Wood chippers, stump grinders, sawmills, fencing machinery and forestry kit — funded by a broker who has done it.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Arb finance is a niche most lenders do not really understand. A wood chipper is not a piece of plant, a sawmill is not agricultural machinery, and a tree surgery business does not earn evenly across the year. We arrange wood chipper finance, stump grinder finance, sawmill finance and forestry equipment finance for arborists, fencing contractors and timber businesses across Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire — placing each asset with a lender that has genuine appetite for it.
Every asset has its own page: how lenders treat it, what buyers specify, the questions people ask, and what we have actually funded.
| Asset | What it covers | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Wood chipper | Road-tow, tracked and crane-fed chippers, funded on hire purchase, including machines bought privately rather than from… | Read the guide |
| Sawmill | Portable band sawmills and timber processing plant, usually the point at which a fencing or arb… | Read the guide |
| Stump grinder | Fund a stump grinder on its own or alongside a chipper, whether you are buying new… | Read the guide |
| Timber harvester | Hire purchase and lease options for eight-wheel and small-scale harvesters, covering dealer machines, private sales and… | Read the guide |
| Forwarder | Fund the machine that gets the timber out of the wood, with hire purchase and lease… | Read the guide |
| Timber trailer and crane | Fund a forestry trailer and loading crane as one outfit, whether it is going behind your… | Read the guide |
| Forestry winch | Fund a three-point linkage forestry winch for thinning and windblow extraction, either on its own or… | Read the guide |
| Tree shear and processor head | Fund a shear or processing head for an excavator or forestry crane, whether you are re-heading… | Read the guide |
| Post knocker and post driver | Fund a post knocker for stock fencing, deer fencing and forestry work, from a simple linkage-mounted… | Read the guide |
| Fencing trailer | Fund the trailer that carries the driver, the posts and the wire, whether it is a… | Read the guide |
| Chip truck and arb tipper | Fund the vehicle that carries the arisings, from a 3.5 tonne arb tipper to a 7.5… | Read the guide |
| Climbing and rigging equipment | An honest answer on funding ropes, harnesses, lowering devices and rigging gear, and the routes that… | Read the guide |
| Arborist chainsaw | What is realistic when funding chainsaws for a tree surgery business, and how saws are usually… | Read the guide |
| Narrow access stump grinder | Fund a tracked, gate-width grinder for back garden work, with options on new machines, ex-demonstration stock… | Read the guide |
| Forestry mulcher | Fund a tracked or remote-control mulching machine for site clearance, firebreak and vegetation management work on… | Read the guide |
| Forestry mulching head | Fund a mulching head for an excavator, skid steer or tractor, whether you are adding a… | Read the guide |
| Tracked chipper | Fund a tracked chipper that walks itself onto site, for woodland, estate and restricted access work… | Read the guide |
| Timber crane | Fund a lorry-mounted timber crane for loading roundwood, arisings and logs, whether it is going on… | Read the guide |
| Log splitter | Fund a hydraulic log splitter for firewood production, from a tractor-driven vertical machine to a high-output… | Read the guide |
| Timber grab | Fund a timber grapple or grab for a crane, excavator or loader, usually as part of… | Read the guide |
| Arb platform and MEWP | Fund a tracked spider lift, trailer platform or 4x4 boom for tree work, with new, used… | Read the guide |
| Forestry tractor | Fund a tractor specified for woodland work, whether guarded from the factory or converted to run… | Read the guide |
| Skidder | Fund a cable or grapple skidder for whole-tree extraction and difficult ground, on new, used or… | Read the guide |
| Sawmill edger | Fund the machine that squares and rips your boards after the mill, including edgers, multirips and… | Read the guide |
| Firewood kiln | Fund a drying kiln so you can sell logs to the Ready to Burn standard, from… | Read the guide |
| Forestry flail | Fund a heavy-duty flail or reach arm for rides, verges and hedgerow work, mounted on a… | Read the guide |
| Cord wood saw | Fund a rocker-table or circular cordwood saw for cutting logs to length, usually packaged with a… | Read the guide |
Tree surgery equipment finance covers the kit an arb business runs on: road-tow and tracked wood chippers, stump grinders, chip trucks and tippers, timber cranes and access platforms. Most of it holds its value well, which is what makes arb finance workable — the machine itself acts as the security, so the terms are usually better than unsecured borrowing of the same size.
