Complete this online form with details of your enquiry and one of our advisors will call you back.
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are the backbone of the construction and infrastructure supply chain. Without reliable transport, materials don’t arrive, spoil doesn’t leave, plant can’t mobilise, and projects stall. From eight-wheel tippers moving aggregate and muck, to grab lorries serving builders’ merchants and tight-access sites, to low loaders transporting excavators and dozers, HGVs are revenue-generating assets that directly drive productivity, programme certainty, and profitability.
At Gable Business Finance, we understand that the construction sector is exceptionally diverse, and HGV requirements vary massively between businesses. A groundwork contractor running a couple of tippers has very different challenges to a dedicated haulage firm operating articulated fleets, or a civil engineering contractor moving plant between live highway sites. Having worked within this sector for many years, Gable understands these challenges and can support you by providing flexible and competitive funding solutions—structured around how you operate, how you get paid, and how you manage compliance.
This expert guide covers HGV requirements in the construction centre, why vehicle choice and funding structure matter, the different types of HGVs commonly used, and the finance options available: Hire Purchase, Finance Lease, Refinance, Vehicle Finance / PCP-style structures, Cashflow Funding, Invoice Financing, and Contract Hire. You’ll also find a detailed FAQ and 10 realistic, detailed case studies.
Every construction site is a logistics operation. Even the most productive groundworks team cannot work if spoil cannot be removed or if aggregate, concrete, asphalt, steel, timber, and fit-out materials cannot be delivered. Construction is also time-sensitive: missed deliveries disrupt sequencing, create idle labour, and trigger knock-on delays. HGVs are required to keep material flow consistent.
In the construction centre, HGVs are required to:
On many projects, HGV performance is measured indirectly through programme outcomes: are deliveries on time, is muck-away reliable, are access constraints managed, and is the site kept safe and compliant? Late deliveries, breakdowns, and compliance issues can quickly destroy margin. In competitive tenders, contractors increasingly need reliable fleets—especially where clients expect modern, emissions-compliant vehicles and strong safety standards.
HGV operations introduce significant risk: heavy loads, reversing movements, site traffic, vulnerable road users, and public interfaces. Vehicle specification and operator standards matter. Safety features, driver training, and telematics all contribute to safer operations and lower insurance and incident costs.
Key safety considerations include:
HGVs operate under strict legal and regulatory frameworks. Compliance is not just a legal requirement—it affects your ability to win work and keep vehicles on the road. Poor compliance can mean prohibitions, fines, downtime, contract failure, and reputational damage.
Common compliance areas include:
For construction haulage, profitability is often won or lost on unit economics: cost per mile, cost per tonne, and vehicle utilisation. Fuel, tyres, servicing, insurance, and driver wages can move quickly, while contract rates may be fixed. Funding structure matters because monthly repayments become part of your fixed cost base. The aim is to fund vehicles in a way that supports consistent cashflow while maintaining capacity.
Rigid tippers are a staple of groundworks, civil engineering, highways, and quarry-to-site supply. They transport loose materials and tip quickly on site. Common formats include 6×4, 8×4, and 4-axle configurations.
Typical uses:
Grab lorries combine transport with self-loading capability using a hydraulic grab crane. They are popular for builders’ merchants, utilities contractors, and sites where loading equipment is limited. Grab lorries can collect waste (where permitted) and deliver materials into restricted access areas.
These vehicles are used for waste and recycling operations and for site logistics where containers are swapped quickly. They support demolition and construction waste management programmes.
Mixer trucks are time-critical assets. They transport ready-mix concrete while keeping the mix workable and consistent. Reliability and scheduling are critical due to concrete setting times.
Plant transport vehicles move excavators, rollers, pavers, dozers, telehandlers, and other machinery between sites. They are essential for contractors with multi-site operations and plant hire businesses.
Artics transport large volumes over longer distances—common for quarry products, modular components, steel, timber, and national logistics. Trailer choice varies: tippers, curtainsiders, flatbeds, step frames, and low loaders.
