The current business climate in the wake of the Brexit vote, is throwing up a lot of uncertainties for UK businesses. Business owners are finding it hard to plan for the future when so much can change over the next few years.
Keeping company finances as liquid as possible, to enable your company to stay nimble in the face of sudden market changes will be a critical skill that managers will need to learn quickly.
Corporate Fleet Managers Need to Stay Nimble
Many businesses operate a fleet of vehicles available as pool or hire cars that are made available for employees to use when travelling on company business. This takes care of business insurance problems, use of employee cars that may not be suitable or where staff that need to travel don’t own a car of their own.
Leasing or hiring cars long term in the normal way is not cheap and can be inflexible, tying up capital and not making the most efficient use of vehicles that can stand idle for long periods.
Advantages of Flexible Car Leasing
- Releasing Capital from Your Fleet: you only pay for vehicles when you need them, therefore not tying precious capital up in long term agreements, where cars are often not in use for periods of time.
- Planning for Project and Seasonal Work: Often there are patterns in the need for hire cars for seasonal work, making planning a lot easier and vehicles can be leased during seasonal demand only. There is a similar case for project work that may entail more employee travel, but again good project management will allow a fleet manage to predict peaks and troughs in demand for vehicles.
- New and Temporary Employees: Where the provision of company cars is part of company policy there can be a need for short-term provision of vehicles for temporary employees, or where you have a new starter and an existing vehicle is not available for handover immediately.
- Reducing Maintenance Costs: Medium to large companies often has their own facility for maintenance of fleet vehicles. With a flexible lease agreement, there is no need to carry this overhead, as vehicles can be exchanged regularly avoiding the need to take responsibility for the maintenance function.
- Minimise Capital Outlay or Need for Funding: As vehicles are only paid for when they are needed, capital is tied up for much shorter periods of time. In the case where funding is necessary the cost of borrowing can be cut as less money will need to be borrowed over time.
Flexible Car Lease Pricing
Pricing averages around £95 per week, for a new saloon sized car packed with features such as sat nav, Bluetooth, air con, cruise control, fantastic mpg and high mileage allowance.