Can you finance a irrigation system?

Yes, irrigation systems 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 £15,000 to £150,000, and most deals are written over 24–72 months with a deposit of around 10–20%. Decisions typically take 24–48 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

Irrigation System Finance: Compare Rates from 200+ Lenders

Typical Cost

£15k – £150k

Approval Speed

24–48 hours

Seasonal payment profiles available

Rates From

4.6% APR

What would a irrigation system cost per month?

Irrigation System price (ex VAT) £55,000

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 irrigation system price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate: From 5.0% APR
Term: 24–72 months
Deposit: 10–20%
Ownership: Yours at the end
Best for: Vegetable, potato, and salad growers wanting to own the system outright

Finance Lease

Rate: From 4.6% APR
Term: 24–60 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return or buy (balloon payment)
Best for: Tax-efficient, spreads a drought-resilience investment across several growing seasons

Operating Lease

Rate: From 5.4% APR
Term: 24–48 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return at end
Best for: Growers wanting to scale irrigation capacity as cropped area changes

Representative example

On a purchase price of £55,000: a 10% deposit of £5,500, then 48 monthly payments of £1,160 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £61,180, 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
Briggs Hosereel Irrigator, 200m Reel	£15,000 – £25,000	Hosereel Irrigator
Briggs Hosereel Irrigator with Boom, 300m Reel	£30,000 – £50,000	Hosereel Irrigator with Rain Gun or Boom
Wheeled Irrigation Boom, 50–64m	£50,000 – £90,000	Wheeled Irrigation Boom
Pump, Mainline and Multi-Reel Installation	£90,000 – £150,000	Full Field Irrigation Installation

Tax benefits

Irrigation equipment qualifies for Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), letting you deduct the full cost from taxable profits in year one, up to £1,000,000. HP gives access to capital allowances; lease payments are fully deductible from farming profits.

Market context

Field irrigation is concentrated among high-value cropping enterprises, potato, vegetable, salad, and some fruit growers, where water directly affects both yield and crop quality standards set by packers and retailers, rather than being common across arable and livestock farming generally. Because reel length, pump capacity, and boom width need to be matched to field size and abstraction licence limits, systems are usually specified individually with an irrigation supplier before a grower approaches finance. Investment in irrigation has also been supported in recent years by growers looking to manage increasingly variable summer rainfall, and the specialist UK suppliers in this market provide ongoing parts and pump servicing that helps support the resale value of well-maintained kit.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a water abstraction licence before financing an irrigation system?

In most cases, yes. If you're taking water from a river, borehole or reservoir above certain thresholds, you'll need an Environment Agency abstraction licence, and lenders will typically want to see this in place or well progressed before releasing funds for a new system. This is because the licence directly affects how much water you can legally apply to your crop, which in turn affects the value of the investment to your business. If your licence application is still in progress, it's worth telling your broker or lender early, since some will proceed on that basis, particularly if you already hold a licence for existing irrigation on the same holding.

Can finance cover the pump, mainline, and reel as one project?

Yes, most lenders will finance a complete irrigation installation, the pump, mainline pipework and hosereel or boom, as a single facility rather than requiring separate agreements for each component. This suits the way irrigation systems are usually specified, since an irrigation supplier will typically quote the whole project as one scheme matched to your field size and abstraction licence rather than pricing each part in isolation. Financing it as one facility also means the deposit and monthly payment reflect the full cost of getting water onto your crop, so it's worth asking your supplier for one itemised quote covering pump, pipework and reel before you apply.

Are repayments linked to the cropping season?

Yes, because irrigation spend is directly tied to specific high-value crops with their own harvest and marketing timetable, agricultural lenders commonly structure repayments seasonally or annually around when that crop is sold, rather than requiring a flat monthly amount throughout the year. This suits potato, vegetable and salad growers whose cash flow is concentrated around harvest rather than spread evenly, and it's a standard request for this type of equipment rather than something you need to negotiate hard for. It's worth raising your preferred repayment profile with your broker at the application stage so it can be built into the agreement from the outset.

Can I finance a used irrigation system?

Yes, hosereel irrigators and pumps from established manufacturers hold up well if properly serviced, so used equipment is commonly financed, subject to the condition of the reel, hose and pump on inspection. A dealer or independent inspection is worthwhile before you commit, given how much wear the reel and pump take during a busy irrigation season, and it can also support a faster decision from the lender. Rates on used irrigation equipment are typically a little higher than for new kit of an equivalent specification, reflecting the shorter remaining working life the lender is financing against, so it's worth comparing the total cost against a new system before deciding.

What deposit is needed to finance an irrigation system?

For hire purchase, most lenders ask for a deposit of 10 to 20% of the system's price, while finance lease and operating lease agreements are typically available with no deposit at all. Because a full field irrigation installation, pump, mainline and multiple reels, represents a significant investment, some growers choose to put down more than the minimum deposit to keep monthly payments manageable across the growing seasons before the crop it supports is sold. It's worth comparing deposit and payment profiles across HP, finance lease and operating lease before deciding which suits your cash flow around harvest.

What happens at the end of an irrigation system finance agreement?

What happens depends on which finance structure you chose. Under hire purchase, the system is yours once the final payment is made. Under a finance lease, you can typically return the equipment or make a balloon payment to buy it outright. Under an operating lease, the equipment is returned at the end of the term, which suits growers who expect their cropped area, and therefore the irrigation capacity they need, to change over the next few years. Because reel length, pump capacity and boom width are specified to your current field size, it's worth thinking about whether you expect to scale up or down before choosing between owning the system and returning it.

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Irrigation System Finance