HIAB vehicles are used to lift and place materials such as steel beams, site cabins, equipment, and pallets. They can reduce site handling requirements and improve safety by avoiding multiple lifts.
HGV funding is not only about getting a vehicle—it’s about structuring repayments around utilisation, compliance requirements, replacement cycles, and the reality of construction payment terms. Gable Business Finance provides specialist solutions across ownership, leasing, refinancing, and working capital.
Hire Purchase is a popular option for owner-operators and fleets that want long-term ownership. You spread the vehicle cost over a fixed term while using the truck from day one, typically owning it at the end after the final payment.
HP often suits:
Why HP works well in construction logistics: it supports predictable monthly budgeting, aligns with long vehicle service lives (when maintained), and builds ownership value—useful when vehicles remain viable beyond finance term.
Finance Lease can reduce monthly payments and provide flexibility, especially where fleet renewal is important to meet emissions standards or client requirements. This approach can suit businesses that plan regular upgrades and want to avoid holding older vehicles longer than desired.
Lease often suits:
If you own HGVs outright—or have significant equity in them—refinancing can unlock cash without selling the vehicle. This is particularly valuable for construction-linked operators who are “asset rich but cash poor”, where payment terms, retention, or staged applications create cashflow pressure.
Refinancing hard assets means using your existing physical business assets (like vehicles, machinery, or equipment) as collateral to borrow cash, unlocking working capital without selling them. Lenders provide a loan based on the asset’s market value (your equity), allowing you to raise funds for growth, operations, or paying down debt, while continuing to use the asset as normal.
How it works in practice:
Common reasons HGV operators refinance:
For newer trucks with strong residual values, structured finance can reduce monthly payments by deferring a portion of value to the end of term (PCP-style concept). This can support fleet renewal strategies where the plan is to replace vehicles on a schedule rather than keep them indefinitely.
Cashflow funding supports working capital needs that come with HGV operations: fuel, driver wages, employer costs, tyres, servicing, telematics, compliance, and insurance. It can be especially useful when you win new work and must scale fast—costs arrive immediately, but customer payments may arrive much later.
Invoice financing releases cash tied up in invoices so you can fund day-to-day operations while waiting for payment. This is common in construction and infrastructure supply chains where payment terms can be long and retentions or disputes can delay cash. Invoice finance can stabilise cashflow and reduce the stress of funding payroll and diesel during busy periods.
Contract Hire can be suitable where you want predictable monthly costs and regular replacement without ownership. This is often used by businesses prioritising fleet age, emissions compliance, and reduced disposal/resale administration. Contract hire can also suit specific project durations or where vehicles are needed temporarily.
Gable Business Finance understands how diverse the construction sector is and the unique challenges it faces, particularly when it comes to finance. Construction-related haulage is not “standard transport”: it involves site conditions, variable workloads, weather impacts, heavy wear, compliance demands, and often complex payment chains. Having worked within this sector for many years, Gable understands these challenges and can support you by providing flexible and competitive funding solutions—helping you keep vehicles moving, protect uptime, and maintain stable cashflow.
We support HGV operators with:
It depends on what you carry and where you work. Tippers suit aggregate and muck-away. Grab lorries suit deliveries to restricted sites and self-loading. Low loaders suit plant movement. Artics suit long-distance bulk or component transport. The right choice comes down to payload, access, route type, compliance needs, and customer demand.
Yes. Used HGV finance is common, subject to age, mileage, condition, service history, and lender criteria. Used vehicles can be a sensible route to expand capacity, but it’s important to account for maintenance risk and compliance costs.
Terms typically range from 3 to 7 years depending on vehicle type, value, age, and usage profile. Newer vehicles may be financed over longer terms than older units.
Hire Purchase is often chosen for long-term ownership and building asset value. Finance lease can reduce monthly cost and support planned upgrade cycles. The best option depends on how long you intend to keep the vehicle and how important fleet renewal is to your contracts.
Deposit requirements vary by deal and lender appetite. Some agreements may require a deposit; others can be structured with minimal upfront cost depending on vehicle and applicant profile.
