Potato harvester finance
Funding for two-row trailed and self-propelled potato harvesters, the single largest machine on most ware and seed potato businesses.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a potato harvester?
Yes, and it is one of the clearest cases in agriculture for repayments weighted to the season. A potato harvester earns across a lifting window of a few autumn weeks and then stands, so specialist agricultural funders will build a profile that takes the weight after the crop is lifted and sold rather than charging the same amount every month of a wet January. Used harvesters are funded regularly. What growers underestimate is the underwriting: the buyer pool for a lifter is small and regional, so a funder studies the potato business itself far more closely than it would a tractor purchase.
Used kit: Yes, and machines several seasons old are traded actively within the potato trade
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
What would a potato 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 may 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
Lifters are capital-intensive and highly seasonal, which is the combination funders are most careful about. Resale is thinner than for mainstream machinery because only potato growers and lifting contractors buy them, and a recovered machine can sit until the following autumn before it sells. Underwriters therefore look through the asset to the business: contracted acreage, who the crop is sold to, whether there are packer or processor agreements behind it, and whether the grower has storage. A grower with a multi-year supply agreement is a much easier proposition than one selling on the free market. Web and roller wear, separation unit condition and picking table hours are the mechanical questions. Seasonally weighted profiles are normal and worth insisting on.
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 SE 150-60 | Single row trailed offset harvester |
| Grimme SE 260 | Two-row trailed offset harvester |
| Grimme Evo 290 | Two-row harvester with separation web |
| Grimme Varitron 470 | Self-propelled bunker harvester |
| Dewulf R3060 | Two-row trailed harvester with bunker |
| Dewulf RA3060 | Self-propelled two-row potato harvester |
| Standen T2 | Two-row trailed harvester built in the UK |
| AVR Spirit 6200 | Self-propelled two-row harvester |
| Oxbo 8140 | Self-propelled four-row potato harvester |
| Ropa Keiler 2 | Self-propelled two-row bunker harvester |
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
Who buys one
Ware and seed growers lifting their own acreage in the Vale of York, Lincolnshire and the fen ground, and lifting contractors covering several farms through October and November. The trigger is normally a harvester that broke down in wet conditions and left crop in the ground, an increase in contracted acreage with a packer, or a move to bigger boxes and a machine that will not fill them fast enough.
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.
Potato harvester finance questions
Can the repayments be concentrated into the lifting season?
Usually yes with a funder that understands root crops. Because a lifter earns in a short autumn window and stands the rest of the year, profiles can be built so the heavy repayments fall once the crop is sold or the packer has paid. It is a strong reason to avoid a generic finance quote on this asset.
Do lenders want to see my potato contracts?
Frequently, yes. A supply agreement with a packer or processor shows there is a buyer for the crop the machine lifts, which is the difference between an easy approval and a difficult one. Free-market growers are still funded, but expect more questions about storage and marketing.
Is a self-propelled harvester harder to fund than a trailed one?
It is a larger commitment, so the business is examined more closely, but the asset itself is well regarded and good self-propelled machines sell readily within the trade. Funders will want to understand the acreage behind it and whether contract lifting work supports the capacity you are buying.
What condition points matter on a used lifter?
Web and roller condition, the state of the separation unit and haulm intake, bunker chain wear and how many hours are on the picking table. Machines that have worked stony or heavy land wear faster. A machine stored inside and washed down at the end of each campaign is worth appreciably more.
Can a lifting contractor fund a harvester without owning land?
Yes. Contractors are underwritten on their book of work rather than their acreage, so what matters is the spread of growers you lift for, the length of those arrangements and how promptly they pay. Several growers across different soil types is a stronger position than one large farm.
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.
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.
Specialist agricultural funding
Machinery, livestock and land — each with its own page, because each is assessed differently.