Aircraft Tug Finance

Spread the cost of an aircraft tug from £70,000 to £280,000+ with flexible finance options. HP, lease, or refinance

Can you finance a aircraft tug?

Yes, aircraft tugs are financed as a standard asset purchase, usually on hire purchase or a lease, with the machine itself acting as the security. UK prices typically run £70,000 to £280,000, and most deals are written over 24-84 months with a deposit of around 10-20%. Decisions typically take 24–72 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

Typical Cost

£70k – £280k

Approval Speed

24–72 hours

Same-day indicative terms available

Rates From

6.0% APR

What would a aircraft tug cost per month?

Aircraft Tug price (ex VAT) £150,000

Deposit 10%

Agreement term 60 months

Annual interest rate 9%

Balloon payment £0

Your estimate

Indicative only. Not a quote and not an offer of finance.

Pre-filled with a typical aircraft tug price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate: From 6.5% APR
Term: 24-84 months
Deposit: 10-20%
Ownership: Yours at the end
Best for: Handling contractors wanting to own their tug fleet outright

Finance Lease

Rate: From 6.0% APR
Term: 24-84 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return or buy (balloon payment)
Best for: Tax-efficient, claim 100% of payments against profit

Operating Lease

Rate: From 7.2% APR
Term: 36-60 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return at end
Best for: Move to electric tugs as airports mandate them. Off balance sheet.

Representative example

On a purchase price of £150,000: a 10% deposit of £15,000, then 48 monthly payments of £3,164 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £166,872, including the deposit. The rate you are offered depends on your business and the asset.

What buyers actually specify

Guide prices for sizing a finance agreement, not quotes. Manufacturers in this market mostly price on application, so where a current UK list price could not be confirmed the row describes a specification class rather than naming a model. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.

Machine or specification	Guide price	Type
TLD TMX-50 Aircraft Tow Tractor	£70,000 - £110,000	Diesel conventional tug (narrow-body/regional)
TLD TMX-150 Pushback Tractor	£110,000 - £170,000	Diesel pushback tug (medium, up to c.150-tonne MTOW)
TLD TMX-350 Pushback Tractor	£180,000 - £260,000	Diesel pushback tug (heavy, wide-body)
TLD TMX-50-E Electric Tow Tractor	£90,000 - £140,000	Battery-electric conventional tug (narrow-body)

Tax benefits

Aircraft tugs qualify for Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), letting you deduct the qualifying cost from taxable profits in the year of purchase, up to the current annual limit. HP allows capital allowances on the tug itself, and lease payments are fully deductible from profits. Electric tugs may also attract enhanced allowances depending on current rules, worth checking with your accountant.

Market context

Aircraft tugs are bought almost exclusively by ground handling contractors and airlines' own handling divisions, working under contracts with individual airports and airlines rather than buying on the airport's own account. The size and mix of tug bought, from a light conventional tug to a heavy pushback unit for wide-body aircraft, follows directly from the aircraft types named in the handling contract. As with other ramp equipment, what genuinely gates entry to this work is the contractor's airside operating permit and the specific airline and airport accreditations required to push back aircraft, not simply owning a tug, and an accredited contractor with a live contract is a materially safer lending proposition than one without. Airports increasingly specify electric tugs for new contracts, which is now a common driver of replacement alongside straightforward wear from continuous ramp use. A reasonably liquid used market exists as contracts and fleets turn over.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between hire purchase and a lease for a tug?

With hire purchase you own the tug outright once the final payment is made, and you claim capital allowances along the way. With a finance lease you never take legal title, but you claim the payments themselves against profit and can hand the tug back, refinance it, or buy it for a final balloon payment at the end of the term. Most contractors choose HP when they plan to keep a tug long-term and a lease when they expect to refresh the fleet regularly.

Can I finance an electric pushback tug?

Yes. Electric tugs are financed on the same basis as diesel models, and an increasing number of airports now specify them for new handling contracts. Some lenders also offer slightly more flexible terms on electric tugs given the direction airports are pushing ramp fleets. Charging infrastructure for the tug can usually be financed alongside it or as a separate agreement, depending on whether it is fixed to the airport's own electrical supply.

Do I need to already hold a handling contract to get tug finance?

Not strictly, but lenders will generally want to see a handling contract or the relevant airside accreditation in place, or clearly close to being finalised, before completing a deal. It is the contract and accreditation that make the tug usable and the business bankable, so being able to show either at application stage speeds up approval and typically improves the rate you are offered.

What deposit do I need?

For hire purchase, most lenders ask for a 10-20% deposit on an aircraft tug. Finance leases and operating leases often require no deposit at all. A larger deposit reduces the monthly repayment, which can matter for a contractor also funding other ramp equipment for the same handling contract.

Can I finance a used tug?

Yes, most lenders will finance used tugs up to around seven or eight years old, particularly where they come from a reputable GSE dealer or an established handling contractor's fleet renewal with a documented service history. Older tugs, or those with heavy hours, typically need a larger deposit or a shorter term to reflect the faster depreciation.