Iron Capital: rent-to-purchase and sale-and-hire-back for heavy machinery

Iron Capital sits in an unusual corner of this directory. It doesn’t lend money against your bank statements. It buys a heavy machine, rents it to you for 12 to 24 months, and gives you the right to buy it at a price agreed at the start. For an earthmoving or haulage operator who wants a dozer, excavator or crusher on site now but doesn’t want to lock in a five-year chattel mortgage, that structure can be a useful middle path.

This profile draws on Iron Capital’s own website as at October 2026: what it offers, the rules it publishes, where it fits and where it doesn’t.

What does Iron Capital offer?

Product	How it works	Published detail
Rent-to-Purchase	A 12 to 24 month rental on new or used heavy equipment that lets you buy the machine once the term ends	Typical deals $150k to $250k, up to $750k for one asset
Sale and hire back	Iron Capital buys machinery you own and rents it back, releasing cash into the business	Amounts not published
Used equipment sales	Machines sold directly	Not a finance product

Iron Capital says it has a national presence across Australia’s major cities and also works with finance brokers and equipment dealers, so you may meet it through a dealer rather than directly.

Who is the rent-to-purchase program built for?

Iron Capital says the program suits heavy equipment in five sectors: civil, mining, quarrying, heavy and bulk haulage transport, and agriculture. Its news items mention earthmoving gear, mobile mining equipment, a skid steer loader and a jaw crusher.

The machine can be new or used, provided it’s no older than 10 years when the contract starts. You can source it from a franchise dealer, a used equipment dealer, an auction house or a private seller at arm’s length, as long as it passes inspection. That auction and private-sale flexibility matters: plenty of asset financiers get cautious about older machines bought outside a dealer yard.

What are the eligibility rules?

As published, a business generally needs:

• 12 months of operation with a registered ABN and GST registration (exceptions may be possible with extra credit support)
• A credit check, run on every new client
• A clean-enough file: a single resolved default can be acceptable if it came from a trade dispute or a utility bill, while defaults with finance companies may need further approval
• A directors’ guarantee in most cases
• An application form and a statement of assets and liabilities for each director
• Insurance, with a certificate of currency at settlement and every year after

Pricing is risk-based, set on the machine, the customer and where the gear will work. A newer machine on a metro civil job will usually price differently from an older one heading to a remote quarry.

Weighing rent-to-purchase against a conventional equipment loan? Share the machine and the job with us for an outline of what else could suit your fleet; asking triggers no credit enquiry.

How does a rent-to-purchase deal play out?

Here’s an illustration, not an Iron Capital quote. A two-year-old civil contractor wins a 15-month road subcontract and needs a used 30-tonne excavator worth about $220k, found at auction. Its bank wants more trading history, and the owner isn’t sure the work will continue after the contract.

Under a 24-month rent-to-purchase, the contractor pays rent, maintains the machine and keeps it insured. Ninety days before the end, Iron Capital makes contact. If a follow-on contract has landed, the contractor buys the excavator at the agreed price, perhaps funding that with a chattel mortgage. If not, it hands the machine back. If it’s still undecided, it can extend for 12 months at a reduced rent or roll month to month.

The benefit is that the decision to own is deferred until the work justifies it. The cost is that rent paid isn’t building ownership in the same way loan repayments do, so if you’re sure you’ll keep the machine for years, a loan may cost less overall. Run both through our equipment finance calculator and ask your accountant how rent versus depreciation affects your tax.

Questions to ask Iron Capital

1. What is the total rent over the term, and what’s the agreed buy price, in dollars?
2. Who pays for major repairs during the rental, and what condition must the machine be in if I return it?
3. What does the reduced rent look like if I extend for 12 months?
4. What inspection is needed for an auction or private-sale machine, and who pays for it?
5. On a sale and hire back, how is my machine valued?

If Iron Capital says no, or it isn’t the right shape

• You want to own from day one: standard equipment finance or a chattel mortgage, and check how they compare in leasing vs buying equipment.
• Buying new from a dealer: manufacturer finance such as Cat Financial is often packaged with the sale.
• Shorter, project-based use: a rental financier like Rentset may suit.
• Cash tied up in machines you own: read about sale and leaseback.
• Bank first: if you’ve a few years of financials, your bank’s equipment finance team is worth a call, as banks are often the cheapest option when you fit. If it declines, our guide for earthmoving contractors lists the other routes.

Need a machine on site before the next job starts?

Heavy gear decisions usually come with a deadline: a contract start date, an auction closing or a breakdown mid-job. Rent-to-purchase is one answer; a loan, a lease or releasing equity from gear you already own may be better, depending on your plans for the machine.

Getting a read on your options is quick. The form takes about a minute, makes no enquiry on your credit file, and goes to our team alone, not out to a long list of financiers. Someone who knows plant and machinery deals reads it, then calls. Exact figures on the machine’s price, year of manufacture and your years of trading help us steer you correctly from the outset.

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