The firm has reported a 29% year-on-year rise in the number of vehicles it leased to small firms in 2014, attributing the rise as “an indication that SMEs are increasingly looking to streamline their operations and cut their overheads by stripping their balance sheets of depreciating assets”.

Of this figure, the number of company cars leased by small businesses saw a year-on-year growth of 21% in 2014 while growth in van leasing was up 110% year-on-year rise.

Simon Barter, head of SME Direct at Lex Autolease, commented: “The UK’s nimble SME sector is focused on streamlining and operating more efficiently, and as many small companies shifted their business plans to expansion last year, they started looking at new, innovative ways of restructuring their operations. Company vehicles was one such area, and the sharp growth we’ve seen shows that increasing numbers of small businesses are seeing the benefits of leasing in delivering key, sustainable changes to their vehicle management that both streamline their operations and reduce costs.”

The most popular colour of cars for SMEs was black, with the number of black cars leased rising by 39.3% year-on-year in 2014. White remained the second colour of choice, but only rising 13% year-on-year in comparison.

In addition, the findings revealed the white van man is still alive and well, with white vans accounting for 64% of company LCVs leased last year – grey is the second most popular colour, with 10% of the market.