A fridge truck is three assets at once — chassis, insulated body and refrigeration unit — and funders look hard at the middle two.
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Yes. A refrigerated truck funds as a commercial vehicle, but unlike a curtainsider the body and the fridge unit carry real weight in the assessment. Used fridge trucks fund, though the age band is tighter than for dry freight. The detail that catches buyers is the refrigeration unit: it has its own running hours, its own service history and its own life, and a Thermo King or Carrier unit with a documented service record will fund far more easily than the same truck with an unrecorded or unbranded unit. Ask for the fridge hours before you buy.
Used kit: Yes — used refrigerated trucks fund, though typically to a younger age than dry freight, with fridge unit hours often deciding the answer.
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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).
Specialist funders treat refrigerated vehicles as a category of their own. Resale is decent but narrower than dry freight — the buyer has to want a fridge truck — so funders check that the insulation is sound and the unit is a recognised brand with UK parts and service coverage. Running hours on the fridge matter as much as chassis mileage, and an old unit on a young chassis is a common trap. Food-sector operators are generally viewed as stable because the income is repeat and non-discretionary, which helps. Funders will ask about temperature monitoring and whether the work is chilled or frozen, since frozen is harder on equipment. Bodies with failed insulation, water ingress or a scrapped unit are declined regardless of chassis condition.
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 |
|---|---|
| DAF LF 230 fridge | Twelve tonne chilled rigid for food delivery |
| Mercedes-Benz Atego 1323 fridge | Refrigerated rigid with side door |
| Isuzu Forward N75 fridge | Small fridge truck for city rounds |
| Volvo FL 280 refrigerated | Chilled rigid with tail lift |
| Scania P280 fridge | Eighteen tonne chilled rigid for multi-drop |
| Iveco Eurocargo 180E fridge | Value chilled rigid for wholesalers |
| Thermo King T-Series | Truck fridge unit for chilled loads |
| Carrier Supra | Refrigeration unit for rigid bodies |
| Gray & Adams rigid fridge body | British-built insulated truck body |
| Solomon insulated body | Multi-temperature body with partitions |
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Food wholesalers, butchers and fish merchants, catering distributors, pharmaceutical and floristry couriers, and hauliers taking on chilled or frozen contracts. The trigger is usually a customer requiring temperature-controlled delivery with data logging, which a non-refrigerated vehicle cannot satisfy at any price. Many are independents supplying restaurants and farm shops where the customer expects chilled produce first thing in the morning. Others are butchers and bakers who have grown beyond one van and now need two temperature zones on a single round.
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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.
Usually it is part of the same facility when the vehicle is bought complete. Where a unit is retrofitted to an existing body, it can be funded as its own asset. Either way funders assess it separately in underwriting terms — they want the make, the running hours and the service record, because the unit has its own life independent of the chassis.
There is no single cutoff, but running hours are to a fridge what mileage is to an engine, and funders read them the same way. A high-hour unit on a low-mileage chassis is a common and expensive trap. Ask for the hours and the last major service before committing, not after the deal is agreed.
Yes. Frozen work needs a more capable unit and better insulation, so the vehicle costs more and funders assess the equipment more closely because deep freeze is harder on it. Multi-temperature bodies with movable bulkheads also fund. Be clear about the temperature range you need when specifying, because it drives the whole build.
On a used purchase, generally yes. The refrigeration is the point of the vehicle and a scrapped unit means the body is a heavy insulated box with no function. Funders will not lend full value against that. If the unit needs replacing, price the replacement into the purchase and structure the facility around the working vehicle.
Most food and pharmaceutical customers require data logging, and it is expected practice under food safety rules for chilled distribution. It is a customer requirement rather than a finance one, but funders do ask about it, because a vehicle that cannot satisfy the customer’s audit cannot hold the contract that repays the agreement.
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