Beet harvester finance
Funding for self-propelled six-row beet harvesters and trailed lifters, the machines that carry a whole campaign from September through to February.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a beet harvester?
Yes, though this is one of the most heavily underwritten assets in UK agriculture. A self-propelled beet harvester is a very large purchase serving a crop grown under contract in a defined area, and almost all of them are bought by campaign contractors rather than individual growers. Funders lend against the delivery contracts and the lifting book, not the machine alone. Used machines are traded actively across Europe, which helps. The detail that surprises first-time buyers is how quickly hours accumulate: a harvester can put on a full season of work in a single campaign.
Used kit: Yes, with a genuine European trade in machines several campaigns old
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
What would a beet harvester 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
This is a genuinely mobile hard asset, but a single-purpose one, so funders look first at the campaign contracts underpinning it. A contractor with a settled run of growers and a long relationship with the processing side is a good risk; a speculative purchase is not. The secondhand market is real but European rather than local, which works in your favour on resale value and against you on speed of sale. Underwriters examine engine and lifting hours together, the state of the turbine or share cleaning system and the bunker. Repayments across a campaign, weighted to the months when lifting is invoiced and settled, are the normal structure and specialist funders build them without argument.
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 |
|---|---|
| Grimme Rootster 604 | Trailed six-row beet harvester |
| Grimme Rexor 620 | Self-propelled beet harvester with bunker |
| Grimme Maxtron 620 | Six-row self-propelled harvester |
| Ropa Tiger 6S | Self-propelled six-row beet harvester |
| Ropa euro-Tiger V8-4 | High-capacity self-propelled beet harvester |
| Vervaet Q-616 | Self-propelled harvester on three axles |
| Vervaet Beet Eater 625 | Six-row harvester with large tank |
| Holmer Terra Dos T4-40 | Self-propelled beet harvester for contractors |
| Holmer Terra Felis | Self-propelled beet cleaner loader |
| Ropa Maus | Self-propelled clamp cleaner loader |
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
Who buys one
Beet harvesting contractors covering a run of growers through the campaign, large growers with sufficient tonnage to justify their own machine, and businesses lifting for anaerobic digestion and stockfeed alongside processing beet. The purchase is usually driven by a machine reaching the end of its reliable life, a contractor gaining a block of new customers, or a move from trailed lifting to a self-propelled outfit to compress the campaign.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
We publish the deals we arrange, with no client named and no rate quoted. See what we have funded in agriculture.
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.
Beet harvester finance questions
Do I need beet contracts in place before applying?
It helps enormously. Because the crop is grown under contract, an underwriter can see exactly what tonnage the machine is committed to lift. Contractors should bring the list of growers and the acreage agreed for the coming campaign. Without that evidence, the application rests entirely on historic accounts.
How are repayments structured around the campaign?
Typically weighted so the bulk falls during and just after lifting, when contractors are invoicing and growers are being paid on delivery. Spreading an even amount across the whole year rarely reflects how money actually moves in a beet business, and specialist funders understand that.
Are used beet harvesters difficult to value?
Not difficult, but they are valued against a European market rather than a local one, because that is where the buyers are. A funder will look at both engine and lifting hours, the condition of the cleaning turbines or shares, and whether the machine has been dealer-maintained through each campaign.
Can a grower justify owning one rather than using a contractor?
Only at substantial tonnage, and funders will say so. Most growers are better served by a contractor. Where a grower does buy, underwriters want to see the acreage behind the decision and often some contract lifting income to help carry a machine that would otherwise work a handful of weeks.
What happens if the campaign is cut short by weather?
It is a real risk and worth discussing before the agreement is written rather than after. A profile with some flexibility, and a realistic view of what a poor campaign does to income, is better than one built on an optimistic tonnage. Raise it with us when the structure is being set.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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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.
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