Automation deals are funded on the hardware, and the integration engineering that makes the cell work is the part a funder cannot take back.
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Yes, with an important qualifier. The robot or cobot, the safety guarding and the part handling equipment are identifiable assets a funder can advance against. The integration — programming, interfacing to the machine control, risk assessment, commissioning and bespoke grippers — is engineering labour with no recovery value, and that can be a large share of the quote. Used cells are fundable but bespoke ones are valued cautiously, because a cell built around your parts suits nobody else. Ask the integrator to separate hardware from labour before you commit.
Used kit: Yes — used robots and cobots from mainstream makers fund reasonably, though bespoke cells are valued on the robot rather than the system.
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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).
Funders are increasingly willing to look at automation but they underwrite it carefully. A standard robot or cobot from a major manufacturer has a genuine second-hand market and is good security; the fencing, conveyors and part feeders have modest value; the integration hours have none. Expect a funder to advance against the hardware and to exclude or cap the engineering, which surprises buyers whose quote is half labour. Bespoke tooling and grippers are treated as soft for the same reason. Where the cell is supplied by the machine builder alongside a new machine, the whole thing is usually easier to fund because it sits inside a machine tool deal. Underwriters also want to see the job the cell will run; automation bought speculatively, with no part identified, is the common decline.
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 |
|---|---|
| Fanuc M-20iD | Industrial robot for machine tool loading |
| Fanuc CRX-10iA | Collaborative robot for small batch tending |
| Universal Robots UR10e | Cobot for loading lathes and mills |
| Universal Robots UR5e | Compact cobot for light part handling |
| Kuka KR Cybertech | Robot for handling and machine tending |
| Kuka KR Agilus | Small fast robot for compact cells |
| ABB IRB 1300 | Robot for quick pick and place duties |
| ABB IRB 2600 | Mid payload robot for loading heavier parts |
| Halter LoadAssistant | Ready built loading cell for lathes and mills |
| Fastems pallet systems | Pallet automation for unattended machining |
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Machine shops that cannot recruit operators and need proven jobs running unattended, particularly on repeat batches of a single family of parts. Also firms wanting a second shift without second-shift labour. The trigger is almost always a recruitment problem combined with a job stable enough to automate, rather than a general ambition to automate the factory. Shops that have already tried agency labour and given up are the ones who make the call.
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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.
Because they can only recover assets, and engineering hours cannot be repossessed. If a cell ever had to be recovered, the funder would be selling a robot and some fencing, not the weeks of programming that made it work. That is why the split between hardware and labour on the quote matters so much.
Considerably. Off-the-shelf loading systems have a known price, a known market and can be moved to another machine, so a funder can value them like any other product. A one-off cell engineered around your fixtures is worth the robot plus scrap to the next buyer, and the advance reflects that.
Yes, and that is usually the best route. Where the machine builder or dealer supplies both on one invoice, the cell becomes part of a machine tool proposal and is far easier to place. It also means one agreement rather than two and one conversation about the whole project.
The better-known asset funders do, and appetite has improved as collaborative robots have become mainstream. The assessment is the same as for any robot: brand, resale market, how bespoke the installation is, and how much of the price is labour. A cobot from a major manufacturer is a recognisable asset.
That is common on automation projects and funders deal with it, though not all will pay in stages. Some will fund on completion and commissioning only, which means you carry the interim payments. Raise the payment schedule at the start, because it determines which funders can actually work with the project.
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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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