How much does a Restaurant Equipment Leasing cost to buy?

A typical Restaurant Equipment Leasing sells for 2.2x to 5.8x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $240K, expect to pay roughly $528K to $1.4M before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Restaurant Equipment Leasing?

Startup costs range from $150K to $1.5M depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Physical

Restaurant Equipment Leasing

Ovens, fryers, and dish machines become monthly rent checks

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Restaurant equipment leasing companies buy or finance commercial kitchen equipment and lease it to restaurants, ghost kitchens, cafes, caterers, and food trucks that want to preserve cash. The boring beauty is that operators need expensive equipment before they have steady sales, so the lessor can pair financing, maintenance, delivery, and replacement cycles into recurring B2B revenue.

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Acquisition score

Margin · multiple · SBA data

50Fair

Avg revenue

$1.2M/yr

$250K–$6M range

Profit margin

20%

~$240K SDE

Multiple

2.2–5.8×

of SDE

Est. buy price

$528K–$1.4M

startup: $150K–$1.5M

How It Works

The operator sources new or refurbished ovens, ranges, fryers, refrigeration, dishwashers, and prep equipment, signs lease or rent-to-own contracts, handles delivery and service coordination, and recycles returned assets into the next customer. Revenue comes from monthly lease payments, maintenance plans, delivery fees, buyouts, and used-equipment resale.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Restaurant Equipment Leasing has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

50Fair

low data confidence · 40/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

No strong positives yet. More verified data needed.

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No SBA category enrichment yet
!No category operating model yet
!Low data confidence

Deal Calculator

Priced off $240K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

1.90×

DSCR · Lender-comfortable

Purchase multiple — 3.6× SDE ($865K)

Category range: 2.2×–5.8× SDE

Down payment — 10% ($87K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.50%

Typical SBA 7(a) range: 9.5–12% (prime-based)

Loan term — 10 years

Standard SBA 7(a): 10 years for business acquisition

Purchase price

$865K

3.6× of $240K SDE

Cash to close

$112K

$87K down + ~3% closing

Debt service

$11K/mo

$126K/yr on $779K loan

Cash-on-cash

101%

cash back in ~12 mo

Debt service coverage · what the lender sees

1.90×+$9K/mo after debt

Most SBA lenders want ≥1.25× coverage; 1.5×+ is a strong file.

SDE = revenue × margin estimate for this niche; it includes owner compensation, so budget your salary out of cash flow. Excludes working-capital injection, capex reserves, and taxes. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower.

Pros

+Recurring payments from equipment restaurants cannot operate without
+Returned assets can be re-leased or resold
+Can bundle maintenance and replacement for stickier accounts
+Strong cross-sell with used restaurant equipment dealers and repair shops

Cons

-Credit risk is real because restaurants fail often
-Asset tracking, liens, repossession, and refurbishment require discipline
-Large equipment inventory ties up capital

Best For

Equipment dealers, finance-minded operators, repair shops, and buyers comfortable underwriting local restaurant credit risk

Operating Costs

Costs include equipment purchases, debt service, warehouse space, delivery trucks, repair/refurbishment, insurance, collections, contracts, and bad-debt reserves. Margins depend on utilization, lease pricing, and repossession discipline.