Site office finance
Every compound needs somewhere to hold a progress meeting, and buying that office usually costs less over a long contract than hiring it.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a site office?
Yes, a site office can be financed. Funders see it as a relocatable steel-clad unit with an identifiable serial number, not as a building, so it fits hire purchase or a finance lease in the same way a machine would. They will ask what specification you are buying — open-plan, partitioned, anti-vandal shuttered — and roughly how long it will stand on any one site. Offices bought to serve a run of projects are easier to place than one bought for a single scheme on land you do not control.
Used kit: Yes — second-hand offices are widely funded, with most funders comfortable into the twelve to fifteen year range where the shell and roof are watertight.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
What would a site office cost per month?
Asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what the buttons show, with the equivalent APR beside it. Your exact rate depends on the asset, the term, the deposit and the lender.
Prime is an established, profitable business with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining — the asset itself carries part of the risk, which is why finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £628 a month; total amount repayable approximately £30,150, of which £5,150 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 will receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Rates shown are indicative flat rates with the equivalent APR alongside — the two are not the same number. Indicative only and does not constitute a quote or an offer of finance. Subject to status and lender approval.
How lenders treat it
Site offices sit comfortably with funders because the exit is obvious: a hiab arrives, the unit leaves, and there is a buyer within a county. That is a different proposition to lending against a fitted-out building. Where funders sharpen up is on long-duration single-site deals. An office that has stood on the same development for three years, skirted, decked and wired into a temporary builder’s supply, has started to look like part of the site rather than a chattel. Funders manage that with a clear hire purchase title, serial-plate marking and, where the land belongs to a client or a landlord, a short waiver confirming the unit stays removable goods and is not absorbed into the property.
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 |
|---|---|
| Portakabin Titan | Wide span open plan site office |
| Portakabin Ultima | Multi storey modular office building |
| Portakabin Duplex | Two storey modular office solution |
| Wernick Office Unit | Thirty two foot site office cabin |
| Wernick Modular Office Building | Linked modular office accommodation |
| Elliott Anti Vandal Office | Secure steel clad site office |
| Elliott Modular Office Complex | Multi bay site office building |
| Thurston Twin Unit Office | Twin bay open plan site office |
| Algeco Modular Office | Modular office unit for site use |
| Mobile Mini Office Cabin | Portable office cabin for compounds |
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
Who buys one
Main contractors and developers running compounds for two years or more, and growing groundworks firms that have outgrown a van tailgate for paperwork. The decision usually comes at the point a contract is awarded with a long programme attached, when the finance team compares the cumulative weekly hire charge against outright ownership and finds the hire bill wins by a distance.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
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.
Site office finance questions
Is buying a site office better than hiring it?
Over a short project hire almost always wins, because you pay only for the weeks you need and someone else handles the delivery and servicing. Over a long programme, or across several concurrent sites, ownership starts to look far better because the weekly charge never stops while a finance agreement eventually ends.
Can the office fit-out be included in the finance?
Usually yes, where the fit-out is part of the unit as supplied — partitions, heating, lighting, kitchenette and shuttering all form part of the goods on the invoice. Loose furniture and IT equipment are generally treated separately, although some funders will roll a modest amount of ancillary kit into the same agreement.
Does the funder need permission from the landowner?
On your own yard, no. On a client’s development or a leased compound, many funders ask for a brief letter from the landowner confirming they will not claim the unit as part of the land. It is a routine document and most main contractors and landlords sign one without difficulty.
What size of site office do funders prefer?
There is no preference as such, but the mainstream 20ft, 24ft and 32ft jackleg sizes have the deepest resale market, which makes them the easiest to fund. Very large linked suites or bespoke fit-outs are still fundable, they simply attract more questions about who would buy the unit second-hand.
Can I add a second office to an existing agreement?
Most funders will extend an existing facility rather than make you apply from scratch, provided the account has run cleanly. A new schedule is issued for the additional unit with its own serial number. This is common for contractors who win a second site partway through a programme.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
Also in modular building and site accommodation finance
- Portable cabin finance
- Anti-vandal unit finance
- Portable classroom finance
- Canteen unit finance
- Drying room finance
- Portable toilet block finance
- Storage container finance
- Modular healthcare unit finance
See everything we fund in modular building and site accommodation finance →
Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Get your quote
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 0333 772 4864 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.