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Gable Business Finance specialises in providing flexible, tailored finance for UK farmers and agricultural businesses looking to build, upgrade or expand polytunnel infrastructure. Whether you grow soft fruit, salads, herbs, vegetables, or you’re using polytunnels for livestock housing and industrial shelters, we help you access the structures you need without putting pressure on your working capital.
Polytunnels are one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in British agriculture today. They offer a cost-effective alternative to permanent glasshouses and provide a controlled, protected microclimate that helps farmers to:
From small family-run holdings to large commercial operations, polytunnels are now a standard feature of the UK farming landscape. They support everything from early carrots and overwintering salads to large-scale strawberry production and specialist herb enterprises, as well as flexible, airy housing for sheep, calves and cattle.
Gable Business Finance helps growers and producers turn polytunnel plans into reality, using structured asset finance to spread the cost and match repayments to seasonal income patterns.
The UK’s short, unpredictable growing seasons can make outdoor cropping risky. Polytunnels create a warmer, sheltered microclimate that allows farmers to:
By controlling temperature, humidity and airflow, polytunnels reduce crop stress and improve consistency, helping growers secure contracts and supply retailers with reliable volumes.
Polytunnels provide protection from:
This protection not only improves plant health but also reduces weather-related diseases such as blight, rust and mildew, helping to lower input and crop-loss costs.
By stabilising conditions, polytunnels enable crops to reach their full genetic potential. The result is:
This improved quality often commands premium prices, particularly for soft fruits, salad greens and speciality crops that rely on appearance and freshness.
While glasshouses offer exceptional control, they come with high construction and maintenance costs. Polytunnels provide a practical middle ground:
This makes polytunnels accessible to a wide range of growers, from smallholders and new entrants to established commercial producers.
Polytunnels open the door to a wide range of higher-value crops that would struggle outdoors in the UK climate. This supports farm resilience and diversification.
Polytunnels are a backbone of the UK’s protected cropping sector. Some of the most common and profitable polytunnel crops include:
With polytunnels, growers can tailor production to specific market needs, test new lines and react quickly to shifting consumer demand.
Gable Business Finance can arrange funding for a wide variety of polytunnel types and related structures, including:
Designed for professional growers, these structures typically include:
Ideal for small to medium commercial operations and intensive cropping blocks, single-span tunnels provide:
For large-scale salad, vegetable or soft fruit production, multi-span complexes offer:
These are especially useful for ornamentals, nursery stock and shade-loving crops, as well as covered working areas. Features often include:
Where extra protection is needed (for example, for overwintering plants, sensitive crops or specialist propagation), insulated tunnels can be used with:
Polytunnels are increasingly used as livestock housing for sheep, calves and cattle due to their excellent ventilation, natural light and cost-effective construction. These can range from smaller overwintering shelters to large multi-span cattle housing systems.
Polytunnel-type structures are also widely used as mobile work shelters, machinery bays and container canopy covers, giving farms flexible, movable covered space wherever it’s needed on the yard.
Polytunnels on farms often benefit from permitted development (PD) rights, but there are important rules to consider before construction.
In general:
Although many polytunnels fall comfortably within PD criteria, growers should always confirm with their local planning authority.
You will often need to seek planning permission if:
Farmers must also comply with regulations aimed at preventing water pollution and managing run-off. For polytunnel developments, this may include:
Good planning at the outset will help avoid regulatory issues and ensure the development supports both environmental protection and long-term farm profitability.
Yes, UK farmers can absolutely use asset finance to fund polytunnels. Rather than paying the full cost upfront, you spread the investment over an agreed term using the polytunnel itself as security for the finance. This approach is widely used for agricultural equipment and infrastructure projects.
Because the polytunnel is the asset that secures the lending, this type of finance can be more accessible and competitive compared with unsecured borrowing. It allows you to unlock essential infrastructure without tying up other assets.
With Hire Purchase:
Under a finance lease:
For certain short-to-medium term requirements, an operating lease may be appropriate, particularly where you don’t wish to own the asset long term but need the operational benefits during its prime years.
