Reversible decisions
A four-year contract commits you to a headcount forecast nobody can make accurately. Short terms let you be wrong cheaply.
Business pillar
Fleet decisions that stay reversible
A four-year fleet commitment locks in a forecast nobody can actually make reliably. Short-term business agreements let vehicles track contract wins, headcount changes and seasonal swings instead.
In short
Business leasing here means short-term contract hire and subscription agreements for cars and vans, held in the company's name, running 1 to 24 months. Quotes exclude VAT; a VAT-registered business can typically reclaim half the VAT on a car with any private use, and all of it on a commercial vehicle that's strictly work-only. There's no minimum fleet size to qualify, and agreements at 12 months or under may fall within the IFRS 16 short-term lease exemption — your accountant can confirm that for your specific reporting.
The commercial case
What short terms actually buy a business
Predictable cost per head
Road tax, warranty and breakdown in one figure, with maintenance included on subscriptions and optional on leases. No surprise garage invoices mid-quarter.
Speed
In-stock vehicles in as little as 3–5 working days from signed order and payment, rather than a factory order measured in months — useful when a start date won't move.
One account, mixed fleet
Directors' cars, pool vehicles and vans on a single account with one invoice and a named contact.
Interim and project staff
Vehicles that end when the assignment ends. No stranded assets, no early termination negotiations.
Staged electrification
Move part of the fleet to electric — and ahead of London's clean air rules — and see what it does to your operations before committing all of it.
Where to go next
Business services
Salary Sacrifice
Give staff an electric car out of gross salary. Employees save income tax and National Insurance; the company saves employer NI. No capital outlay from the business.
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Salary SacrificeNew Business Start-ups
Trading under two years with no filed accounts? Mainstream funders decline these almost automatically. We place them regularly.
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New Business Start-upsOverseas Directors
A UK-registered company whose directors live outside the UK. Workable, with the right funder and the right paperwork.
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Overseas DirectorsOverseas Parent or Shareholders
UK subsidiaries of foreign groups. The credit file often looks thin even when the parent is substantial.
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Overseas Parent or ShareholdersNon-Status Leasing
For applicants outside standard credit criteria who don't have bad credit, CCJs or adverse history. Assessed case by case, not declined by a system.
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Non-Status LeasingVan & Commercial Fleet
Panel vans, crew vans, tippers and pickups on subscriptions or fixed 6 and 12 month contracts.
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Van & Commercial FleetThe finance side
VAT and accounting, briefly
We're not accountants and this isn't accounting advice — but these are the points your finance team will ask about, so here they are.
- VAT on car rentals
- A VAT-registered business can normally reclaim 50% of the VAT on the rental element of a car available for private use, and 100% on the maintenance element.
- VAT on van rentals
- Normally 100% reclaimable where the vehicle is used solely for business purposes.
- Corporation tax
- Rental payments are generally an allowable deduction against profits, subject to a restriction on higher-emission cars.
- Balance sheet
- Under IFRS 16 there's an exemption for leases of 12 months or less, which many of our agreements fall within. FRS 102 treatment differs.
- Benefit in kind
- Applies where a car is available for an employee's private use. Electric vehicles attract a far lower rate, which is why salary sacrifice works so well with EVs.
Please check with your accountant. Treatment depends on your reporting standard, your VAT position and how the vehicle is actually used. We'll give your accountant whatever documentation they need.
Specialist underwriting
If you've been declined elsewhere
A large share of our business comes from companies a mainstream funder has already turned down — not because anything is wrong, but because automated credit scoring can't read the situation.
- A company formed eight months ago with strong contracts but no filed accounts
- A UK subsidiary of a substantial overseas group with a thin standalone file
- A director who's lived abroad for six years with no recent UK credit footprint
- A UK entity of an overseas business, employing London staff who need vehicles
None of these are unusual, and none of them are automatically a no. See what we can do with specialist cases.
Enquiry
Talk to us about your fleet
Business vehicle enquiry
Tell us roughly what you need and we'll come back with real availability and a written quote.
Enquiring about
Answers
Frequently asked questions
If you're VAT-registered, generally 50% on the rental element of a car that sees any private use, rising to 100% on a commercial vehicle that's strictly work-only. Maintenance charges are usually reclaimable in full. That's the general rule rather than your specific answer — run it past your accountant.
That comes down to which accounting standard applies to you and how the specific contract is drawn up. Plenty of agreements at 12 months or under fall within the IFRS 16 short-term lease exemption, but we're not qualified to give you a definitive answer on your accounts — your accountant is.
Not with us. It's the default 'no' from most mainstream funders when there are no filed accounts yet, and it's exactly the gap our start-up service exists to close — typically with a bigger initial rental or a director's personal guarantee attached.
No, it's a case type we see often. Both a UK company run by non-UK-resident directors, and a UK subsidiary of an overseas parent, are things we place regularly. The specific pages for each explain exactly what documentation gets asked for.
Not at all. We work with sole directors running one car just as readily as operations running twenty vans across three depots. Same service either way — a named contact, one invoice, terms that flex with you.
Yes, and it's how most of our business customers actually run things. Directors' cars, pool cars and commercial vehicles can all live under a single account, one invoice, one point of contact.
Stock tagged GL or GPC in our system is in-stock and typically lands in 3 to 5 working days from a signed order and payment, quicker still if credit's already approved. Need a batch of vans on the road for a contract starting next month? Give us the date and we'll tell you plainly whether it's doable.
Next step
Get a business quote
One vehicle or a whole fleet. Send us the requirement and we'll come back with availability, pricing and lead times.