Van Finance for Scaffolders

Finance for scaffolders covers both the vehicle and the scaffolding. Vehicles range from 3.5 tonne flatbeds up through 7.5 tonne lorries and beyond, including lorry mounted cranes. The scaffolding itself, meaning tube, fittings, boards and system components, is placed with specialist lenders on a separate agreement from the vehicle, and putting all the kit on one agreement rather than several keeps the cost down.

For most trades the vehicle is the expensive part. Scaffolding is one of the few where it often is not.

A lorry is a substantial purchase, but a scaffolding business is also carrying tens of thousands of pounds of tube, fittings and boards, and every additional contract means more of it. That kit is an asset like any other and it can be financed, though considerably fewer lenders will do it than will fund a vehicle.

Looking for a different trade? See our van finance by trade guides.

Financing the scaffolding itself

Tube, fittings, boards, system scaffold and towers can all be funded. This is specialist territory and the lending panel for it is much smaller than for vehicles, which is why a lot of scaffolding contractors assume it cannot be done and buy it out of working capital instead.

It can be done, and it is usually the better use of the money. Kit bought outright ties up cash that would otherwise cover wages, insurance and the gap between putting scaffolding up and getting paid for it. Financed properly, the kit pays for itself out of the contracts it makes possible.

One practical point on structure. The scaffolding goes on its own agreement, separate from the vehicle, because it is a different class of asset placed with a different lender. What is worth doing is putting all of the kit on a single agreement rather than adding to it piecemeal, since documentation and admin fees are charged per agreement and one facility usually attracts a better rate than several small ones.

If you are expanding and know roughly what you will need over the next few months, tell us the whole picture at the outset rather than coming back three times.

Beyond 3.5 tonnes

A good deal of scaffolding work has outgrown the 3.5 tonne flatbed, and this is where a lot of finance providers stop being useful.

We are a broker specialising in commercial vehicles, but the panel goes a long way past vans. Seven and a half tonne flatbeds are straightforward. So are larger vehicles, and so are lorry mounted cranes, which are a substantial addition to the cost of a vehicle and are exactly the sort of thing a general finance provider will value at nothing.

If you are moving up the weight range, or specifying a crane, tell us what the vehicle is and who is building or fitting it. The finished vehicle including the crane is what we put to the lender.

Two things worth knowing before you commit to a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes, neither of which affects the finance. Drivers who passed their car test on or after 1 January 1997 need to take an additional test for the C1 entitlement. And a goods vehicle operator's licence is generally required for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes used in connection with a business, so it is worth checking your position on gov.uk before buying a lorry the business is not yet licensed to run.

Payload is the constraint

Scaffolding is heavy, and the binding limit on a scaffolding vehicle is almost always what it can legally carry rather than what will fit on the bed.

That is the reason the trade sits so much further up the weight range than most others, and it is worth being realistic about at the point of purchase. A vehicle that is comfortable for a domestic job and overloaded on a commercial one is a problem that gets more expensive the longer it goes on.

If you are choosing between two vehicles, tell us both and we will show you the monthly figure on each. The difference is usually smaller than expected, and it is a poor reason to buy something that cannot carry the work you are winning.

What scaffolding businesses finance with us

New or used. Vehicles on one agreement, kit on another.

What we can arrange that a dealer cannot

Dealer finance is convenient and sometimes the rate is genuinely competitive. What it rarely includes is any of the following.

Funding for the scaffolding

A vehicle dealer finances vehicles. They will not fund your tube, fittings and boards, and most brokers cannot either. We can.

Funding for the finished vehicle including the crane

A dealer's finance desk generally works to the guide price of the base vehicle. A lorry mounted crane is a substantial part of what you are paying for and we work with lenders who will value it rather than ignore it.

VAT deferral

On qualifying agreements the lender pays the supplier the full price including the VAT, then collects the VAT element from your business as a single payment after an agreed period, usually around three months. That gives you time to reclaim it from HMRC first, and there is no charge for the facility. On a 7.5 tonne lorry that is a significant sum staying in the business.

Little or no deposit

Dealers commonly ask for 10 to 20 per cent down. For a VAT-registered limited company with a reasonable credit profile buying at sensible prices, no deposit at all is a normal outcome with us.

A credit facility for the next contract

A dealer can sell you finance on the vehicle in front of you. They cannot agree a limit now for the lorry and the additional kit you will need when the next contract lands. Alongside what you are buying today we can often put a limit in place, sometimes £50,000 or £100,000 depending on the business.

Specialist business finance advice

A dealer's finance desk sells a finance product. Buying through the business changes the position considerably: a VAT-registered business reclaims the VAT, and under hire purchase the assets are treated as plant and machinery, so the cost can be written off against taxable profits through capital allowances with the interest element deductible separately. We are a broker rather than accountants, so your accountant has the final word, but we will structure the agreements to suit how the business is set up.

New and growing companies

New limited companies and businesses under two years old can apply. Scaffolding firms are often set up by people who have spent years working for someone else, which means the company looks like a start-up on paper and is nothing of the sort.

Where there is trading history behind the company, we put it in front of the lender alongside the directors' background, so the underwriter sees the full picture rather than a company with no filed accounts. A deposit is usually required for a newly formed company.

For more on what lenders look for, see our new business van finance page.

Finance with a difficult credit history

A poor credit history does not prevent a scaffolding business from financing vehicles or kit. We work with specialist lenders who assess the whole picture rather than an automated score, and strong recent trading often counts for more than something that happened three years ago.

A deposit and well chosen assets both widen the options. See our bad credit van finance page for more detail.

Who can apply

Limited companies can borrow from £10,000. Sole traders can borrow from £25,000, on unregulated credit agreements, because the lenders we work with offer commercial finance only.

Established contractors, newly formed companies and firms taking on their first large commercial contract are all welcome to apply.