Building management system finance
Funding for BMS installations and controls upgrades, covering the head end, controllers, valves, sensors and the commissioning that makes them work together.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a building management system?
Yes, though a building management system is one of the most building-bound assets there is. The controllers, actuators, valves and sensors are distributed through plant rooms, risers and ceilings, wired into equipment that is itself part of the property. Nothing is realistically recoverable. A large share of the cost is engineering and commissioning labour rather than hardware. Funders therefore assess the trading business and, where the applicant is a tenant, the lease position. Landlords upgrading their own buildings are the most comfortable applicants.
Used kit: No. Controls hardware is configured to a specific building and second-hand BMS equipment is not a fundable proposition.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
What would a building management system 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
A BMS is the purest fixture in this sector. Field devices sit inside plant that belongs to the building, wiring runs through the structure, and the commissioning effort — often the biggest line on the quote — produces no asset at all. No funder is going to recover anything meaningful, so the case is decided almost entirely on the covenant of the business and on property interest. Building owners and landlords are well placed, because they are improving an asset they hold and the funder can see the logic. Tenants need a long unexpired term and landlord consent, since the works touch landlord plant. Where the upgrade targets an evidenced reduction in metered energy spend, some funders will consider that in affordability alongside the accounts.
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 |
|---|---|
| Trend Controls IQ4 controllers | Field controllers and outstations |
| Trend Controls 963 supervisor | BMS head end and supervisor software |
| Schneider EcoStruxure Building Operation | Open protocol BMS supervisor |
| Siemens Desigo CC | Integrated building management platform |
| Tridium Niagara 4 framework | Open protocol integration platform |
| Distech Controls ECLYPSE controllers | IP connected building controllers |
| Johnson Controls Metasys | Commercial building management system |
| Priva Blue ID controllers | Plant and climate control outstations |
| Belimo valves and actuators | Control valves and damper actuators |
| Sontay sensors and field devices | Temperature, pressure and air quality sensors |
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
Who buys one
Managing agents and landlords refurbishing office buildings, NHS trusts and universities with ageing controls, hotel groups standardising across a portfolio, and manufacturers coordinating heating, ventilation and process cooling. The trigger is usually an obsolete head end that nobody can get parts for, a controls system that has drifted so far from the original design that it fights itself, or a refurbishment with a controls upgrade written into the specification.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
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.
Building management system finance questions
Can the commissioning labour be included in the finance?
Usually yes, where it is on the contractor’s invoice as part of the installed system, because a BMS that has not been commissioned does nothing. Some funders cap how much pure labour they will fund, so an itemised quote separating hardware from engineering helps us place the case.
Is a BMS upgrade easier to fund for a landlord?
Considerably. A landlord is improving a building they own, so the funder is not worrying about tenure or waivers. Tenant applications are harder, because the works are embedded in landlord plant and the tenant may not be there long enough to justify the investment. Where a tenant does proceed, expect the landlord to be involved throughout.
What if we are only replacing the head end?
That is a common project and is treated the same way. Replacing an obsolete supervisor while keeping the field devices reduces the cost and the disruption, but it is still a fixture-heavy job. The application will rest on the business rather than on what the software is worth.
Do funders accept projected energy savings?
Some will weigh an evidenced reduction in metered spend as part of affordability, particularly where a consultant has produced the figures from actual consumption data. Nobody treats a projection as a guarantee, and the trading history of the business still does most of the work.
Can the works be phased across a portfolio?
Yes. Controls upgrades across an estate are often run building by building, with a separate agreement as each one completes. That lets the funder see the early phases working before committing further, and it matches payments to the contractor’s programme. Set the whole programme out at the start so nothing looks unplanned later.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
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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 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.