Farm finance: land, kit and the diversification plan
Farming businesses borrow across more product lines than almost any other sector: land and buildings, machinery, livestock, seasonal working capital and diversification builds. Our panel covers each one: 12 commercial mortgage lenders take farms, 32 asset lenders fund agricultural machinery, and rural-economy specialists sit alongside the high-street names.
One enquiry, split across the right panels by people who know which lender understands a livestock cycle. Free, and nothing goes anywhere without your say-so.
The agricultural panel in numbers
12
of 45 commercial mortgage lenders lend on farms and agricultural land
32
of 38 asset finance lenders fund agricultural machinery
15
asset lenders fund machinery over ten years old
31
asset lenders fund green energy: solar, biomass and similar
Counts are distinct lenders on our panel with at least one live product matching the criterion, checked September 2026. Panel composition changes over time, and meeting a criterion is not an offer: every case is subject to the lender's own checks.
The four ways farms borrow
Land and buildings
Agricultural mortgages for purchase, restructuring or releasing capital from owned land. Assessed on the whole farm: land value, income streams and the season, not a tidy monthly P&L.
Machinery and vehicles
Hire purchase and leasing on tractors, combines, handlers and dairy kit, new or used, plus refinance of owned machinery to put working capital back in the business.
Livestock and working capital
Specialist rural lenders fund livestock purchases and the gap between input costs and sale receipts. Generalist working-capital lenders sit behind them for the rest.
Diversification
Barn conversions, holiday accommodation, glamping, solar: each runs through its own product line, and many start with a planning application. Our planning gain guide covers that stage.
Diversification builds that start at the planning committee are covered in our planning gain finance guide; equipment funding across every sector is in the equipment guide.
A note on who we take on
We currently work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. We complete non-regulated introductions and are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Many farms trade as partnerships or sole traders; until that changes we can help where the borrowing entity is a limited company or LLP.
The panel behind this page
Farm property cases go to the 12 lenders on our commercial mortgage panel of 45 that lend on agricultural land, with the asset finance panel carrying the machinery side, part of 200+ lenders across all products. That range matters more than any single rate: the lender that suits a five-year-old limited company with clean accounts is rarely the one that suits a seasonal business or a director with a past blip, and a broker with a shallow panel has to force your case into whichever box it holds.
Names you may recognise on the panel
Examples from our panel as at September 2026, not an endorsement of any lender and not the full list. We check criteria first and put your case only to lenders whose requirements you fit. The full panel by product is in our lender directory, and how we choose is set out on our how we work page.
Frequently asked questions
How many lenders fund farms?▼
It depends what the money is for. 12 of the 45 commercial mortgage lenders on our panel lend against farms and agricultural land, 32 of our 38 asset finance lenders fund agricultural machinery, and the panel includes lenders dedicated entirely to the rural economy, out of 200+ lenders across all products (checked September 2026; panel composition changes over time).
Can I finance a tractor or combine, new or used?▼
Yes. Agricultural plant and machinery is one of the best-covered asset classes on our panel: 32 lenders fund it, through hire purchase, finance lease or refinance of kit you already own to release working capital. Age matters less than you might think: 15 of our asset lenders will fund machinery over ten years old, which suits the second-hand market farming actually buys in.
What about diversification projects: barns, holiday lets, solar?▼
Diversification usually crosses product lines, and that is fine. Barn conversions can run through refurbishment or development funding (27 of our development lenders fund planning-gain projects, which many conversions are). Holiday accommodation has its own buy-to-let subset. Solar and biomass sit with the 31 asset lenders covering green energy. One enquiry covers the lot; we split it across the right panels.
Is farm lending assessed differently from other business lending?▼
Materially. Land-rich, income-lumpy businesses fit badly into standard affordability models, so agricultural lenders assess on the farm as a whole: land value, subsidy and contract income, diversified income streams and the season's timing. Specialist agricultural lenders also understand tenancies, single farm payments and livestock cycles in a way generalists do not, which shows up in what they will approve.
Can tenant farmers get funding?▼
Without owned land to secure against, the property routes narrow, but machinery finance, livestock funding and working capital remain open because they are secured on the assets and the trade rather than the freehold. Where a tenancy carries value or the landlord consents, more becomes possible; it is case-by-case matching, which is the work we do before anything is submitted.
Is farm finance FCA regulated?▼
Commercial lending to a farming business is generally unregulated. Lending secured on the farmhouse you live in can be regulated territory, and we do not arrange regulated mortgage contracts. CapExpand introduces limited companies and LLPs on a non-regulated basis and is not an FCA-authorised firm.
Important information
CapExpand Ltd is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and can only complete non-regulated introductions. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. We are not a lender and we do not provide financial, tax or legal advice. We do not arrange regulated residential mortgages, consumer buy-to-let mortgages or any other regulated mortgage contracts. We work with a panel of lenders whose particulars are available on request, and we receive commission from the lender if a deal completes, at no cost to you. All lending is subject to status, valuation where applicable and the lender's own checks.
Registered office: Pure Offices, Lake View Drive, Annesley, Nottingham, NG15 0DT. Company No. 14433858.
Tell us about the farm and the plan
Acres, what you produce, what the money is for and how the business is set up. We come back with the lenders that understand it, usually within a day.