All-asset charge

An all-asset charge is the broadest form of corporate security available in English and Welsh law. It captures both identifiable assets that exist today (through fixed charges) and the changing pool of assets the business uses in trading, such as stock and receivables (through a floating charge). For larger UK SME facilities — secured loans, asset-backed lines, mezzanine debt — an all-asset charge is the lender's default starting position.

From the borrower's perspective, the practical implication is that the company cannot grant security to another lender without first obtaining a deed of priority or consent from the all-asset chargeholder. In effect, the first lender becomes the gatekeeper to any future secured borrowing. This is one reason owners sometimes prefer narrower, asset-specific security where possible — for example, a charge limited to a specific piece of plant under a hire purchase facility — even if the headline rate is similar.

All-asset charges can be released, varied or replaced by agreement. On refinance, the incoming lender typically takes its own debenture and the outgoing lender's charge is removed from the Companies House register once the existing facility is repaid in full.