Edge protection finance
Edge protection is bought in quantity, travels between sites constantly and never appears on anyone’s list of glamorous purchases.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance edge protection?
Yes, edge protection systems can be financed, usually as a bulk component purchase rather than as individual items. A package is hundreds of posts, mesh panels, guardrails, clamps and counterweights, none of which is separately serial-numbered. Funders take the same approach they use for scaffold generally: assess the quantity, the manufacturer and the business, with the stock as supporting security. Branded systems are easier to place than generic steelwork. Expect questions about whether the equipment is for your own contracts or destined for a hire fleet, since the two are underwritten differently.
Used kit: Yes — used edge protection is traded regularly and funders will support it, provided mesh panels are undistorted and clamps and posts are complete sets rather than remnants.
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What would edge protection 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
Edge protection presents the classic scaffolding problem in a slightly milder form. Value is spread across a very large number of low-value parts, so no single item matters and nothing can be individually traced, and underwriting therefore runs on volume and on the covenant of the buyer. What improves the picture against loose tube is branding: a Combisafe or similar package is recognisable, system-specific and sells to other contractors as a set. The concern funders raise most is component loss. Clamps and posts vanish between floors, mesh panels get bent and binned, and a set that started complete comes back short, which erodes the value of a schedule steadily over a term. Funders lending here want to hear about stock control and expect a realistic attrition allowance.
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 |
|---|---|
| Combisafe Steel Mesh Barrier | Temporary edge protection mesh panels |
| Combisafe Roof Edge System | Counterweighted roof edge guardrail |
| Combisafe Safety Net Fan | Debris and fall arrest net fan |
| Altrad Edge Protection | Guardrail posts and mesh for slabs |
| PERI Prokit | Modular temporary edge protection system |
| PERI Protection Screen | Climbing screen for tall structures |
| HAKI Guardrail Components | Guardrails and toeboards for system scaffold |
| Kee Safety KeeGuard | Free standing counterweighted roof guardrail |
| Layher Guardrail Posts | Guardrail posts for slab edge protection |
| Generation Counterweighted Barrier Base | Ballasted base for temporary guardrails |
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Who buys one
Concrete frame contractors, steel erectors, housebuilders’ own plant divisions and edge protection hire specialists. The purchase is usually driven by a framework win with a national housebuilder or a multi-storey frame package, where the same barriers will be redeployed floor by floor for months and hiring the whole set for the duration makes no financial sense.
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.
Edge protection finance questions
Is edge protection funded as scaffolding or as equipment?
Funders generally place it with scaffolding, because the security profile is the same — many low-value untraceable components rather than one machine. The practical consequence is that your trading strength carries the decision, and you should expect a stock list rather than a serial-numbered schedule.
Do branded systems make a difference?
Yes. A recognised system sells on to other contractors as a working set at a price a funder can check, whereas anonymous fabricated barriers have little market. If fundability matters to you, buying a known system rather than the cheapest available steelwork is worth the difference.
How do funders handle losses over the term?
They expect some. What they want to avoid is a schedule that bears no relation to what is left in the yard by year three. Contractors who count sets in and out, record losses and replace components rather than letting sets degrade get a far better reception on any subsequent application.
Can housebuilders fund their own edge protection fleet?
Yes, and several do rather than hiring across every site. The volumes involved are substantial, which suits a facility with staged schedules as the fleet builds. The assessment looks at the pipeline of sites the equipment will serve as much as at the balance sheet.
Is counterweighted roof edge protection treated differently?
Slightly, because the counterweights are heavy, simple and hold scrap value at worst, which marginally improves the recovery position. Otherwise it is assessed the same way — on quantity, brand and the business. Free-standing systems also avoid any argument about fixing to a customer’s structure.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
Also in scaffolding finance
- System scaffolding finance
- Tube and fitting scaffold finance
- Scaffold tower finance
- Scaffold boards finance
- Temporary roof system finance
- Scaffold hoist finance
- Scaffold transport lorry finance
- Shoring equipment finance
See everything we fund in scaffolding finance →
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.
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