The difficulty is not the asset, it is the category. Arb equipment falls between plant, agricultural and vehicle lending, and a lender set up for one will often decline the others. Knowing which panel member funds a tracked chipper, and which will only look at a road-tow, is most of the job.
Wood chipper finance is the request we see most often. Road-tow chippers are straightforward and fund quickly. Tracked and crane-fed machines are a larger commitment and a smaller lender pool, but they are routinely funded — new or used, dealer or private sale. Age and hours drive the term more than the purchase price does.
Stump grinders are often bought as the second machine, once the chipper is already on finance. That is usually an easier application, not a harder one: an agreement already running and being paid on time is evidence a new lender cannot get from accounts alone.
Forestry equipment finance and logging equipment finance cover harvesters, forwarders, timber trailers, winches, firewood processors and forestry mulchers. These are high-value, long-life machines and lenders will generally fund them over a longer term than lighter arb kit, which keeps the monthly figure manageable on what is often seasonal income.
Sawmill finance is where contractors most often get told no — not because the machine is a bad asset, but because milling is usually a diversification rather than more of the existing work, and the lender is being asked to back a business it has not seen operate. A portable band sawmill from a marque like Wood-Mizer holds its value and is straightforward to fund on the asset itself; the case that needs making is the business one.
We recently funded a £70,000 Wood-Mizer for a North Yorkshire fencing contractor moving into milling its own timber. It was the fourth asset we had arranged for that business in three years, and the track record on the earlier agreements is what made the diversification fundable.
Fencing contractors sit in the same awkward gap. A post knocker or post driver is agricultural machinery to one lender and plant to another, and the tractor or telehandler it mounts to may already be financed elsewhere. We fund post knockers, post drivers, trailers and the vehicles that tow them, and can structure them together where it makes sense. See post knocker and post driver finance for how those machines are assessed, including whether hiring or buying makes more sense.
Three things beyond the machine. Seasonality — arb and forestry income is weather-driven and storm work is unpredictable, so a lender that expects flat monthly income will price it badly; several on our panel will structure around it. Utilisation — documented contract work strengthens an application considerably. Certification — NPTC and LANTRA tickets, and membership of the Arboricultural Association, all support the case that the operator can run the kit safely.
The first machine is the hard one, because a new business has nothing on file to assess. It is still fundable — trade experience, a signed contract or a deposit all help, and getting that first agreement placed properly matters more than the rate, because it is what makes the second and third straightforward. If you are setting up rather than replacing, our guide to starting a tree surgery business covers the tickets, the kit and how the first chipper usually gets paid for.
Send us the machine — make, model, year, hours if it is used — and a line on what the business does and roughly how the work falls across the year. We will tell you which lenders have appetite for that asset and what the realistic terms look like. If you are diversifying rather than replacing, say so, because it changes who we approach. No credit check to ask.
One quick conversation about the asset and how the repayments need to work.
As an independent broker we find the right structure and rate — not one lender’s products.
Indicative decisions in as little as 24 hours, then we manage it through to payout.
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.
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.
Real agreements, written up in full — what the business wanted, what the lenders said, and what it cost. Amounts are rounded and no customer is identified.
Arboriculture · Private Sale
Six days from opening the file to the seller being paid, which for a private sale is quick. The business got the machine it had actually chosen rather…
Three Years of Growth · North Yorkshire
Inside three years the business went from one van to running its own fencing machinery, its own site power and its own timber milling. The saw mill was…
270 machines named across 27 types of Arb, forestry & sawmills. This is not a restricted list — it is what we are asked for most often. If the machine you are buying is not here it almost certainly still funds: your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.