Capex that earns its keep from month one.
From a single CNC mill to a fully integrated robotic cell. We fund machine tools, press brakes, packaging, MHE and the ancillaries that make a production line run.
£118m+
Funded into UK factories
100%
Year-1 write-off via full expensing
60mo
Average term to match payback
5–10%
Typical deposit on machine tools
If it earns its keep, we've probably funded one.
CNC machine tools
Vertical & horizontal mills, lathes, multi-axis, 5-axis. DMG Mori, Haas, Mazak, Hurco, XYZ, Doosan, Okuma.
Press brakes & shears
Hydraulic and electric press brakes, guillotines, fibre laser cutters, plasma. Trumpf, Bystronic, Amada, Salvagnini.
Robotics & automation
Cobots, 6-axis robots, end-of-arm tooling, integrated cells. Fanuc, ABB, KUKA, Universal Robots.
Packaging & end-of-line
Wrappers, palletisers, labellers, conveyor systems, depalletisers. Funded as one integrated line.
MHE & forklifts
Counterbalance, reach trucks, VNA, AGVs, conveyors, racking. Often funded together as a warehouse upgrade.
Inspection & quality
CMMs, vision systems, surface analysers, 3D scanners. Frequently soft assets — we know which lenders fund them.
How manufacturing deals usually structure.
Typical ticket
£80k – £600k per cell
Range we fund
£25k inspection rig → £2m turnkey line
Term
48 – 84 months
Deposit
5 – 15%
Structure
Hire purchase for full-expensing benefit; finance lease where tech evergreening matters; refinance against installed base ahead of expansion.
The usual pain.
Long lead times tie up cash
Some machine tools have a 9–14 month build slot. We can credit-approve early and pay staged deposits to lock in the build, with balance on commissioning.
Installation costs explode the budget
Foundations, three-phase, dust extraction, training, software licences — easily 15% on top. We package the soft costs into the same agreement.
Banks miss the tax angle
Hire purchase qualifies for full expensing — 100% write-off in year one against corporation tax. Banks rarely flag it. We make sure your accountant knows.
How we structure it.
Big-ticket lender panel
Specialist UK lenders comfortable to £2m on machine tools, with ECA-backed structures available on imported European stock.
Imported equipment ready
GBP, EUR or USD denominated agreements available. We've placed deals with German and Italian dealer groups directly.
Tax-led structuring
We work with your accountant to structure for full expensing, super-deduction tail or AIA — whichever gives the cleanest year-1 P&L hit.
A real manufacturing deal we placed.
£420,000
£420k CNC line refinanced to release growth capital
A 12-year-old precision engineering firm owned £600k of CNC kit outright but needed working capital to bid on an aerospace tier-2 contract. Overdraft was maxed and the bank wanted a debenture.
Read the full storyReviewed by UK businesses
Sorted in 36 hours
"Bank wanted three weeks just to look at the file. AssetFi had the agreement signed and the digger paid for in 36 hours. Couldn't fault them."
Genuinely no fees
"I'd been stung by brokers before so I asked twice — really, no fees? Confirmed in writing. Got a sharper rate than my bank too. They've now done four vans for me."
Understood our cash flow
"We needed a CBCT scanner but our last accounts had a bad quarter. AssetFi went to specialist healthcare lenders, came back with three options and explained each properly. Brilliant."
Our panel
Lenders we use for manufacturing
Independent of any single lender. We place every deal with the funder offering the best fit on rate, structure and speed.
Plus 40+ specialist funders covering challenger banks, asset-specific lenders and tier-2 underwriters. Lender names shown are trademarks of their respective owners.
Questions manufacturing customers ask.
Does asset finance qualify for full expensing?
Hire purchase agreements typically qualify for full expensing, allowing you to claim 100% of the asset's cost against corporation tax in the year of acquisition. Finance leases do not — they're treated as a rental expense. Refer your accountant to HMRC's CA23165 for the specifics.
Can finance cover installation, training and software?
Yes — most lenders will package up to 15–20% of the asset value as 'soft costs' (installation, foundations, training, software, calibration). On larger machines we sometimes structure these as a separate facility drawn alongside the main HP.
What if the machine is being imported with a long lead time?
Standard. We'll issue a credit approval that holds for 6 months, pay any deposit required by the dealer to secure the build slot, and then pay the balance on delivery and commissioning. The agreement only goes live (and rentals only start) on commissioning.
Can I refinance a machine tool I already own?
Yes — common as part of a wider expansion. We'll instruct a CTM-qualified valuer, agree an open-market value, and refinance up to 80–90% of that valuation. Cash arrives in 7–14 days, machine never leaves the floor.
Ready to fund the next bit of manufacturing kit?
Soft search. 24-hour decisions. No broker fees, ever.
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