The rental division of Kettering-based Grosvenor Contracts provides daily rental and short-term lease agreements, both of which are experiencing unprecedented demand.

Alison Mead, who heads up Grosvenor Rental Management, believes the soaring bookings are in response to improved optimism in the economic outlook, tempered with a sense of caution by businesses that do not wish to over-commit on their fleet size.

‘Short-term rentals are being increasingly used by companies to build flexibility into their fleet size,’ said Mead. ‘Easi-Lease, our solution for hires above 75 days, is particularly popular because it bridges the gap between daily rental and longer-term contract hire, as well as offering an alternative to companies who purchase their company cars and vans outright.

‘It means they can quickly increase and decrease the number of vehicles they operate without having to worry about termination costs, or expensive depreciation. We’re also seeing a rise in the number of companies booking car derived vans on short-term leases and there was an influx of requests for off-road vehicles during the snow this winter.’

‘We’ve recently recruited a new member of staff into the rental team to cope with rising demand,’ added Mead, ‘and the number of rental days continues to climb every month. It certainly reflects a growing appreciation by fleet operators of the benefits of using daily rental and short-term lease tactically and strategically, whereas years ago they were used much more as a distress purchase when a car was suddenly needed at short notice.’