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The UK’s grain drying plant sector is a critical part of the cereal supply chain, from small family farms to large commercial terminals. Drying plants are essential for preparing harvested grain for market, protecting quality, and ensuring crops meet strict moisture and storage specifications. Behind almost every tonne of market-ready grain is a combination of drying, handling, cleaning and storage infrastructure.
Across the country, this industry includes everything from on-farm mobile and static dryers to large industrial facilities at ports and cooperatives. On-farm systems allow individual growers to dry their own crops, while major grain terminals and processing plants handle imports, exports and large volumes from multiple farmers. All of them rely on capital-intensive equipment, often operating under intense pressure during a short, unpredictable harvest window.
Gable Business Finance specialises in arranging asset finance for grain drying and handling projects across the UK, including:
This page explains how the sector works, what a modern grain drying plant includes, the key growth drivers, and how you can use asset finance to make these investments affordable, sustainable and aligned with your cash flow.
Yes. Gable can finance complete drying plant projects, including dryers, silos, conveyors, augers, elevators, heating systems, cleaning equipment, dust extraction, control systems, steel-framed buildings, and supporting infrastructure. Multiple suppliers can be combined into one finance agreement.
We finance all dryer types, including continuous-flow dryers, batch dryers, ventilated-floor drying systems, and in-store drying setups. These can all be funded through Hire Purchase, Leasing, or Asset Refinance.
Yes. We fund flat-bottom silos, hopper-bottom silos, wet bins, and buffer bins. These long-life assets are ideal for medium- to long-term finance agreements.
Yes. We finance kerosene burners, gas-oil systems, LPG burners, and biomass boilers (woodchip, straw, pellets), including boiler houses and heat delivery systems.
Yes. Fans, ducts, under-floor ventilation systems, grain temperature probes, automated moisture management, and control systems can all be included in your finance package.
Yes. We fund complete handling lines, including conveyors, bucket elevators, augers, receiving pits, grain hoppers, and load-out systems. Brands like Skandia and others can be included.
Yes. This includes rotary cleaners, screeners, aspirators, separators, gravity cleaners, colour sorters, and grading equipment.
Yes. We fund grain drying sheds, boiler houses, control rooms, platforms, gantries, and all steelwork needed for plant installation and maintenance.
Yes. We finance PLC panels, touchscreen controls, remote monitoring systems, alarms, safety systems, and fully automated drying controls.
We provide four main options:
Hire Purchase is usually best. You own the equipment at the end and may benefit from capital allowances.
Finance Lease or Operating Lease typically require no VAT upfront, lower deposits, and lower monthly payments.
An Operating Lease offers the easiest upgrade path at the end of the term.
Yes. We offer agricultural repayment profiles with annual, semi-annual, or custom seasonal structures aligned with post-harvest revenue.
Yes. Asset Refinance allows you to unlock capital from equipment you already own to reinvest in your new project.
Yes. We can combine equipment from several suppliers into one simplified finance agreement.
Yes. We frequently fund deposits and staged payments throughout build, installation, and commissioning phases.
Yes, subject to age and condition. Used dryers, conveyors, augers, and silos can often be financed cost-effectively.
Yes. HP may offer capital allowances, while lease payments may be deductible as operating costs (subject to tax advice).
In many cases, Gable can obtain decisions within 24–48 hours, depending on information provided.
The UK grain drying plant industry covers a spectrum of facilities and operators, from individual farmers running a mobile dryer in a yard to sophisticated industrial-scale plants at ports and processing sites. The common goal is the same: dry, handle, clean and store grain efficiently and safely, despite highly variable harvest conditions.
Many arable farms in the UK run their own drying facilities, which might include:
The primary purpose of these systems is to reduce grain moisture to safe storage and market levels, especially in years when the weather makes it difficult to cut at target moisture. With unpredictable harvest conditions, on-farm drying plants give farmers control over timing, quality and marketing.
Modern on-farm installations increasingly focus on:
Beyond individual farms, large-scale grain handling and drying is concentrated at:
These commercial facilities typically provide a bundle of services, including:
In this part of the sector, asset finance supports major capital investments in continuous-flow dryers, storage silos, handling equipment and bulk infrastructure, often running into millions of pounds.
Across both on-farm and industrial sites, several themes dominate:
The UK grain drying industry brings together:
The UK grain drying sector is in a period of change and growth. High fossil fuel prices, combined with technological advances and government incentives, have driven renewed interest in modern, efficient, and often biomass-powered drying plants.
The cost of conventional fuels such as red diesel (gas oil) and propane (LPG) has increased substantially over recent years. For arable farmers, this has made grain drying a major line item in production costs and prompted many to look for:
Asset finance allows farmers to upgrade to more efficient plants without tying up significant working capital, so savings on fuel and improved performance can help offset the finance repayments.
Environmental and sustainability pressures have pushed the industry towards lower-carbon solutions. Biomass has become an attractive option for many grain drying plants, particularly where farms have access to:
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) – while now closed to new entrants – played a major role in demonstrating the commercial viability of biomass-fuelled drying, encouraging farmers and grain businesses to invest in biomass boilers and heat delivery systems linked to continuous-flow dryers and stores.
