Portable traffic light systems cost from around £3,000 for a single battery unit to £80,000+ for a fleet package, and are bought overwhelmingly by traffic management hire companies rather than the contractors who use them on site.
Yes, traffic light 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 £3,000 to £80,000, and most deals are written over 24-84 months with a deposit of around 10-20%. Decisions typically take 24–48 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.
Typical Cost
£3k – £80k
Approval Speed
24–48 hours
Faster on drawdowns against an existing fleet facility
Rates From
5.2% APR
Your estimate
Indicative only. Not a quote and not an offer of finance.
Pre-filled with a typical traffic light system price. Indicative only, not a quote.
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Check EligibilityOn a purchase price of £15,000: a 10% deposit of £1,500, then 48 monthly payments of £316 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £16,668, including the deposit. The rate you are offered depends on your business and the asset.
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 Portable Traffic Light Unit (Battery) | £3,000 - £5,500 | Battery Traffic Light |
| Two or Three-Way Portable Traffic Light Set | £7,000 - £14,000 | Multi-Way Light Set |
| Solar-Powered Traffic Light Set | £9,000 - £16,000 | Solar Traffic Light Set |
| Multi-Set Fleet Package (10+ units) | £40,000 - £80,000 | Fleet Stock Package |
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Check EligibilityA portable traffic light system bought by a hire company is treated as plant and machinery, so it qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), letting the business deduct the cost from taxable profits in the year each unit is bought, up to the current £1,000,000 annual limit across the whole business. Where a fleet is bought through a facility with several drawdowns spread across a financial year, each drawdown is treated as a purchase in its own right for allowance purposes, so a facility structure does not reduce what a growing fleet can claim. Under a Finance Lease you do not own the asset, so payments are instead deducted as a business expense rather than claimed as an allowance. Always confirm the treatment with your accountant before agreeing a facility structure.
Portable traffic light systems are bought almost entirely by traffic management hire companies, who supply and operate them on behalf of contractors and utilities carrying out roadworks, rather than by the businesses whose sites the lights control. A hire company's credit case rests on fleet utilisation across many jobs running concurrently across a region rather than on the value of any single contract, and demand for lights is driven by scheduled roadworks and utility programmes rather than one customer's project. Because a hire operator buys new sets and replaces older units on a rolling basis rather than in one large order, lenders in this sector often prefer a facility structured to fund repeated fleet purchases as stock is grown or refreshed. Replacement is generally driven by battery and solar panel degradation and wear to the lamp head and control unit from constant site use, and a secondhand market exists for ex-fleet units sold on once an operator upgrades its stock.
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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