Arborist chainsaw finance
What is realistic when funding chainsaws for a tree surgery business, and how saws are usually packaged into a larger equipment purchase.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance an arborist chainsaw?
Honestly, not on their own in most cases. A chainsaw is a low-value consumable in finance terms: it has a serial number but it wears out, it gets stolen, and a used saw is worth very little to a funder who has to recover it. Individual saws therefore sit below the minimum advance most asset funders will write and below the security threshold they need. What does work is buying saws as part of a larger package from one supplier, so they appear on a machine invoice, or funding a whole battery system and charging infrastructure where the total reaches a sensible size.
Used kit: No — second-hand chainsaws are not funded as assets in their own right, and no mainstream funder will write an agreement against one.
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What would an arborist chainsaw 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
Funders draw a hard line between machines and hand tools, and chainsaws land on the tool side. A saw is portable, easily sold on for cash, quickly worn and frequently stolen, so as security it is close to worthless. Several funders explicitly exclude hand-held power tools. The workable route is to have the saws itemised on the same supplier invoice as a chipper, grinder or mulcher, where the funder is lending against the machine and the saws form a modest share of the total. Alternatively an unsecured business loan covers the spend on trading strength alone. Where firms get caught out is buying the machine on finance in one transaction and then discovering the saws, bars, chains and fuel cans they assumed were included were never on the invoice.
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 |
|---|---|
| Echo CS-2511TES | Lightweight top-handle saw for canopy work |
| Husqvarna T535i XP | Battery top-handle saw for quiet sites |
| Husqvarna T540 XP Mark III | Professional top-handle climbing saw |
| Stihl MSA 220 T | Cordless top-handle saw for tree care |
| Stihl MS 201 T | Top-handle saw for pruning and dismantling |
| Husqvarna 550 XP Mark II | Mid-size ground saw for felling |
| Stihl MS 261 C-M | All-round rear-handle professional saw |
| Husqvarna 572 XP | Powerful ground saw for larger timber |
| Stihl MS 500i | Fuel injected saw for fast cutting |
| Stihl MS 881 | Large capacity saw for big stems and milling |
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Who buys one
Firms re-equipping a whole crew at once, usually when moving to battery saws for noise-restricted or indoor work, or when a new team starts and every climber needs a top-handle. The trigger tends to be a contract with noise or emissions conditions, such as hospital grounds, schools or city centre work, where petrol saws create a problem the client will not tolerate.
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We publish the deals we arrange, with no client named and no rate quoted. See what we have funded in arb and forestry.
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.
Arborist chainsaw finance questions
Can I add chainsaws to my chipper finance?
Usually yes, if the same dealer supplies both and lists them on one invoice. Funders accept a reasonable share of small items on a machine invoice. Keep it proportionate: a couple of saws alongside a chipper is fine, a full tool inventory against a modest machine will get queried and probably stripped out.
Why are chainsaws treated differently to a stump grinder?
Recoverability. A grinder is heavy, serial-plated, registered in a small identifiable market and worth chasing. A chainsaw can be carried out of a van in one hand and sold for cash the same day. Funders classify by how realistically they could recover value, and hand-held tools simply fail that test.
Is a full battery system with chargers fundable?
It is a better case than individual saws, because a complete battery platform with multiple tools, batteries and charging units reaches a sensible total and is bought as a system from one supplier. It is still soft, so expect questions, but it is far more likely to be considered than a single saw purchase.
What about a milling bar and an Alaskan mill setup?
Same treatment as saws. Bars, chains and portable milling attachments are consumables. If you are buying a proper portable sawmill instead, that is a genuinely fundable machine with a resale market, and a very different conversation from bolting a milling attachment onto a chainsaw.
How do most tree surgery firms actually pay for saws?
Out of cash flow, on a supplier credit account, or folded into a bigger machine purchase. Some use an unsecured business loan when kitting out a whole crew at once. The practical answer is to time the saw purchase to coincide with a machine order so it can sit on the same invoice.
Get a quoteor call 0333 772 4864
Also in arb and forestry finance
- Wood chipper finance
- Sawmill finance
- Stump grinder finance
- Timber harvester finance
- Forwarder finance
- Timber trailer and crane finance
- Forestry winch finance
- Tree shear and processor head finance
- Post knocker and post driver finance
- Fencing trailer finance
- Chip truck and arb tipper finance
- Climbing and rigging equipment finance
- Narrow access stump grinder finance
- Forestry mulcher finance
- Forestry mulching head finance
- Tracked chipper finance
- Timber crane finance
- Log splitter finance
- Timber grab finance
- Arb platform and MEWP finance
- Forestry tractor finance
- Skidder finance
- Sawmill edger finance
- Firewood kiln finance
- Forestry flail finance
- Cord wood saw finance
See everything we fund in arb and forestry 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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