A mobile hot-wash unit and a fixed wash bay with water recycling are the same job done two ways — and two very different funding cases.
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Yes, with a clear distinction. A mobile industrial pressure washer, particularly a hot-wash unit, is a recoverable machine with a serial number and a used market, and it funds reasonably well as part of an order. A fixed wash bay installation — bunded slab, interceptor, water recycling plant and pipework — is largely building works that cannot be recovered, so funders treat that spend as unsecured. Used machines are fundable through dealers. The thing that catches buyers out is exactly that split, which rarely appears clearly on a supplier quotation.
Used kit: Yes, used industrial pressure washers fund through dealers, with hot-wash units holding value better than cold-water machines.
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Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
Pressure washing equipment divides neatly along the line that defines this whole sector. The machine is real: a hot-wash trailer or skid unit from a recognised manufacturer has buyers, a serial number and years of life, so funders will lend against it. The bay is not: a concrete slab, drainage channels, an interceptor and a recycling plant are permanently part of the site, and if the business occupies leased land the funder has no recoverable interest in any of it. Where an operator owns their yard, the works are still unrecoverable but the wider business usually has more substance behind it. Practical advice is the same each time — get the supplier to itemise machine and installation separately, because a blended quotation hides the very thing an underwriter needs to see.
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Karcher HDS 10/20-4 M | Hot water industrial pressure washer |
| Karcher HD 9/50-4 Cage | High pressure cold water washer |
| Karcher HDS static wash system | Fixed bay hot water wash system |
| Nilfisk MH 7P hot water washer | Industrial hot water pressure washer |
| Nilfisk MC 7P cold water washer | Heavy duty cold water pressure washer |
| Ehrle HDR hot water pressure washers | German built industrial washers |
| Morclean wash bay systems | Vehicle wash bay and recycling package |
| Morclean brake and parts washer | Workshop parts cleaning unit |
| Nilfisk SC Uno cold water washer | Stationary cold water washer |
| Karcher vehicle wash bay package | Wash bay with hose reels and booms |
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Typically a transport or plant hire operator putting in wash facilities because washing vehicles off-site is costing time and money, or a contractor buying a hot-wash unit for site work. Agricultural businesses, waste operators and vehicle dealerships all buy the same equipment. The trigger is often an environmental requirement about where and how wash water is discharged. Coach operators and farm contractors buying hot-wash units come through for much the same reasons.
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Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Some funders will include the installation on the agreement, but understand that the slab, interceptor and pipework are unrecoverable. If the works dominate the cost, expect more questions and fewer funders. Splitting the quotation between plant and civils lets an underwriter see exactly where the value sits.
Partly. Packaged recycling units with pumps, tanks and controls have some identity and value, particularly where they are skid-mounted rather than built in. Once plumbed into a drainage system and set below ground, they become part of the site and stop being a recoverable asset in any practical sense.
Generally yes. Hot-water machines cost more, do more and are in steady demand second-hand, so they hold value better than cold-water units. From a funder’s point of view that makes them a marginally stronger asset, though the decision still rests mainly on the business behind the application.
For a mobile machine, very little. For a fixed installation it matters a great deal, because you would be building permanent works on someone else’s land. Your lease may require consent, you may have reinstatement obligations, and the funder gains no security from the works at all.
Yes. How wash water is collected, treated and discharged is a matter for you, your installer and the relevant authority, and requirements differ by location and by what you are washing off. Funders do not regulate it, but they do expect the installation you are financing to be lawful and usable.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
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A decline from one lender reflects that lender’s appetite, not the whole market’s.