Fuel Tank Finance

Fund an underground fuel storage tank installation from £10,000 to £50,000+ through a commercial mortgage or secured loan against the forecourt. Compare options from UK lenders.

Can you finance a fuel tank?

Yes, fuel tanks 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 £10,000 to £50,000, and most deals are written over 60–180 months with a deposit of around 25–35% or based on site value. Decisions typically take 2–6 weeks. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

Typical Cost

£10k – £50k

Approval Speed

2–6 weeks

Timeline depends on site valuation

Rates From

6.5% APR

What would a fuel tank cost per month?

Fuel Tank price (ex VAT) £25,000

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 fuel tank price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Finance options

Commercial Mortgage

Rate: From 6.5% APR
Term: 60–180 months
Deposit: 25–35% or based on site value
Ownership: Yours from day one, secured against the site
Best for: Forecourt owners financing a tank as part of the property itself

Secured Business Loan

Rate: From 8.0% APR
Term: 36–120 months
Deposit: Varies with security offered
Ownership: Yours from day one
Best for: Operators replacing or adding a tank without refinancing the whole site

Landlord/Oil Company Capital Contribution

Rate: Varies by agreement
Term: Tied to fuel supply agreement
Deposit: None, offset against fuel volumes
Ownership: Often remains with the landlord or supplier
Best for: Tenants on an oil company site where the tank forms part of the landlord's asset

Representative example

On a purchase price of £25,000: a 10% deposit of £2,500, then 48 monthly payments of £527 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £27,796, 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
Single Compartment Tank, 20,000-25,000L	£10,000 – £25,000	Single Compartment Underground Tank (specification class)
Twin or Multi-Compartment Tank Installation	£25,000 – £50,000+	Multi-Compartment Underground Tank (specification class)

Tax benefits

An underground fuel storage tank and its pipework are built into the ground and form part of the site itself rather than moveable business equipment, so they're treated as a fixture rather than plant for both practical and tax purposes. This generally puts a tank into the same category as other integral features of a property for capital allowances, and if the forecourt is leased rather than owned, the tank is very often the landlord's or fuel supplier's asset rather than something the tenant can claim allowances on at all. This is a genuinely different position from the dispensers standing on top of it, which are moveable and financed more like ordinary equipment, so it's worth getting clear advice on which parts of a forecourt upgrade fall into which category before assuming standard asset finance will cover the whole project.

Market context

Underground fuel tanks are installed by independent forecourt owners building or upgrading a filling station and, in some cases, by oil companies investing in tenant-operated sites they own. Because a tank and its pipework can't practically be removed once installed, this equipment is funded very differently to the rest of a forecourt: rather than standard hire purchase or leasing, buyers typically use a commercial mortgage or a secured loan against the property, treating the tank as part of the site rather than as a separate asset. A meaningful complication for many forecourt operators is that they don't own the site outright but trade as a tenant of an oil company, in which case the tank is often the landlord's asset and any improvement funded by the tenant needs to be agreed as part of the lease rather than financed independently. Replacement is generally driven by a tank reaching the end of its certified working life or failing an integrity test, and fuel storage carries ongoing environmental obligations around leak prevention and monitoring that operators need to factor into any tank project, alongside the practical cost of excavation, removal of the old tank and site reinstatement.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I get standard equipment finance for a fuel tank?

Standard hire purchase and leasing are built around equipment that can be repossessed and resold if payments stop, and an underground tank buried in the ground and connected to permanent pipework simply doesn't work that way. Lenders instead treat it as part of the property, which is why the realistic options are a commercial mortgage or a secured loan against the site rather than the asset finance products used for dispensers, car wash equipment or workshop tools.

I'm a tenant of an oil company, can I still finance a tank upgrade?

This is genuinely more complicated than financing equipment on a site you own. On many tenant sites, the tank is the landlord's or fuel supplier's asset already, and any upgrade needs to be agreed and funded as part of your supply or lease agreement rather than independently financed by you as the operator. It's worth raising a planned upgrade with your landlord or fuel supplier early, since they may fund or part-fund the work themselves as it's ultimately an improvement to their asset.

What deposit or security is typical for tank finance?

Because tank finance is usually structured as a commercial mortgage or secured loan, the amount you can borrow and the deposit required depend heavily on the value of the property and the security you can offer, rather than a fixed percentage as with standard equipment finance. This makes it more of a bespoke conversation with a commercial lender than a standard application, and it's worth getting a valuation of the site early in the process.

What should I budget for beyond the tank itself?

Excavation, removal and disposal of any existing tank, new pipework, leak detection and monitoring equipment, permits and site reinstatement can add substantially to the headline cost of the tank, so it's worth getting a full project quote from your installer rather than pricing the tank in isolation. Environmental compliance around fuel storage is an ongoing responsibility too, not just a one-off installation cost, and it's worth factoring that into your overall budget for the site.