Take it away October '23 Retailer FAQs

From 10 November 2023 the Take it away scheme will be relaunched as an open to all scheme. This means that anyone over the age of 18, based in England, can apply to use Take it away to spread the cost purchasing of musical instruments and equipment through one of our member retailers.

Retailers based in Northern Ireland are unaffected by these changes.

The Take it away scheme will continue to support young musicians aged 18-25 and adults purchasing a musical instrument for a child under the age of 18. The relaunch means that our products will now be available to anyone over the age of 18.

Take it away will continue to be available for purchases from £100 -£2000 over 9 months with a minimum 10% deposit, and for £800-£5,000 over 18 months* with a minimum 10% deposit.

*Available in retailers who hold permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority.

Currently, membership and applications to become a member of the Take it away scheme is free of charge. Should this change in the future we will notify members in advance.

The enhanced scheme will continue to be available to retailers for purchases made in store, via mail order and, where available, online through e-commerce integration with the systems of our credit provider, Omni Capital Retail Finance.

The changes will take effect on the 10 November 2023 in time for retailers to take advantage of the enhanced scheme in the lead up to Christmas.

In addition to extending the customer criteria, the subsidy charges for the Take it away scheme to members retailers will be reduced for a limited time to help members make the most of the new offer.

From 10 November 2023 until 31 March 2024 the rates for the Take it away scheme will be:

9-month loans: 2.99%

18-month loans: 8.62%

Retailer quota allocations for the 1 April 2023 through to the 31 March 2024 will remain unchanged. As with previous years, we will continue to review retailer usage of the scheme on a regular basis and notify retailers if they are nearing their quota. Where possible, we will look to increase quota allocations for retailers, however we cannot guarantee this. New quota allocations will be issued to retailers on 1 April 2024.

Where possible Creative United will look to increase a retailer’s quota. However, if this is not possible, the retailer will be moved on to unsubsidised loan products charged at prevailing rates by our scheme credit provider, Omni Capital Retail Finance.

We very much hope that this enhancement to the scheme will grow confidence both from our retailers and consumers in using Take it away. We anticipate that the scheme will experience an increase in people benefiting from using finance to purchase musical instruments. Longer term, we hope to grow our member network of retailers to expand our reach across England and to help more people living in areas identified by Arts Council England as Priority Places/Levelling up for Culture Places.

Purchases over £2,000 repaid over 9 months and £5,000 repaid over 18 months can be made using unsubsidised finance agreements available to all Take it away members. These will be charged to retailers at the rates detailed in the latest rate card published on the 1 October 2023.

ase in people benefiting from using finance to purchase musical instruments. Longer term, we hope to grow our member network of retailers to expand our reach across England and to help more people living in areas identified by Arts Council England as Priority Places/Levelling up for Culture Places.

We will continue to support young musicians aged 18-25 to purchase a musical instrument and adults over the aged of 18 buying a musical instrument for a child under the age of 18.

Our latest announcement means that, in addition to our existing beneficiaries, anyone over the age of 18 will be able to use Take it away to spread the cost of a musical instrument.

All applications to use Take it away are subject to status and a credit check.