Ground care equipment finance for grounds maintenance contractors

Yes. Battery ride on and robotic mowers, battery strimmers, hedge cutters and blowers, spare batteries, charging racks and the van conversions needed to carry and charge them can all be funded on hire purchase or leasing alongside fuel powered kit. Some councils, schools and housing associations ask for quieter, lower emission equipment in tenders, so a contractor can time the change to a contract award and match the repayment term to the contract length. Lenders treat battery equipment from established brands much like petrol machinery, though resale values for older batteries are less certain, so terms can be shorter. Enough spare batteries and chargers for a full working day form a large share of the cost and belong in the quote. We source finance for grounds contractors moving away from petrol and diesel equipment.

Can a grounds maintenance contractor use red diesel?

Only for some work. HMRC allows red diesel in a machine designed only for mowing grass when it is working on land maintained for agriculture, horticulture or forestry, on a golf course or on land maintained by a community amateur sports club, and other machinery can use it for horticulture and on those golf and club grounds. HMRC counts the care of gardens and of ornamental areas in public parks, such as flowerbeds, shrubberies and ornamental lawns, as horticulture, but not the maintenance of grassy recreational areas such as playing fields or the grassed areas of parks used for walks. A contractor cutting school playing fields or open park grass therefore generally needs white diesel for that work, and HMRC can seize a vehicle or machine running on red diesel where it is not allowed.

• Contract terms. Length, notice period and any equipment standard written into the tender.
• Kit mix. Battery and fuel powered equipment listed separately with brand and age.
• Fuel use. Which sites qualify for red diesel and which need white diesel.
• Seasonal cash. Monthly income and costs, since winter work is lighter.

HMRC's Excise Notice 75 on rebated fuel sets out where red diesel is allowed. Hire purchase suits a contractor that wants to own the kit once the last payment clears, and asset finance covers the wider choice of agreements. Instant Quotes shows a grounds contractor where an equipment application could go.

Yes. Knapsack and pedestrian sprayers, sprayers mounted on a quad or utility vehicle, controlled droplet applicators, hot water and foam weed control units and the chemical store and wash down kit that go with them can all be funded on asset finance. Hot water and foam systems cost considerably more than a sprayer, which is where spreading the cost helps a contractor bidding for councils or estates that want to reduce herbicide use. Lenders look at the contracts the equipment will serve, whether the operators hold the right certificates and whether the vehicle carrying the kit is already on finance. Where a contractor buys a weed control business or round, the equipment and contracts can be funded together. We arrange weed control and amenity spraying finance across the whole market.

Do I need a certificate to spray weedkiller commercially?

Yes, for professional products. Since 26 November 2015 everyone using a pesticide authorised for professional use has had to hold a recognised certificate of competence, and the grandfather rights exemption for people born on or before 31 December 1964 ended on that date. Former grandfather rights users could qualify through a Level 2 award, and contractors spraying land they or their employer do not own had to take the existing Level 2 safe use route. Anyone applying pesticides in public places such as parks, cemeteries and school grounds must take all reasonable precautions to protect people and the environment, and employers must assess the risk to members of the public. Keep certificate numbers to hand, since councils and estates letting amenity work may ask for them.

• Operator certificates. Certificate numbers for each person who will spray.
• Equipment list. Sprayers, weed control units and storage, with supplier quotes.
• Contract evidence. Council, estate or housing contracts the kit will serve.
• Vehicle position. Whether the van or utility vehicle carrying the kit is already financed.

HSE answers common questions on professional pesticide use. Used equipment finance covers second hand sprayers and units, and property services finance brings together funding for facilities and estates contractors. Instant Quotes tells a weed control contractor which lenders on the panel may fund the kit.

A grounds maintenance firm typically has two kinds of income. Maintenance contracts for councils, housing associations, schools, business parks and residential management companies are often invoiced in equal monthly instalments across the year, even though most of the work is done between March and October. Project work, such as landscaping, hard surfaces and planting schemes, is lumpy and paid on completion or in stages.

The spending is more seasonal than the income. Machines must be bought or replaced before the cutting season starts, seasonal staff are taken on in spring, and fuel and repairs peak in summer. Winter brings hedge cutting, leaf clearance and, for some, gritting and snow clearance, which keeps crews working but at lower margins. A contract win announced in February with a start date in April leaves very little time to equip it.

• Red diesel. HMRC's rules on rebated fuel allow red diesel in some uses, including the maintenance of golf courses and amenity grassland, but not in most other work. Check how each machine will be used against HMRC Excise Notice 75, because fuel cost changes the case for diesel against battery kit. Golf clubs maintaining their own course will find more on golf course machinery finance.
• Towing. Heavier plant trailers can take a van and trailer combination beyond the weights some drivers are licensed for, and braking requirements change with trailer weight; check what your drivers can tow before choosing a trailer.
• Spraying. Weed control contracts need operators with the right certificates under the pesticide sustainable use rules, and sprayers need periodic testing.
• Theft. Trailers, mowers and handheld tools are frequently stolen from vans and yards. Lenders and insurers expect locked storage, and trackers on high-value machines help.

The main risk is a mismatch between contract length and finance term: buying machines for a three-year council contract on a five-year agreement leaves you paying for kit that may not have work if the retender goes elsewhere. Keep core machines on hire purchase and contract-specific kit on shorter terms or leases. Personal guarantees are common for small firms, and financing every handheld tool adds cost for little benefit, so buy small items outright where cash allows. Borrowing of £25,000 or less by sole traders and small partnerships can be regulated consumer credit, which brings additional protections; see our page on sole trader loans.