Finance for manufacturing and engineering
Capital equipment with genuine resale value, funded over the years it produces — plus the working capital to bridge raw materials and customer payment terms.
Request a callback- Commonly funded
- CNC, production lines, tooling
- Typical facilities
- Hire purchase, invoice finance
- Lender focus
- Order book and machine resale
This page describes what businesses in this sector typically fund and what lenders generally look for. It is not a recommendation, and what is available to you depends on your own circumstances.
About manufacturing
Manufacturers are well served by the finance market. Machine tools and production equipment have established second-hand values, the connection between the asset and the revenue it generates is easy to demonstrate, and terms can be matched sensibly to the working life of the machine.
The recurring difficulty is the cash cycle. Raw materials are bought and converted long before the finished goods are invoiced, and then customers take their own terms on top. Invoice finance is widely used to close that gap, and often does more for a manufacturer's capacity than an additional machine would.
What manufacturers fund
- CNC machining centres, lathes, presses and fabrication equipment.
- Full production and assembly lines, funded as a single facility.
- Tooling, jigs, fixtures and specialist ancillary equipment.
- Forklifts, racking, cranes and materials handling.
- Invoice finance against the sales ledger to fund raw materials and payroll.
- Refinance of owned machinery to fund expansion or a new contract.
What lenders assess
- Order book depth and how much of it is contracted rather than expected.
- Customer concentration and the credit quality of your main buyers.
- Machine utilisation — funders prefer equipment that will be busy.
- Exposure to raw material price movements and whether it can be passed on.
- Whether the equipment is standard specification or heavily bespoke.
Frequently asked
Can I fund a whole production line?
Yes, and it is usually better handled as one facility than as a set of separate agreements. Where a line is being installed in stages, the facility can be structured to release funds as each element is delivered and commissioned.
What about used machine tools?
Very fundable. Quality machine tools hold value for decades and there is an active international market, so funders are comfortable provided the make, age and condition stack up. Full service records make a noticeable difference.
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Tell us what your business does
We will tell you which funders lend into your industry, and roughly what they are likely to say.