Today, the legacy of the RHI, combined with ongoing high fuel costs and corporate ESG targets, continues to drive interest in biomass and other renewable heat options. Gable regularly structures finance for biomass boilers, heat exchangers, dryer conversions and integrated systems alongside the main plant.
New generations of grain dryers and storage systems offer:
Brands like Sukup (silos) and Skandia (conveyors and elevators) have become common in UK upgrade projects, reflecting demand for robust, automated systems that can keep the harvest moving.
Combines have grown larger, faster and more efficient. The bottleneck is increasingly at the yard, not in the field. A well-designed grain drying plant allows farmers to:
Rather than investing in additional machinery capacity in the field, many farms achieve better returns by upgrading their drying, handling and storage capacity. Asset finance makes that shift more affordable and predictable.
Drying plants rarely stand alone. Farmers are increasingly investing in new storage capacity at the same time, including:
Gable routinely finances complete packages that combine drying, handling and storage – ensuring the plant functions as an integrated, efficient system.
A typical grain drying facility brings together multiple systems and assets. These can all be supported through tailored asset finance packages from Gable Business Finance.
Key dryer types include:
Dryers are usually the single largest capital item in a plant – and are perfectly suited to hire purchase or finance lease agreements.
Storage plays a dual role: holding wet grain before drying and storing dried grain until sale. Common types:
These structures are durable, fixed assets with long economic lifespans – making them ideal candidates for medium- to long-term asset finance.
The heat source for the dryer may be:
Biomass systems often require:
All of these can be included within a single financed project.
Ventilation is vital both in the dryer and in storage. Systems typically include:
Smaller items like fans and controls are often financed alongside the core plant, rather than as an afterthought.
The value of a dryer and silo system is only realised if grain can move between each stage quickly and safely. A typical handling system includes:
Brands like Skandia and similar high-quality manufacturers are popular for their reliability and capacity. Gable often finances complete handling lines as part of a plant upgrade, ensuring the system works as a whole.
Most modern grain drying plants include some level of cleaning and conditioning to add value and protect storage quality.
Dust extraction is essential for:
Systems typically combine:
All these items form part of a capital project and can be accepted under asset finance terms.
No drying plant is complete without the right structural and control infrastructure:
Gable Business Finance regularly helps farmers and operators pull together multiple suppliers and trades into one finance solution, so the entire plant – not just the dryer – can be funded in a joined-up way.
Grain drying plants are capital-heavy – but they are also long-lived, business-critical assets. That makes them ideal for asset finance. Gable Business Finance provides a range of options to suit different business models, risk profiles and cash flows.
Hire Purchase is one of the most common ways to fund dryers, silos and handling equipment.
Key features:
HP is particularly popular for:
Finance leasing is another option, particularly attractive where businesses want:
At the end of the lease, businesses typically have options such as extending, upgrading or arranging a transfer of ownership via the lessor. Many central stores and commercial operators favour leasing for major plant items.
Refinance allows you to:
For example, if you’ve paid for part of a drying plant from cash flow or an overdraft, Gable can often refinance the asset onto a structured HP or lease facility, freeing up working capital back into the business.
Many drying plant projects involve multiple stages and suppliers. Gable can structure finance to support:
This allows you to move ahead with a complete project, knowing that each stage is covered without sudden cash flow shocks.
Given the seasonal nature of arable farming, Gable can arrange repayment profiles that align with your business, such as:
The aim is simple: the plant should work for your cash flow, not against it.
Can I finance an entire drying plant, not just the dryer?
Yes. Gable can finance dryers, silos, handling equipment, biomass boilers, control systems, steel structures and more – often under a single facility.
Do I need planning permission before I apply?
You can discuss finance early, but typically funds are released once planning and key contracts are in place. We’ll talk you through what’s needed.
Can biomass boilers and renewable systems be included?
Yes. We regularly finance biomass heat systems, boiler houses and associated plant as part of a drying project.
What term lengths are available?
It depends on the asset mix, but terms from 3 to 10 years are common for drying and storage infrastructure.
Are seasonal payments possible?
Yes. We often structure agreements so that payments fall in line with post-harvest cash flow from grain sales.
Can you work with my existing engineer or grain store supplier?
Absolutely. We’re used to collaborating with independent engineers, manufacturers and builders across the UK.
What if I’ve already purchased part of the kit?
Asset refinance can allow you to move that spend onto a structured finance agreement and recover some working capital.
Can I finance upgrades to an existing plant rather than a new build?
Yes. We frequently fund new dryers, wet bins, conveyors, moisture meters and cleaning lines as part of upgrades.
How quickly can finance be approved?
In many cases, initial credit approvals can be obtained within 24–48 hours once we have the necessary information.
Whether you are:
Gable Business Finance can help you design an asset finance package that makes your project achievable, sustainable and aligned with your long-term plans.
Your grain is too valuable to risk on outdated drying capacity.
With the right asset finance behind you, you can build the grain drying plant your business really needs.