The survey carried out for Lex Autolease follows an annual audit by the firm, which highlights the growth in funds being raised through "sale and leaseback" agreements. The company says that it has purchased thousands of company-owned vehicles over the last year, providing UK firms with a cash injection of over £50 million. 

Andrew Kirby, regional sales director for Lex Autolease, said: 'For many firms who are looking at ways to finance their business, sale and leaseback is often an ideal solution. It provides an immediate cash injection to service debts or fund investment priorities.

'More companies can benefit from releasing the capital tied up in their vehicles and begin the process of using managed contract hire arrangements to drive down the costs of mobilising employees.'

And according to Lex Autolease there are many other benefits of going down the sale and leaseback route, including the removal of the residual value risk, fixed monthly payments for easy cash flow forecasting, access to services such as maintenance and fleet management, reduced administration, and an easy, straightforward process

Andrew Kirby concluded: 'Contract hire is preferable in many ways to ownership, not least because of the reduced risk of vehicle depreciation and maintenance. But on the employee side, it's also a more flexible way of offering staff greater choice within their benefits package and enticing high-quality recruits with the promise of a new company vehicle rather than an old or shared pool car.'

For more information on sale and leaseback, visit www.lexautolease.co.uk/sal, call: 0845 769 7381, or email: [email protected]