Complete this online form with details of your enquiry and one of our advisors will call you back.
Grading lines are an essential part of modern agricultural and produce-handling operations across the UK. Whether handling potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, or multi-crop operations, efficient grading equipment enables farms and packhouses to improve throughput, reduce labour, enhance produce quality, and meet tightening market and supermarket standards. For many rural businesses, the challenge lies not in recognising the value of grading technology, but in funding it — particularly when systems can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Gable Business Finance specialises in providing tailored asset finance for grading lines, enabling farms, packhouses, contractors, and food businesses to acquire the equipment they need without large upfront expenditure. With flexible terms, sector expertise, and access to specialist agricultural lenders, Gable ensures that rural businesses can invest in the modern machinery required to remain competitive.
Asset finance is one of the most popular funding solutions for agricultural machinery, including vegetable graders, sizers, washers, conveyors, hoppers, and complete post-harvest systems. Instead of paying the full purchase price upfront, businesses spread the cost over manageable instalments, protecting cash flow for day-to-day operations.
For rural businesses — where income often fluctuates with the seasons — this flexibility is essential. Asset finance makes it possible to upgrade ageing equipment, invest in modern automation, or expand capacity without tying up capital that’s needed elsewhere.
Asset finance allows you to acquire grading equipment through scheduled payments rather than buying outright. This approach protects liquidity while enabling investment in high-quality machinery from leading UK manufacturers.
Hire Purchase is a simple and widely used option for agricultural businesses. You pay a deposit followed by monthly or seasonal instalments. At the end of the term, you typically pay a small final fee to gain full ownership of the grading line.
Best for: farms and packhouses planning long-term use of the system.
A finance lease allows you to use the equipment for an agreed period while making regular payments. You do not own the asset during the agreement, which can result in lower monthly payments compared to HP. In some cases, a balloon payment or secondary rental period may be available.
Best for: businesses wanting lower monthly costs or regular equipment upgrades.
This option allows you to rent the equipment for a shorter period without committing to long-term ownership. At the end, the machinery is usually returned to the lender or upgraded.
Best for: projects with temporary or short-term machinery needs.
If you already own grading equipment or other valuable agricultural machinery, asset refinancing can be used to release equity tied up in those assets. The machinery is used as security for a loan, giving you an immediate cash injection while continuing to use the equipment.
Best for: businesses needing quick working capital or funding for upgrades.
Gable Business Finance works with lenders who understand the unique challenges of farming, such as seasonal cash flow, commodity price fluctuations, and the importance of maintaining uptime during key periods like harvest.
Asset finance is suitable for almost any agricultural equipment, including:
Terms are typically available from 12 to 84 months, and payment plans can be tailored to match farm cash flow — including annual, quarterly, or seasonal payments.
Modern grading lines offer substantial advantages:
Asset finance enables farms to invest in automation without draining capital reserves.
Gable Business Finance can arrange funding for grading machinery from all major UK manufacturers, including:
One of the UK’s best-known suppliers of vegetable handling and post-harvest equipment. Their range includes washing systems, graders, sizers, and mobile grading units used widely in potato, carrot, onion, and beet sectors.
Known for durable, high-capacity grading and washing systems. Tong offers modular solutions suitable for both small family farms and large-scale packhouses.
A specialist in post-harvest equipment, Agropack provides customised grading, weighing, and packing machinery designed for precision and reliability.
A family-run engineering firm offering tailored grading and processing machinery. They focus on root crops and offer bespoke systems built to the needs of UK producers.
Producers of the STANDEN-PEARSON Potato Systems range, including advanced cleaning, sizing, and handling equipment. Known for long-lasting engineering suitable for demanding farm environments.
These manufacturers often provide modular or custom-built systems, allowing farms to design grading lines tailored to crop type, volume, and operational requirements — all of which can be financed through Gable.
A Lincolnshire potato farm needed to replace an ageing semi-manual grader. Gable arranged a 5-year hire purchase agreement for a new Haith grading line, including washers and conveyors. The upgrade increased throughput by 40% and reduced labour costs by 25%.
