A finance partner for forklift and materials handling dealers
We fund customer purchases where contract hire is not the right answer, and we place the deals a captive funder or a customer’s bank has already declined. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and all finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
- 60+ lenders searched, including manual-underwriting specialists
- Purchase funding where contract hire does not fit
- Captive and bank declines reviewed rather than written off
- New, used and refurbished equipment considered
Materials handling is a sector where finance and the sale are unusually tangled together. A large share of the market runs on contract hire, often through a manufacturer captive, with maintenance bundled in. That model works well and we are not going to pretend otherwise. But it does not fit every customer, and the deals it does not fit are the ones that quietly disappear.
CW Asset Finance is a whole-of-market broker based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, and an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited (FCA FRN 630701). We are a credit broker, not a lender. We work with materials handling dealers on the deals that fall outside the standard route: the customer who wants to own the truck outright, the operation running high utilisation where contract hire pricing looks expensive over the life of the asset, the business the captive has declined on credit grounds, and the customer buying used or refurbished equipment that a generalist funder will not value.
The commercial logic for a dealer is simple. If a customer cannot get funding, they do not buy a cheaper forklift — they keep the old one, or they go somewhere else. A second, properly targeted funding route protects sales you have already done the work to win.
Contract hire versus purchase — an honest comparison
Contract hire dominates parts of this market for good reasons. It gives a fixed monthly cost, bundles servicing and breakdown cover, keeps the residual risk with the provider, and suits fleet customers who want predictable budgeting and regular refresh. If that is what a customer needs, we are not going to argue them out of it.
Purchase funding through hire purchase or a finance lease makes more sense in other situations, and it is worth being able to explain the difference at the point of sale:
- The customer wants to own the asset. A well-maintained counterbalance truck can work for many years beyond a typical hire term. Owning it outright means no further monthly cost once the agreement ends.
- Utilisation is low. A truck used a few hours a day does not consume the maintenance and hours allowance built into a hire rate. Owning and servicing on demand can cost less.
- Utilisation is very high or the environment is harsh. Cold store, foundry, recycling and heavy multi-shift applications can push a customer past contract hire allowances, and excess-hours charges add up.
- The customer is capital-rich but wants to preserve cash. Hire purchase spreads the cost while still delivering ownership and the associated capital allowances position.
- The customer has been declined for contract hire. Captive funders have credit boxes like anyone else. A decline there does not mean the whole market will decline it.
A dealer who can present both routes closes more deals than one who can only present one. We are happy to be the second option rather than the first.
What we fund, and the awkward bits
We arrange finance across the materials handling range, new, used and refurbished: counterbalance trucks in diesel, LPG and electric; reach trucks; very narrow aisle and order pickers; powered pallet trucks and stackers; telehandlers and rough terrain machines; attachments such as clamps, rotators and fork positioners; and access equipment.
Two areas cause more confusion than the rest, so it is worth being direct about them.
Service and maintenance contracts. Asset finance funds assets. A full maintenance contract is a supply of services, and most funders will not roll it into an equipment agreement — it has no resale value to secure against, and it complicates the VAT treatment. In practice this usually means the equipment is funded and the maintenance is contracted and invoiced separately by you, which many customers actually prefer because it keeps the service relationship with the dealer rather than a funder. Some lenders will consider a limited element of soft cost within a facility. It varies, and it is worth asking before you quote.
The electric transition. Customers moving from LPG or diesel to electric, and from lead-acid to lithium-ion, face a higher upfront figure even where whole-life cost is lower. Batteries and chargers can normally be funded alongside the truck, but funders take differing views on residual value where battery technology is changing quickly, and a lithium-ion pack with a long expected life is treated differently from a lead-acid one due for replacement mid-term. Charging infrastructure and any electrical installation work may need a separate conversation. Telling us the specification early avoids a surprise at underwriting.
Racking, mezzanines and warehouse fit-out are also fundable, but they are treated as soft assets: shorter terms, tighter criteria and less security value than a truck. A warehouse expansion that mixes trucks, racking and installation often needs to be split across the right funders rather than forced through one.
When the customer is declined: saving the sale
This is where a dealer feels the loss most sharply. The survey is done, the specification is agreed, the customer is ready — and the captive or the bank declines. Materials handling customers hit this more often than most, because the sector is full of businesses that do not match a scorecard.
- Third-party logistics start-ups — a signed contract with a major client and no filed accounts to prove it.
- Seasonal operations — fulfilment, food and horticulture businesses whose turnover arrives in a few concentrated months, which automated affordability checks read as instability.
- Historic adverse credit — a CCJ or default long since settled but still visible to a scorecard.
- Used and refurbished equipment — a five-year-old refurbished reach truck with plenty of life left that a generalist funder simply will not value.
- Smaller ticket sizes — deals below the threshold a bank considers worth underwriting, but well within a specialist funder’s appetite.
