Golf course machinery finance: mowers, tractors and greenkeeping kit

Yes, for keeping an existing course in play. When the entitlement to rebated fuel was withdrawn from many sectors on 1 April 2022, HMRC kept it for golf courses, including driving ranges, and for land maintained by a registered community amateur sports club. Excise Notice 75 describes qualifying use as working on an existing course to keep it playable and maintain its facilities, and it also covers heat and power for the clubhouse and changing rooms used by golfers. A machine can cross a road between two parts of the course by the shortest practicable route, although that allowance does not extend to unlicensed or SORN vehicles on a public road. Grounds that are neither a golf course nor kept by a registered community amateur sports club do not share the allowance, so a club that also looks after other sports pitches should check each use. Fuel is a significant running cost for a greenkeeping fleet, so the budget a lender reviews should price qualifying work at the rebated rate.

Can red diesel be used when building a new golf course?

No. The notice expressly excludes building a new golf course or driving range, and building a new clubhouse or other buildings, so the machines working on that construction need fully duty paid fuel. Under the same notice, rebated HVO counts as red diesel, so a club that has moved its mowers and tractors onto HVO faces exactly the same limits. A course extension or a new practice facility can be funded as a project in its own right, separate from the agreements that cover the maintenance fleet, and keeping the two apart makes the fuel position easier to evidence if HMRC asks.

• Existing course upkeep. Rebated fuel allowed, including on a driving range.
• Clubhouse heat and power. Allowed for the clubhouse and changing rooms golfers use.
• New course or clubhouse. Fully duty paid fuel only.
• Rebated HVO. Treated the same way as red diesel.

HMRC sets out the conditions in Excise Notice 75 on rebated fuels. Our pages on grounds maintenance finance and used equipment finance cover contractors and second hand machines. Instant Quotes compares asset finance lenders on our panel for a greenkeeping fleet.

Yes, if the sprayer has a boom longer than 3 metres or blows droplets in a forced air stream. Under the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012, that equipment must be inspected before the fifth anniversary of its first purchase and, since 26 November 2020, at least once every three years after that. A tractor mounted or self propelled fairway sprayer with a wide boom falls squarely within the rule, while a small walk behind greens unit may not, depending on its boom width. Keep the inspection certificate with the machine. A used sprayer offered without a current certificate is harder to value, and a lender funding one may ask to see that the inspection is up to date before the agreement starts.

Do greenkeepers need a certificate to spray pesticides?

Yes, for professional products. HSE explains that since 26 November 2015 every professional user has needed a specified certificate, and the grandfather rights that let people born on or before 31 December 1964 spray their own or their employer's land without one ended on 25 November 2015. Someone without a certificate can only apply a professional product under the direct supervision of a certificate holder as part of training. When a club replaces its sprayer, it pays to confirm that enough of the team hold the right award to use it across the season, because a new machine with nobody qualified to run it earns nothing for the course.

• Booms over 3 metres. First inspection before the fifth anniversary, then at least every three years.
• Air assisted sprayers. Covered by the same inspection rule.
• Operators. Need a specified certificate for professional products.
• Trainees. May spray only under direct supervision.

HSE answers common questions in its pesticide use FAQs. Our guides on asset finance and capital allowances and asset refinancing cover the tax side and releasing cash from kit you own. See indicative terms for a new sprayer through Instant Quotes.

Keeping a course in good condition takes a range of specialist machines, each with its own replacement cycle:

• Greens, tees and approach mowers, including cylinder and hybrid or electric models
• Fairway and rough mowers
• Compact tractors, loaders and trailers
• Sprayers, spreaders and top dressers
• Aerators, scarifiers and verti-cutters
• Bunker rakes and utility vehicles
• Workshop equipment such as grinders for sharpening cutting units
• Robotic mowers for practice areas and roughs

Almost all of these are mobile, standard machines from established manufacturers, with an active used market. That is what makes them easy for asset finance lenders to fund.

Many clubs finance machinery machine by machine as each one wears out. Others replace a large part of the fleet at once, often through a dealer package, and finance it in one agreement. A fleet deal can bring a better purchase price and a single payment, but it also brings a larger commitment and the whole fleet ageing together. Staggering agreements keeps payments steady and avoids a large replacement bill landing in a single year.

Most golf income arrives in the playing season and around subscription renewals, while machinery payments run all year. Some lenders can set payments around a seasonal profile or start payments after a short deferral. Not all will, so raise it early when comparing offers.

Used and ex-demonstration machines can cut costs considerably, and many lenders will fund them if they come from a recognised manufacturer and an established dealer with a service history. Older machines may cost more to keep running. Our page on used equipment finance explains how lenders treat second-hand kit, and if you already own your fleet outright, asset refinancing can release cash from it.

HMRC's rules on rebated fuel allow red diesel to be used in machines that maintain golf courses, but the rules depend on how each machine is used; check HMRC Excise Notice 75. Battery and hybrid machines cost more to buy but less to fuel and are quieter near houses and early in the morning. Compare the whole cost over the finance term, not just the price.

Pump sets and irrigation control systems can sometimes be funded as equipment, but the pipework, sprinklers and installation are fixed into the course and have little security value. Lenders usually expect those works to be funded with a term loan, a secured loan or the club's own funds.

A term longer than the machine's useful life leaves the club paying for kit it no longer uses, so match the term to how long you expect to keep each machine. Payments continue in quiet months. If a lease ends with the machine worth less than expected, there may be costs to settle, so read the end-of-term terms before signing.