A family-run carrot grower in Norfolk required a modular grading system to handle seasonal fluctuations. Gable sourced a flexible finance lease with seasonal payments that matched the farm’s income cycle, helping them expand capacity without straining cash flow.
A large vegetable packhouse owned several machines outright but needed funds for expansion. Gable refinanced their equipment, releasing over £250,000 in capital, which the business used to upgrade weighing and packing systems.
A new entrant into the food processing sector required used grading equipment from multiple manufacturers. Gable arranged financing across several suppliers, consolidating payments into one manageable monthly plan.
A farm specialising in multi-site potato production needed a mobile grader. Gable secured a finance lease for a robust mobile solution from Statech Solutions, enabling more efficient on-field grading.
Yes. Gable Business Finance can arrange funding for new, used, refurbished, or bespoke grading equipment from any reputable supplier.
Terms generally range from 12 to 84 months, with seasonal or deferred payment options available.
Not always. Many agreements can be structured with no upfront deposit, depending on financial strength and asset type.
Yes. Installation, electrical work, conveyors, and auxiliary equipment can often be included in the finance package.
Yes. Payments may be tax-deductible depending on the finance structure. Leases can provide additional VAT and tax benefits.
Absolutely. Asset refinancing allows you to unlock capital from machinery you already own.
Any business requiring crop or produce grading, including potato growers, vegetable processors, packhouses, food manufacturers, and contractors.
Approval can be as fast as 24–48 hours for many applications.
Yes. Gable offers payment schedules tailored to agricultural income cycles.
Yes. We work with specialist lenders accustomed to rural sector challenges, including fluctuating yields and seasonal income.
The adoption of grading machines is being driven by labour shortages, the need for increased efficiency, and advances in technology such as AI and computer vision. Farms are looking for solutions that reduce reliance on manual labour while ensuring consistent quality control and higher throughput.
Labour shortages are a significant challenge in UK agriculture. Automated grading machines allow farms to maintain production levels with fewer workers, ensuring consistent sorting and grading of produce and reducing dependency on seasonal or temporary labour.
Modern grading machines integrate AI-based computer vision and other advanced technologies, enabling more accurate, faster, and consistent sorting than manual methods. This is especially valuable for high-volume operations such as potato, egg, or root vegetable grading.
Yes. Schemes such as the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) provide grants to help offset the capital costs of productivity-enhancing equipment, encouraging farms to invest in modern machinery.
Investment in high-capacity grading machines is more feasible for larger operations, which can absorb the costs and leverage economies of scale. This trend has led to a concentration of advanced technology on bigger farms, though smaller farms are also gradually adopting automated solutions where financially viable.
Advanced grading machines ensure consistent, high-quality produce, meeting consumer and retailer expectations. This improves marketability, reduces waste, and can increase profitability for farmers.
The post-harvest segment — including grading, washing, and packing — is the largest application type for agricultural machinery in the UK by shipment units. Farms are increasingly transforming from simple producers to “producer-cum-processor” models, adding value to crops with advanced machinery.
While exact data on the number of UK farms using grading machines is limited, trends show a clear increase in adoption. The UK agricultural equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% between 2025 and 2030, with post-harvest machinery as a key growth area. Notable individual investments include multi-million-pound purchases, such as a £2.4 million investment by a Scottish egg producer in a state-of-the-art grader to double productivity.
Investing in grading machines helps farms enhance efficiency, reduce labour costs, maintain product quality, and stay competitive in a demanding market. With technological advancements and potential government support, the adoption of modern machinery is a strategic move for long-term growth.
Investing in a modern grading line can dramatically improve efficiency, product consistency, and profitability — but for many rural businesses, the upfront cost can be a barrier. Asset finance removes this obstacle by allowing farms and processors to acquire essential equipment through manageable and flexible payments that align with their cash flow.
Whether upgrading ageing machinery, installing a fully automated line, or expanding packhouse operations, Gable Business Finance provides tailored support and expert guidance every step of the way. With access to specialist lenders and a strong understanding of agricultural operations, Gable ensures that rural businesses can confidently invest in the technology they need to grow.