Sliding head machines earn their money overnight on bar work, and a funder reads the bar feeder and the order book as part of the same asset.
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Yes. A sliding head lathe is funded as a hard asset, usually on hire purchase, and the strong second-hand market for Citizen and Star machines means used examples are well supported by funders. The catch is what sits around it. A sliding head is close to useless without a bar feeder, and the tooling package for small precision work is substantial. Some funders will fund the feeder on the same agreement when it is on the same invoice; others treat it separately. Oil mist extraction and a chiller often need budgeting outside the advance as well.
Used kit: Yes — used sliding head lathes fund readily and are actively traded, with machines up to around fifteen years old placed regularly where the control is supported.
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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 treat sliding heads as premium security within turning. The machines hold value, the main brands have a properly international resale market, and specialist dealers trade them constantly. Control support is the deciding factor on older machines, as ever, and a machine on a supported Fanuc or Mitsubishi control is far more attractive than its build year would suggest. Guide bushes, collets, cartridges and tooling are soft and discounted, as is any programming software. The commercial point an underwriter will press is customer concentration: sliding head shops often run one part family for one customer for years, and funders want to understand what else the machine could produce. Declines usually come from newly formed companies buying a full cell without the trading history to support it.
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 |
|---|---|
| Citizen Cincom L20 | Sliding head lathe for small turned parts |
| Citizen Cincom L12 | Smaller sliding head for fine components |
| Citizen Cincom M32 | Larger capacity sliding head for bar work |
| Star SR-20J | Sliding head machine for precision bar turning |
| Star SV-20R | Sliding head with guide bush free option |
| Star SR-32J | Bigger sliding head for heavier bar stock |
| Tsugami B0205 | Compact sliding head for micro components |
| Tsugami S205 | Sliding head lathe for medical and electronic parts |
| Hanwha XD20H | Value sliding head machine for small turning |
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Almost always a precision turned parts business supplying medical, electronics, connectors, fasteners or automotive, working in small diameters and high quantities. The trigger is a repeat schedule that cannot be produced economically on a fixed head lathe, or a customer moving from prototype to production quantities. Frequently bought by family firms in the Midlands and the North West who already run several sliding heads and are adding capacity to a proven cell.
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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.
Frequently yes, particularly when the machine builder or dealer supplies both on one invoice with serial numbers for each. Funders accept that a sliding head without a feeder is not a working machine. Where the feeder is bought separately from another supplier, it may need its own facility, which is straightforward but worth knowing in advance.
Usually treated as soft cost and capped. Collets, guide bushes, cartridges and holders wear out and are hard for a funder to recover value from, so they do not sit comfortably in a hard-asset advance. Some funders allow a proportion within the overall deal. If your tooling spend is heavy, we will look at a separate facility for it.
Not normally in the machine advance. Extraction units mounted to the machine can sometimes be added if they appear on the same invoice, but ducting and installation labour are site works and generally excluded. Since neat cutting oil machines effectively require extraction to run legally and safely, budget for it as part of the project cost.
They view them well. Specialist sliding head dealers refurbish, warrant and resell these machines continuously, so a funder can see an active market and a credible route to recovery. A dealer invoice with a warranty is considerably easier to fund than a private sale of the same machine in unknown condition.
Yes, though a funder will look at the combined exposure rather than each machine on its own. Two sliding heads for a shop with the volume to feed both is a reasonable ask. Where the total is large relative to your turnover, we may split the machines across two funders, which often produces a better overall answer than pushing one funder too far.
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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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