Our story

SilverChef's story so far

The SilverChef story

SilverChef was founded in 1986 in Brisbane, Australia, by entrepreneur Allan English. Almost a decade later our flagship product, Rent-Try-Buy® was created.

Allan recognized that Australian restaurants needed support to get their hands on innovative pizza ovens from the USA. With Rent-Try-Buy, SilverChef customers could test the pizza ovens in their own premises, and then later decided whether to purchase or return them.

This distinctive financing solution remains at the core of our services today.

A history of positive impact

In 2010, Allan and Tessa English established the English Family Foundation by generously donating half of their family's ownership in SilverChef.

The foundation selected Opportunity International Australia as a primary recipient. Through collaboration with Opportunity, SilverChef has since helped to lift more than 1.5 million individuals out of poverty worldwide.

In acknowledgment of his philanthropic contributions and community service, Allan was honored with the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2020.

Change in ownership

SilverChef was acquired by private equity firm, Next Capital in 2019.

Under new ownership, SilverChef gained the necessary capital for further global expansion.

As part of this transition, Next Capital assembled a new board of directors and appointed Phillip Godkin as the Chief Executive Officer.

Econolease acquisition

In 2021, SilverChef acquired Econolease, a prominent Canadian competitor.

Econolease enjoys a strong reputation in hospitality equipment financing, with a skilled team of over 60 professionals.

Working together with Econolease helps us better service hospitality business right across Canada. 

Join our team

We are constantly on the lookout for talented individuals to join our growing team. Explore our current job openings or submit your resume for future opportunities on our Careers page