Category: Lease

Yorkshire Machinery Finance for Farms

From tractors, headers or balers, if it’s part of a working farm Richmond Asset Finance can finance it! At Richmond Asset Finance we have access to an experienced panel of lenders so we can bring you only the best finance options for your farm machinery and business.

Agriculture is very diverse and we also understand that that some farmers have seasonal income, so we can tailor seasonal loan structures for certain applicants if the situation calls for it.

We also understand that a 1998 tractor might still be in good working condition, so older farm machinery can be financed from both private sellers and dealers. Simply ask us for more details.

We can offer agriculture finance loans for the following vehicles and equipment:

  • Tractors
  • Harvesters
  • Spraying Equipment
  • Spreaders
  • Seeders
  • Offset Disc
  • Balers
  • Irrigation
  • Telehandlers

Have farm equipment or machinery that’s not on the list? Call us and we’ll be happy to help: 0113 288 3277

Why are so many UK farmers choosing to diversify?

In today’s uncertain economic climate, many UK farmers are choosing to diversify their businessto boost their income.

Government figures show that 62% of UK farmers are now diversifying into other business opportunities to top up the income they make from traditional farming.

According to Farming UK, of the 62% of farmers that have diversified, 94% of the schemes have been financially successful.

So, if you’re not yet diversifying, it may be worth doing some research and speaking with an expert about rural finance to find out if you can get some help with financing your diversification scheme.

Why diversify?

With over half of those farmers diversifying reporting that the income from their alternative business has become ‘vital’ or ‘significant’ to their farm, can farmers afford not to diversify?

Key factors that are pushing farmers in the UK to diversify include:

  • Disease in farm animals.
  • Increased competition.
  • Falling price of milk.
  • Subsidies falling away.
  • Brexit uncertainty.

As with any business, it makes sense for farmers to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket (excuse the pun).

With many farmers owning a substantial amount of land, it makes good business sense that they use all land and buildings owned to their full advantage. Diversifying into alternative markets like leisure and tourism and renewable energy allows farmers to boost their income.

Rural finance to aid diversification

To find out if you can apply for rural finance to help with your diversification scheme, get in touch with our team here at Richmond Asset Finance to discuss your plan in more detail.

Why Is The Machine Finance Market Growing?

Machines are critical to growth in the manufacturing sector but they are often expensive and can eat into business profits without some form of financial help.

Traditionally business owners turn to the bank to provide straightforward business loans to help if there is insufficient cash in the business to purchase machines. Even if there is enough cash to buy a machine, a loan can be a more sensible way to buy equipment particularly if there is risk attached in making large investments as there often is in business. However, business loans from banks also come at a cost and interest rates can be high.

Having multiple loans can also leave a business vulnerable in a downturn and restrict any cash flow available to grow the business. Machine finance is growing in popularity because it unlocks funding when you need it.

So if your business requires a new machine that will cut down the amount of manual labour required to get jobs done such as a CNC machine, machine finance can help you acquire that machinery at a minimum upfront cost.

This means you get the benefit of improved efficiency and profitability while spreading the cost. It can also be tax efficient now that the government has increased the annual investment allowance. So it comes as no surprise that the machine finance sector has grown 9% year on year.

How AIA Can Help You Finance Your Equipment

As we start the new year many of us will have plans to expand our business or perhaps look at new products and services. This may not be possible, however, without the extra costs involved in purchasing new equipment, new software and so on.

This extra cost burden can be off putting but if you take advantage of the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) did you know that you can offset your investment in equipment and technology against tax?

Better still you can offset 100% of the investment against your taxable business income so not only do you get to improve your business operation and innovate, you can also reduce your tax burden at the same time. The allowance was also recently increased from £200k to £1million.

If you are planning to take advantage of the AIA this year you can use asset finance to spread the cost rather than invest all the cash in your business up front. This multiplies the benefit to your business.

The AIA was originally introduced in 2008 and the recent increase from £200k to £1million is designed to help stimulate investment in business at a time when it will be needed more than ever in the UK.

Why Should You Lease Rather Than Purchase…

…Vehicles For Your Business?

There are many advantages to be gained from leasing using vehicle finance rather than purchasing a vehicle outright for your businesses. So it should come as no surprise that uptake continues to grow to the point where 300,000 cars were leased to UK companies according to statistics released last year (2017).

The two major attractions of financing rather than purchasing a vehicle include saving on the upfront cost and the ability to offset payments against tax. So while you may have enough cash in your business to purchase a van or a car, why would you when there are flexible ways to finance your vehicle and you can use that spare cash to fund and grow other areas of your business.

Vehicle finance like any other form of business finance works because you get to spend less cash which is ultimately what keeps a business afloat.

Vehicle finance can come in a variety of packages with the main ones being higher purchase agreements or business contract hire. The former is arranged on an agreed set monthly payment while the latter is an agreement to pay off the depreciation value of the vehicle.

Agreements can be arranged over a period that suits the business and its cash flow and the vehicle can either be sold at the end of the agreement or it can be transfer to your full ownership.