Funding for automated milking units, from a single box on a family herd to a multi-robot installation, including the feed and management systems around them.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Yes, and robots are among the better-supported large dairy investments because the repayment comes from an income that arrives every month and can be proved from statements. Units are funded on hire purchase over a period reflecting their working life. A robot is bolted into a building and plumbed into the bulk tank and the slurry system, so on tenanted or mortgaged land written acknowledgement from the landlord or bank is required. The scope is what catches farms out: the boxes are only part of it, and cubicle alterations, feed systems, gating and slurry handling all need costing into the same decision.
Used kit: Yes, but used units are valued on software generation and remaining manufacturer support
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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).
Robots are high value, highly specialised and part-installed, so the resale pool is as narrow as it gets in agriculture. A recovered unit is worth something only to another dairy prepared to install it, and the software generation matters as much as the metal, so funders lend against the dairy business rather than against the machine. In practice that is workable, because milk income is monthly, contracted and evidenced. Underwriters look at cow numbers per unit, current and projected yield, the milk buyer and the labour position. Manufacturer service cover is effectively compulsory, since an unsupported robot stops the farm. Payments to the installer are staged and the agreement normally starts once the herd is milking through the units.
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 |
|---|---|
| Lely Astronaut A5 | Single box robotic milking unit |
| Lely Juno | Automatic feed pushing robot |
| Lely Vector | Automatic feeding system with mixing kitchen |
| DeLaval VMS V300 | Voluntary milking system with teat spray |
| DeLaval VMS V310 | Milking robot with in-line analysis |
| GEA DairyRobot R9500 | Box robot with in-liner everything process |
| GEA DairyProQ | Automated rotary milking platform |
| Fullwood Merlin2 | Robotic milking box for family herds |
| BouMatic Gemini | Twin box robotic milking unit |
| Lely Horizon herd software | Herd management and robot reporting |
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Family dairy farms where labour is the binding constraint and the next generation will not commit to twice-daily milking, herds expanding beyond what an ageing plant can handle, and farms replacing equipment that had reached the end of its life anyway. The decision is usually forced by staffing rather than yield: the inability to recruit a reliable relief milker is what moves most farms to automation.
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We publish the deals we arrange, with no client named and no rate quoted. See what we have funded in agriculture.
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.
They will want your figure and a sensible basis for it. Cow numbers per unit drive the whole business case, because underloading a robot wastes capacity and overloading it costs yield. An underwriter is testing whether the herd size genuinely justifies the number of units being bought.
The equipment can be funded; building alterations cannot, because construction becomes part of the property. Robot projects almost always involve some reworking of cow flow, so budget that separately and borrow it against the farm if needed. Pretending the alterations are not required is the common mistake.
In practical terms yes, and funders assume it is in place. A robot that stops leaves cows unmilked, which is a welfare problem within hours, so support cover is not comparable with a service plan on an implement. Build the cost into the affordability figures from the start.
They exist and can be funded, but proceed carefully. What matters is the software generation, parts availability and whether the manufacturer will still support that unit. A funder will lend more conservatively against a used robot for precisely those reasons, so expect to contribute more of the cost yourself.
Payments are released to the installer in stages and the agreement typically begins once the herd is milking through the units. Training cows onto robots is the hardest few weeks of the project, and not having repayments running during it is a genuine help rather than a technicality.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
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.
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