Golf course irrigation finance
A full irrigation installation is a project rather than a machine, and it is funded differently from anything else on a golf course.
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Can you finance a golf course irrigation?
Yes, but it is funded as a project, not as a machine. Most of an irrigation scheme — mainline pipework, wiring, trenching and labour — becomes part of the land once installed and cannot be repossessed, so funders treat it as an unsecured or partly secured facility supported by the club’s covenant rather than by the kit. Sprinklers, satellites and control systems have some identity of their own. Used irrigation is not really a concept here. The thing that catches clubs out is staged payments: installers want money as work progresses, and the finance has to be structured to release funds in stages.
Used kit: No — irrigation is installed rather than traded, so there is no meaningful second-hand market and funders assess the club, not the components.
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What would a golf course irrigation cost per month?
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).
How lenders treat it
This is the hardest thing on a golf course to fund and the most misunderstood. Once pipe is in the ground it belongs to the land, so the usual asset finance logic does not apply and funders are lending against the club itself. That makes the accounts, the membership base, the reserves and the length of trading history do all the work. Clubs that own their freehold are in a stronger position than those on a short lease, and a long unexpired lease term matters enormously because nobody wants to fund a thirty-year installation on a ten-year tenure. Staged drawdowns need agreeing before contracts are signed with the installer. A members’ club with decades of history and a stable roll is a good proposition; a proprietary venue with a short lease and thin accounts will struggle. Declines come from tenure, not from the pipework.
Makes and models we fund
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 |
|---|---|
| Hunter G885 | Gear driven rotor for fairway irrigation |
| Hunter I-90 | Long throw rotor for large turf areas |
| Hunter Pilot Command Centre | Central control for course irrigation |
| Rain Bird 751 rotor | Valve-in-head rotor for greens and fairways |
| Rain Bird IC System | Two-wire integrated control system |
| Rain Bird Cirrus | Central control software for golf courses |
| Toro Infinity sprinkler | Serviceable rotor with top access |
| Toro Lynx Central Control | Course-wide irrigation control platform |
| Toro DT35 rotors | Rotors for tees and approach irrigation |
| Toro satellite controllers | Field controllers for zone scheduling |
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Who buys one
Clubs whose original system is thirty or forty years old, leaking, and failing during the exact fortnight it is needed. The decision is rarely spontaneous — it follows a consultant’s report, a members’ vote and often a hosepipe summer that made the weakness undeniable. New-build courses and major redevelopment projects install from scratch as part of the wider scheme. By the time the club applies, a design and a contractor have normally already been chosen.
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We publish the deals we arrange, with no client named and no rate quoted. See what we have funded in golf, turf and groundcare.
How it is treated for tax
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.
Golf course irrigation finance questions
Why is irrigation harder to finance than a mower?
Because a mower can be driven away and sold, and a buried mainline cannot. The funder has no realisable asset, so it is lending against your club rather than against the installation. That shifts everything onto your accounts, your membership and your tenure of the land.
We lease the course from the council. Does that stop us?
Not automatically, but the unexpired lease term is critical. Funders are reluctant to see an installation outlive the tenure of the ground it sits in. If the lease is short, talk to the landlord about an extension before you approach funders — it changes the conversation completely.
Can the project be funded in stages as work progresses?
Yes, and it usually has to be. Installers work to a programme with payments at agreed points, and the facility can be drawn down to match. This must be agreed with the funder before you sign the installation contract, not negotiated halfway through the dig.
Can we fund only part of the system, say greens first?
Yes, and many clubs do exactly that. Phasing greens, then tees, then fairways across several years spreads both the disruption and the cost. Each phase can be a separate facility, though we will look at the cumulative commitment across all of them. Phasing also lets you learn from the first stage before committing to the next.
Does the pump station go in the same facility?
It can, and it often makes sense because a pump station has more identifiable equipment value than buried pipework. Some funders prefer to see the mechanical plant separated out from the civils. We will structure it whichever way gets the best outcome. Ask your consultant to price the plant apart from the pipework.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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