Glycol Chiller Finance

Spread the cost of a glycol chiller from £3,000 to £80,000+ with flexible finance options. HP, lease, or refinance

Can you finance a glycol chiller?

Yes, glycol chillers 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 £3,000 to £80,000, and most deals are written over 12–60 months with a deposit of around 10–20%. Decisions typically take 24–48 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

What would a glycol chiller cost per month?

Glycol Chiller price (ex VAT) £20,000

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 glycol chiller price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate: From 5.7% APR
Term: 12–60 months
Deposit: 10–20%
Ownership: Yours at the end
Best for: Breweries wanting to own the chiller outright

Finance Lease

Rate: From 5.3% APR
Term: 12–60 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return or buy (balloon payment)
Best for: Tax-efficient, claim the lease payments against profit

Operating Lease

Rate: From 6.0% APR
Term: 24–48 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return at end
Best for: Add cooling circuits without a large upfront outlay

Representative example

On a purchase price of £20,000: a 10% deposit of £2,000, then 48 monthly payments of £422 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £22,256, 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-Circuit Chiller	£3,500 – £8,000	Small Craft System
Multi-Circuit Chiller	£10,000 – £22,000	Small-Mid Craft System
Production Chiller Unit	£25,000 – £45,000	Production System
Multi-Tank Central Plant	£45,000 – £75,000	Production System

Tax benefits

A glycol chiller qualifies for capital allowances, so most of the purchase cost can be set against taxable profits well within the Annual Investment Allowance most brewing and distilling businesses have available in a given year. Hire purchase lets you claim allowances as the owner from day one. Finance lease and operating lease payments are typically deductible in full as a trading expense, which suits businesses that would rather smooth the deduction over the term than take it all upfront. Speak to your accountant about which structure suits your current tax position.

Market context

Glycol chilling is easy to under-budget for when planning a brewery build, because it is sized against total tank capacity and cooling load rather than sold as part of the vessels themselves, so it is often the piece of plant that gets forgotten or scaled down in an early quote. A brewery adding fermenters or a bright tank beyond what its existing chiller can support needs to expand chilling capacity at the same time, and it is worth checking this before committing to new tanks rather than discovering a shortfall afterwards. Unlike stainless vessels, a glycol chiller has compressors and moving parts that wear mechanically, so the used market is thinner and rates tend to reflect the shorter realistic working life compared with a fermenter or bright tank.

Frequently asked questions

Is the glycol chiller financed separately from my tanks?

Usually yes. Fermenters, conditioning tanks and bright tanks are typically bought and financed as vessels in their own right, while the glycol chiller that cools them is a separate piece of mechanical plant sized to the total tank load rather than to any one vessel. It is entirely possible to combine both into a single finance facility if you are buying at the same time, but they are priced and specified independently.

How do I know what size glycol chiller I need?

Sizing depends on total tank surface area, ambient temperature, and how many tanks you expect to cool at once, which your equipment supplier or a refrigeration engineer should calculate rather than estimating yourself. Undersizing is the more common mistake, since it is tempting to buy for current tank count and end up short when the next fermenter is added, which is one reason chilling capacity is often the equipment that gets forgotten in an early brewery budget.

Can I finance a used glycol chiller?

Yes, though the used market is smaller than for stainless vessels because a chiller has a compressor and moving parts that wear over time, unlike a fermenter or brewhouse. Lenders will usually want to know the unit’s age and service history, and will finance used chillers over a shorter remaining term than they would a used stainless tank of similar age.

What deposit is typical for a glycol chiller?

Hire purchase typically asks for a 10 to 20% deposit. Finance lease and operating lease usually require none. Because chillers are mechanical rather than simple stainless vessels, some lenders price the rate slightly higher than for a fermenter or bright tank of similar value to reflect the shorter expected working life of the compressor.

Can effluent or waste handling equipment be financed alongside a chiller?

They can be financed, but usually as separate items rather than bundled automatically, since effluent handling, like chilling, is plant that sits outside the production vessels and is easy to leave out of an early equipment budget. If you are planning a brewery build or expansion, it is worth pricing chilling and effluent handling early alongside the vessels themselves so both can be included in your finance application from the start.