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Cattle Shed Finance

Compare finance for a cattle shed from £20,000 to £350,000. As a structure fixed to the land, this is usually funded by a secured loan or agricultural mortgage rather than standard equipment finance.

Can you finance a cattle shed?

Yes, cattle sheds 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 £20,000 to £350,000, and most deals are written over 24-84 months with a deposit of around 15-25%. Decisions typically take several weeks. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

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Typical Cost

£20k – £350k

Approval Speed

Several weeks

Timescale depends on existing farm borrowing and security

Rates From

5.5% APR

What would a cattle shed cost per month?

£90,000
10%
60 months
9%
£0

Your estimate

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

Pre-filled with a typical cattle shed price. Indicative only, not a quote.

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Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate
From 7.0% APR
Term
24-84 months
Deposit
15-25%
Ownership
Yours at the end
Best for
Only realistic where the building is a genuinely demountable steel-framed kit supplied without permanent foundations, which is uncommon for a working cattle shed

Secured Business Loan

Rate
From 7.5% APR
Term
3-10 years
Deposit
Varies with security offered
Ownership
Fixed monthly repayments
Best for
A common route where the farm has assets to secure against but does not want to extend an existing mortgage

Commercial or Agricultural Mortgage

Rate
From 5.5% APR (variable/tracker options available)
Term
5-25 years
Deposit
Typically 20-35% or existing land equity
Ownership
Long-term secured borrowing
Best for
The most usual way to fund a permanent cattle shed, since the building is fixed to the land in the same way as the farmhouse or existing outbuildings

Representative example

On a purchase price of £90,000: a 10% deposit of £9,000, then 48 monthly payments of £1,899 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £100,152, 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
Steel-Framed Cattle Shed, Basic Specification £40 - £60 per sqm excluding groundworks (specification class, price not independently verified) Basic Steel Portal Frame Shed
Shufflebottom-Style Portal Frame Livestock Building £50 - £75 per sqm excluding groundworks (specification class, price not independently verified) Portal Frame Livestock Building
Insulated, Fully-Clad Cattle Building £70 - £100 per sqm excluding groundworks (specification class, price not independently verified) Insulated Livestock Building
Turnkey Cattle Shed incl. Groundworks, approx. 500 sqm £120,000 - £250,000 (specification class, price not independently verified) Turnkey Livestock Building Project

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Tax benefits

A cattle shed built on concrete foundations is fixed to the land, and is generally treated as a structure rather than as plant and machinery for capital allowances purposes, in the same way a farmhouse extension or a permanent outbuilding would be. This is a different position to farm machinery or freestanding equipment, and it is not usually possible to claim the same allowances against the shell of the building itself. That said, specific items fitted inside the shed, such as feed barriers, cubicle divisions, or ventilation and lighting equipment, can sometimes be treated separately as plant even where the building shell is not, so it is worth asking your accountant to look at the fitted equipment separately from the structure on your project quote.

Market context

Cattle sheds are typically built or replaced by dairy and beef farmers whose existing buildings no longer meet current welfare, space or ventilation expectations, or by farms expanding herd size and needing additional housing capacity. New entrants and farms diversifying into livestock from arable also commission new buildings. As with other agricultural structures, financing route depends heavily on the farm's existing mortgage position, since a farm with significant unmortgaged land equity has more options than one already carrying substantial secured borrowing. Buildings are usually specified against target herd size with some growth allowance, in the same way a warehouse might specify racking capacity ahead of current stock volumes, since extending a shed later is more disruptive than building in headroom from the start.

Bad credit?

Several of our 200+ lenders specialise in businesses with imperfect credit histories. You may need a larger deposit or personal guarantee, but options exist. Checking your options here does not affect your credit score, because we do not run a credit search to match you. A lender will run their own checks only if you decide to apply.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I get equipment finance for a new cattle shed?
Generally not in the way you would finance a tractor or a piece of machinery. A cattle shed built on concrete foundations is fixed to the land, so most equipment finance lenders will not treat it as moveable plant in the way they would a bolted steel silo or a piece of racking. The usual routes are a secured business loan against farm assets or an agricultural mortgage, both of which are structured very differently to hire purchase, with longer terms and different security requirements. It is worth discussing the specific building specification with a broker who covers both equipment and property-secured lending.
What is the difference between a secured loan and an agricultural mortgage for a farm building?
A secured business loan is typically a fixed-term facility secured against farm assets, often used for a single project and repaid over a period of several years to a decade. An agricultural mortgage is a longer-term facility, sometimes running to 20 years or more, usually secured against the land itself or existing equity in the farm, and can be used to fund a larger building programme or to consolidate borrowing across multiple projects. Which is more suitable depends on the size of the project relative to the farm's existing borrowing and how the farm's finances are structured, which a specialist broker can help assess.
Does a cattle shed need planning permission?
Many agricultural buildings benefit from permitted development rights that avoid the need for full planning permission, though this depends on the building's size, its distance from other buildings and roads, and whether the land already has other agricultural structures on it. This is a planning question for your local authority or a planning consultant rather than something a finance guide can confirm for your specific site, but lenders will generally want to see that the relevant permissions or permitted development notification are in hand before releasing funds on a larger project.
Can I finance internal equipment separately from the building shell?
Yes, and this is often the more tax-efficient approach. Feed barriers, cubicle divisions, ventilation fans, lighting and watering systems fitted inside a cattle shed can often be itemised separately from the building shell on your supplier's quote, and may be eligible for equipment finance and plant and machinery capital allowances even where the shell itself is financed as a structure. Asking your builder to break the quote down this way from the outset makes this easier to arrange.
How long does it take to arrange finance for a cattle shed?
Because most cattle sheds are funded through a secured loan or agricultural mortgage rather than standard equipment finance, timescales are longer, typically several weeks rather than the 24 to 48 hours common for machinery finance. The lender will want to review the farm's overall financial position, existing borrowing and security, and the building specification, so it is sensible to start the finance conversation well before you need to commit to a build start date.

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