Farm cash flows are often seasonal. Gable Business Finance can help structure polytunnel finance repayments to match your income patterns, including:
Asset finance for polytunnels can typically cover:
Polytunnels can be a significant investment, especially when installing multiple bays or multi-span structures. Asset finance allows you to acquire the infrastructure without a large one-off capital outlay, keeping cash free for:
Through structured repayment plans, you can align finance with your earning profile. For example, soft fruit and vegetable growers can make higher payments during peak harvest months and lower payments in quieter periods.
New or expanded polytunnel infrastructure can rapidly boost your productive capacity, enabling you to:
If your business is VAT registered, you may be able to recover VAT on eligible equipment, depending on the finance structure used. Finance products may also have potential tax advantages (always seek professional advice from your accountant for your specific circumstances).
By leveraging finance, you can invest earlier and at a larger scale than might be possible using savings alone, allowing you to capture opportunities and build a more resilient, future-ready farming business.
Polytunnels aren’t just for plants. Across the UK, many farmers now use polytunnel structures as livestock housing for sheep, calves and cattle. These systems provide a bright, airy, cost-effective alternative to traditional buildings, promoting good animal health and welfare while keeping capital costs under control.
Polytunnels are especially popular for:
Airy, light-filled buildings support good mothering, easier monitoring and comfortable working conditions for shepherds during busy lambing periods.
Young calves benefit significantly from the warmth and dryness of a well-designed polytunnel environment. These structures can:
By promoting calf health and lowering mortality, polytunnel housing can support better performance and lifetime productivity for dairy and beef animals.
As farms grow, multi-span polytunnel houses are increasingly common for dairy herds and beef cattle. The advantages include:
In addition to crops and livestock, polytunnel-type structures are increasingly used as flexible industrial and operational shelters on farms and agri-business sites. They provide quick, movable covered space wherever needed, often at a fraction of the cost of permanent buildings.
Mobile polytunnel work shelters are used for a wide range of tasks, including:
Because these shelters can be relocated, they offer exceptional flexibility for farms that need to adapt their operations quickly.
Polytunnel-style canopies are frequently installed over shipping containers or between containers and existing buildings to create:
These canopy systems maximise yard space, keep staff and produce dry, and help maintain productivity in all weather conditions.
Below are detailed examples of how Gable Business Finance has helped UK farmers and growers invest in polytunnels for crops, livestock and industrial uses through flexible asset finance.
A successful market garden in the Midlands wanted to expand its production of salad leaves and spinach, but lacked covered space. The business planned a multi-span polytunnel complex with automated irrigation, roll-up sides and internal paths for electric harvest trolleys.
However, the upfront cost of the project was substantial. Gable Business Finance arranged a hire purchase agreement that covered the full structure and installation. Repayments were structured to align with the farm’s peak spring and summer harvest receipts.
Within two seasons, the business had increased its cropped area under cover by 40%, secured more reliable supply contracts with local retailers, and significantly boosted overall turnover.
A Herefordshire soft fruit farm specialising in strawberries and raspberries needed to expand production to meet supermarket demand. The grower planned several new heavy-duty commercial tunnels with table-top growing systems and fertigation lines.
Gable Business Finance provided a flexible finance lease that spread the cost over five years. Seasonal repayment profiles meant that higher payments fell during the main picking season, easing winter cash flow.
The new tunnels not only increased volume but also improved fruit quality and allowed earlier and later cropping, helping the farm secure premium pricing and extended supply contracts.
A specialist herb farm in West Sussex supplying restaurants and farm shops wanted more control over temperature and humidity for basil, coriander and mint crops. The farm invested in insulated polytunnels with internal thermal screens and upgraded irrigation.
Gable Business Finance arranged asset finance that included the structures, groundworks and internal systems. By moving production into controlled environments, the farm reduced crop losses, improved flavour consistency and secured new restaurant customers seeking high-quality British herbs.
A family farm in the North of England had operated a successful domestic-scale garden business selling plants and vegetables locally. Demand outgrew their small greenhouse and ad-hoc structures. They decided to install their first commercial-grade polytunnel to move into full commercial production.
