education (DfE), which has already given general consent that pre-approves a comprehensive list of assets. This means schools and academies now have easy access to funding for a wide range of equipment including IT equipment, catering equipment, furniture, bathroom and sanitary items, LED lighting, and more. In turn, this means we’re able to accept any state-backed school, academy or college for a lease without putting them through a cumbersome and stressful finance application process!

It also means there’s a straightforward avenue available to schools and academies who want to compliantly own the asset at the end of the lease term: this is ideal for infrastructure like canopies that schools are unlikely to want to dismantle and return after a few years of leasing.

Why lease a canopy rather than buy one?

Quite simply because a finance lease gives you the best of both worlds: you still own the canopy at the end of the lease, but you pay for it as you use it, not in one big hit at the start. This frees up your cashflow over several years to invest in other projects.

How your school can lease a canopy via Utility Rentals

Our partnership with leading UK canopy manufacturers offers your school:

• 100% finance for your canopy
• Flexible payment terms
• Ownership at the end of the lease
• Pre-approval for finance

Our standard lease term is 5 years, but other shorter terms are available too. You can make annual or quarterly payments: whatever works best for your school’s budget cycle.

We’re a direct funder, so there are no middlemen’s fees to pay. And, with a nearly 40-year track record, we’ve created a smooth process that makes it easy for you to sign up to our flexible finance leases.

If funding a canopy for your school via a finance lease sounds like an avenue you’d like to explore, there are a couple of ways to proceed, depending on whether you’ve already selected the canopy you’d like. 

You can get in touch with us either to:

1. Work with your chosen canopy supplier to turn their quote into an affordable lease proposal.
2. Put you in touch with our existing canopy supplier  – they will automatically issue a leasing price with every quote they provide.

Take a look at some of our case studies to read about the experiences of schools that have partnered with us, and check out our bucketload of 5-star reviews on Feefo! For an initial no-obligation chat about whether leasing is right for your school, please get in touch with our friendly team today.

Tags

• School Canopies