Equestrian finance for livery yards, riding schools and horse businesses

Lenders read an equestrian business by its income streams, because each behaves differently:

• Livery. Monthly fees for DIY, part or full livery under livery agreements, usually with short notice periods. Reliable while stables are full, but a few departures in winter can turn a profit into a loss.
• Lessons and hacking. Riding schools and trekking centres earn from lessons, pony days and holiday courses, with clear peaks in school holidays and summer.
• Competitions and events. Entry fees and facility hire at centres with arenas, cross-country courses or indoor schools.
• Breeding and sales. Stud fees, foal and young horse sales, and producing horses for sale. Income can be large but irregular.
• Transport and services. Horse transport, farriery, saddlery, physiotherapy and dentistry, often sole traders with vans and specialist equipment.

Many equestrian properties are a house with land and stables. If borrowing would be secured on a house that you or a relative occupy, it is likely to be a regulated residential mortgage, which we do not arrange. Holiday lets on the yard are also outside our scope. We arrange finance for the business: equipment, vehicles, working capital, and loans or commercial mortgages secured on commercial yards, land and buildings that are separate from any dwelling. Where a property mixes a home and a business, we can discuss which parts of the need can be met through business borrowing and point you towards a regulated adviser for the rest.

Secured borrowing puts the yard or land at risk, and specialist property can mean larger deposits and higher costs. Repayments continue through quiet months and after the loss of key liveries. Business rates, which generally apply to commercial yards, and VAT, which treats grazing, stabling and different livery packages differently, should be checked with an accountant before borrowing, because they change what the yard can afford. Borrowing of £25,000 or less by sole traders and small partnerships can be regulated consumer credit, which brings additional protections. Alternatives include raising livery or lesson prices before investing, phasing arena or stable works, and hiring a horsebox for occasional use rather than buying. Farms adding horses as a new enterprise should also read our farm diversification finance page, and equine vets are covered under veterinary practice loans.