Through a modest hire purchase package with Gable Business Finance, the farm funded a single-span tunnel, raised beds and basic irrigation infrastructure. Within a year, they were supplying local shops, cafes and a weekly farmers’ market, and are now planning a second tunnel.
A hill farm in Wales was experiencing challenging lambing seasons due to unreliable weather and limited indoor space. The farmer wanted a dedicated lambing tunnel where ewes and newborn lambs could be housed in warm, dry conditions.
Gable Business Finance provided funding for a robust livestock polytunnel with reinforced hoops, ventilation options and internal lambing pens. The cost was spread over five years on a fixed-rate hire purchase agreement.
In the first season, the farm reported improved lamb survival rates, easier monitoring and reduced labour stress. The lambing tunnel is now used year-round for both winter housing and as a sheltered area before and during shearing.
A dairy operation in Somerset needed to expand its calf housing quickly but wanted to avoid the high cost of constructing a new permanent building. They opted for a polytunnel-based calf unit with straw yards, automatic drinkers and adjustable vents.
Gable Business Finance structured an agreement that included both the tunnel and internal fit-out. The farm saw immediate improvements in calf health and growth rates, with lower incidence of pneumonia and improved daily liveweight gains. Staff also benefited from a bright, easily managed working environment.
A finishing unit in North Yorkshire decided to replace several small, ageing sheds with a multi-span polytunnel housing system for beef cattle. The new structure offered increased headroom, better airflow and simpler feeding routes.
Gable Business Finance arranged a finance lease covering the tunnel frames, covers and feed barriers. By centralising housing under one larger roof, the farm lowered bedding costs, improved bedding dryness and reduced overall labour time per animal.
A large vegetable grower in Lincolnshire needed a covered area for grading and packing produce during the busy autumn harvest. Outdoor packing stations were frequently disrupted by heavy rain and high winds.
Gable Business Finance funded a mobile polytunnel work shelter that could be relocated between different fields and yard areas. The structure allowed the business to maintain continuity in harvest operations, reduce crop waste and protect staff from the elements.
A mixed arable and livestock farm in Lancashire wanted a cost-effective way to create a covered workshop and storage area. They installed a polytunnel-style canopy between two shipping containers, creating a sheltered bay for machinery servicing and parts storage.
Gable Business Finance provided a simple finance package covering the canopy structure. The farm now benefits from an all-weather maintenance space, reducing downtime and improving machinery longevity.
Yes. Gable Business Finance can provide funding for polytunnels used for horticulture, soft fruit, vegetable production, livestock housing, mobile work shelters and canopy structures, subject to standard lending criteria.
In many cases, yes. Subject to lender approval, finance can often cover the structure, installation and some associated groundworks, allowing you to fund much of the project through one solution.
You should always clarify planning requirements with your local authority before committing to a large project. Some polytunnels fall under permitted development, but others — especially in sensitive areas or of significant scale — may require full permission.
Yes. We understand that many farming incomes are seasonal. We can work with you to build a repayment profile that reflects your cash flow, such as higher payments during harvest or peak sales periods.
Typical terms range from 1 to 7 years, depending on the size and nature of the project, the type of structure and your business circumstances.
Absolutely. Many growers fund multi-span complexes or several single-span tunnels under a single finance arrangement, especially when expanding rapidly or upgrading infrastructure across the farm.
If your business is VAT registered, you may be able to reclaim VAT on eligible equipment and structures. The exact position will depend on your circumstances and the type of finance product used. Always ask your accountant or tax adviser to confirm.
In many cases, yes. We can discuss options such as refinancing, early settlement or additional facilities to fund expansions and upgrades as your business grows.
Decision times vary depending on the complexity of the proposal, but many straightforward applications can be assessed and agreed in a short timeframe, helping you move quickly on time-sensitive projects such as seasonal builds.
Simply contact Gable Business Finance for a free, no-obligation discussion about your polytunnel plans. We’ll talk through the options, get to know your farm and objectives, and provide tailored finance solutions to support your project.