Yes. Many businesses finance trailers such as tipper trailers, curtainsiders, flatbeds, low loaders, step frames, and specialist units—either alongside tractor units or separately.
Specialist bodies and equipment can often be included in the finance facility, especially when supplied and fitted as part of the purchase.
Yes. If you have equity in owned vehicles, refinance can release working capital while you keep using the trucks. This is often used for repairs, insurance costs, fuel spikes, or fleet expansion.
Invoice finance can release cash tied up in unpaid invoices, helping you fund diesel, wages, and running costs without relying on overdrafts or waiting weeks for payment.
It can be, particularly where compliance and fleet age are priorities. Contract hire can also align cost with defined project durations, though suitability depends on mileage, wear profile, and vehicle type.
A groundworks business relied on subcontracted haulage for muck-away on multiple sites, causing scheduling issues and higher costs. Gable arranged Hire Purchase for an 8×4 tipper with a repayment profile aligned to predictable weekly utilisation. The business reduced waiting time for excavators, improved programme reliability, and retained more margin by keeping haulage in-house.
A regional supplier wanted to offer grab deliveries of sand, ballast, and aggregates to small builders and tight-access sites. A structured vehicle finance solution supported the purchase of a grab lorry, keeping monthly payments manageable while building predictable capacity. The business increased delivery revenue, improved customer retention, and reduced reliance on third-party logistics.
A civil engineering contractor frequently hired transport to move excavators and rollers between sites, leading to delays and premium costs. Gable funded a low loader and beavertail combination so the firm could mobilise quickly. The business improved responsiveness, reduced downtime between projects, and gained better control of programme-critical moves.
A haulage operator owned two trucks outright but faced a sudden gearbox failure and high repair costs. Instead of draining cash reserves needed for wages and fuel, Gable arranged refinance against the owned vehicles. The released funds paid for repairs immediately, avoided a prolonged off-road period, and stabilised the business during a busy contract month.
A construction logistics operator needed newer compliant vehicles to access restricted urban zones and satisfy client standards. Gable arranged finance lease facilities that supported planned replacement cycles. The fleet remained modern, fuel efficiency improved, and the operator avoided the operational risk of older trucks failing on time-critical urban deliveries.
A regional operator secured an aggregate haulage contract requiring higher payload efficiency. Gable funded an artic tractor unit and tipper trailer package. The operator achieved better cost-per-tonne economics and improved contract profitability through increased payload and fewer trips per day.
A subcontract haulage business faced long payment terms from a principal contractor, while diesel and payroll had to be paid weekly. Gable arranged invoice financing to release cash quickly against certified invoices. This stabilised cashflow, reduced stress, and enabled the business to accept additional work without risking late wages or fuel account issues.
A contractor won a short-notice project requiring additional haulage capacity. Gable arranged funding for a quality used tipper, allowing the business to mobilise quickly. The lower capital cost reduced monthly repayments, and the contractor avoided turning down work due to lack of transport.
An infrastructure contractor needed additional vehicles for a defined phase of works. Contract hire was used to align the cost of vehicles with the project timeline, avoiding long-term ownership of trucks that might sit idle afterwards. The project stayed on programme and the contractor maintained cost control.
A growing operator expanded from one truck to three to serve multiple construction sites. Gable structured Hire Purchase for the vehicles and provided cashflow support for insurance premiums, initial fuel, and compliance setup. This combined approach prevented growth from straining working capital and helped the business scale sustainably.
HGVs are essential to construction logistics, earthmoving efficiency, and infrastructure delivery. The right vehicles, funded in the right way, protect programme certainty, support compliance, reduce downtime risk, and strengthen profitability—especially in a sector where payment terms can be long and operational costs are constant.
Gable Business Finance understands how diverse the construction sector is and the unique challenges it faces, particularly when it comes to finance. Having worked within this sector for many years, Gable understands these challenges and can support you with flexible and competitive funding solutions—whether you need Hire Purchase, Finance Lease, Refinance, Vehicle Finance structures, Cashflow Funding, Invoice Financing, or Contract Hire.