# Business contract hire vs finance lease

> The plain-English difference between business contract hire and a finance lease: who carries the risk, what you pay, what happens at the end, and where…

Source: https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/guides/business-contract-hire-vs-finance-lease

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# Business contract hire vs finance lease

Updated October 2026 · 3 min read

**Business contract hire means you rent the van for a fixed term and hand it back at the end, with no resale and no depreciation risk. A finance lease puts the vehicle on your balance sheet and leaves you carrying its end value. For most small businesses that just want a van on the road without a long tie-in, a flexible short-term hire is the simpler middle ground.**

## What business contract hire actually is

Business contract hire (BCH) is the usual way companies run a van without buying it. You agree a term and an annual mileage, pay a fixed monthly amount, and hand the van back at the end. You never own it, and that's the point: the leasing company carries the risk of what it's worth later, not you. No selling it on, no depreciation headache, and the cost sits in your accounts as one predictable monthly bill.

## What a finance lease is, and how it differs

A finance lease looks similar on the surface, in that you pay monthly to use the vehicle. But the risk sits with you. The van usually appears on your balance sheet, and at the end there's a final value to settle, often by selling it and squaring up the difference. It can suit a business that wants the asset on the books or plans to keep the vehicle for years, but there's more to manage and you're exposed to what the van actually fetches later.

## The differences that matter in practice

- [van is far more generous than a car](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/guides/business-van-lease-vat-and-tax)
- [See what your business can drive](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/business-van-leasing)
- [See business van options →](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/apply?niche=van-trade)
- [New business vehicle hire](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/hire/business-vehicle-hire)
- [New-business van hire](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/hire/new-business-van-hire)
- [Claiming VAT back on a business van lease](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/guides/business-van-lease-vat-and-tax)
- [Van hire & leasing for the self-employed](https://fasttrackleasing.co.uk/guides/van-hire-and-leasing-for-the-self-employed)