- Sector appetite — a funder reducing exposure to warehousing or logistics as a category, regardless of the individual business.
Specialist asset finance lenders assess these deals differently. Many underwrite manually, take a view on the equipment’s resale market and consider context a scorecard cannot read. We search over 60 lenders and place the deal with one whose appetite fits it. Nothing is certain, and every case remains subject to status, affordability and lender approval — but if no funder will support it, we will tell you that plainly and quickly rather than let the customer drift.
One practical point: get the deal to us before the customer starts applying elsewhere. Each full application typically leaves a hard credit search, and several in a short period is itself read as a warning sign by the next funder.
What a dealer arrangement actually involves
We would rather explain this properly than promise commission for sending over names.
The simplest arrangement is a signpost: you pass the customer our details and they approach us themselves. A closer arrangement, where you introduce customers or discuss finance as part of the sale, brings regulatory obligations that have to be settled before anything goes live.
Ticket sizes in materials handling make this particularly relevant. Agreements with limited companies are generally outside the FCA consumer credit regime. Where the customer is a sole trader or a small partnership, an agreement can be regulated depending on the amount and purpose of the borrowing — broadly, business-purpose lending above £25,000 to an individual sits outside the regime, while smaller amounts may not. Since a single powered pallet truck or a used counterbalance can sit well under that figure, this comes up more often here than in heavier asset sectors. Introducing customers for regulated finance is a regulated activity, which normally means the dealer must be appointed as an Introducer Appointed Representative of a principal firm, or hold its own FCA permission.
We will talk you through what an arrangement would involve, including any FCA appointment required, how any commission would work and how it would need to be disclosed to the customer. If a simple signpost suits your business better than a formal appointment, we will say so.
What we offer either way: a named contact who picks up the phone, a straight answer early rather than weeks of silence, and a customer handled properly. CW Asset Finance is a member of the NACFB and an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701). We are a credit broker, not a lender.
Common questions
How does asset finance compare with contract hire for a forklift customer?
Contract hire gives a fixed monthly cost with maintenance bundled in and leaves residual risk with the provider, which suits fleet customers wanting predictable budgeting and a regular refresh. Hire purchase or a finance lease suits customers who want to own the truck outright, who run low utilisation and do not consume the maintenance built into a hire rate, or who run so hard that excess-hours charges become material. Neither is universally better. Being able to present both at the point of sale means fewer customers walk away because the only route offered did not fit them.
Can a service or maintenance contract be included in the finance?
Usually not within the equipment agreement. Asset finance is secured against an asset with resale value, and a maintenance contract is a supply of services with none. Most funders therefore fund the equipment and leave servicing to be contracted and invoiced separately by the dealer — which many customers prefer, since it keeps the service relationship with you rather than a funder. Some lenders will consider a limited soft-cost element inside a facility, but it varies considerably. Ask us before you quote a bundled monthly figure so the customer is not surprised later.
What can I do when a captive funder declines my customer?
Bring it to us before the customer applies anywhere else. A captive has its own credit box, and a decline there says nothing about the wider market. Many specialist asset finance lenders underwrite manually, weigh the resale value of the equipment and consider context an automated scorecard cannot read — a signed logistics contract, seasonal turnover, or a CCJ that was settled years ago. We search over 60 lenders to find one whose appetite fits. It is not certain, and everything remains subject to status, affordability and lender approval, but a decline is frequently placeable elsewhere.
Do you fund electric forklifts, batteries and charging equipment?
Yes. Batteries and chargers can normally be funded alongside the truck, and the shift from LPG and diesel to electric is a common reason customers need finance in the first place, since the upfront figure is higher even where whole-life cost is lower. Funders do take differing views on residual value while battery technology is changing, and a lithium-ion pack expected to outlast the agreement is treated differently from lead-acid due for replacement mid-term. Charging infrastructure and electrical installation work may need funding separately. Give us the specification early so we can place it accurately.
What would a dealer introducer arrangement involve?
It depends on how closely you want to be involved. Passing a customer our details is different from arranging finance as part of the sale. Agreements with limited companies are generally outside the FCA consumer credit regime, but sole traders and small partnerships can fall inside it depending on the amount and purpose — and materials handling ticket sizes often sit in that territory. Where introductions relate to regulated agreements, the dealer normally needs to be appointed as an Introducer Appointed Representative of a principal firm, or hold its own permission. We will talk you through what is required, including any FCA appointment, before anything begins.
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Tell us what you sell and the kind of deals you struggle to place. We will come back on whether we are a useful partner — and say so plainly if we are not.
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CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds an agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. Nothing on this page is a quote or an offer of finance, and no outcome on any application is implied or promised. Any introducer arrangement is subject to the appropriate regulatory permissions being in place, which we will discuss with you before it begins. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).