Guide

How does leasing a prestige car through a limited company work?

Updated September 2026 7 min read Performance & Prestige

The agreement is between us and the company rather than the person driving. The company is named as the customer, a director or employee is named as the driver, and the monthly figure is invoiced to the business. The term is three months at a minimum, with 1,000 miles a month: one month up front, then one a month.

Who is the agreement with?

The company. It is the customer, it is the party on the agreement, and it is the party we invoice. The person who drives the car is named on that agreement as a driver, which is a separate role from being the customer even when it is the same human being.

That distinction is not paperwork for its own sake. It decides who we approach about a payment, who we deal with if the car is damaged, and who has to agree to a change mid-term.

We lease to UK limited companies, LLPs and other businesses. Business leasing is the page-level version of all of this; the rest of this guide is the mechanism under it.

What does the company need to be?

A real, identifiable trading entity with someone authorised to bind it. In practice that means we will ask for the registered name and company number, the registered and trading addresses, a billing contact, and the name and role of whoever is signing.

A VAT registration number if the company has one, so the invoice carries what your finance function needs. Companies that are not VAT registered lease on exactly the same basis.

Whether a specific company can lease a specific vehicle is confirmed in writing before anything is agreed rather than assumed from this page. If your company is newly incorporated, say so at the enquiry stage — it is a question we would rather answer at the start than at the end.

How is the driver named, and why is that separate?

Every driver is named on the agreement in advance, and every named driver has to meet that specific vehicle's own criteria in their own right — minimum age, years of full licence held and points tolerance are set per car and published on each vehicle page.

The company being creditworthy does not make a driver acceptable to the policy covering the vehicle. Those are two different tests applied by two different people, and the driver test is the one nobody can negotiate.

Nobody drives the car who has not been named and checked in advance. An unnamed driver behind the wheel is an uninsured driver, at which point the excess stops being the limit of anybody's liability. Driver requirements sets out the tests.

How do invoicing and payment work?

The monthly figure is invoiced to the company, with VAT shown separately and a purchase order number on the invoice if your process needs one. Payment terms are agreed in writing before the agreement starts rather than assumed.

The refundable security deposit is not part of that. It is held against a payment card in the named hirer's own name, which is almost always a person rather than the business, and it is arranged with somebody before delivery rather than taken on a website.

That split surprises people, so it is worth saying plainly: the company pays the lease, an individual's card carries the deposit hold.

Is this a lease or a finance agreement?

A lease. There is no credit agreement, no balloon payment and no option to purchase at the end of it. The company pays a monthly figure for three months or more, the car stays ours, and it comes back to us when the term finishes.

That means there is no vehicle on the company's books to dispose of at the end, and no part-exchange conversation. It also means the end of the term is a collection rather than a settlement.

The lease terms set out what the agreement actually says. Read them before you sign rather than after, which is advice we would give you about any supplier in this sector including us.

What happens if the company changes mid-term?

Tell us, and tell us before it happens rather than after. Three changes come up often enough to be worth planning for.

The named driver leaves. The driver can usually be swapped if the replacement meets that vehicle's criteria and is checked in advance. It is not automatic and it is not something to arrange at the kerbside.
The billing address or finance contact changes. A straightforward update, and a fast one if you tell us before an invoice goes out to the old one.
The company restructures, is sold or changes name. The agreement is with a specific legal entity, so this is a conversation rather than an administrative change. Bring it to us early.

What does not work is any of these being discovered by us rather than told to us.

Can a company run more than one car on one agreement?

Yes, on one agreement and one invoice, with a named driver against each vehicle. Several starting together is a sourcing question as well as an availability one, so the earlier you tell us how many and when, the more likely the answer is the one you wanted.

Each vehicle keeps its own figures — its own monthly rate, its own deposit, its own excess, its own mileage allowance and its own driver criteria. They are not averaged into one number, and one car's driver is not automatically another's.

Leasing with more than one driver goes through the driver side of that in detail.

What we will not tell you

How any of this is treated in your company's accounts. That is a question for your accountant, and they are the right person to ask rather than us — we are a vehicle supplier and nothing on this site is tax advice.

What we can do is make sure the paperwork is what they need: an agreement naming the company, invoices with VAT shown separately, and a clear record of the term, the mileage allowance and the named drivers.

Ask them before you commit rather than afterwards. It is a short conversation at the start and an awkward one three months in.

Common questions

Does the company need to be VAT registered?

No. Companies that are not VAT registered lease on exactly the same basis, and the invoice is issued the same way with VAT shown separately. Give us the registration number if you have one so the paperwork is right first time.

Can a sole trader or a partnership lease rather than a limited company?

Tell us at the enquiry stage and we will give you a straight answer for your situation. The agreement has to be with an identifiable party that someone is authorised to bind, and how that works differs between a limited company, an LLP and a sole trader.

Who has to sign the agreement?

Somebody authorised to bind the company, usually a director. The signatory and the named driver are often the same person and do not have to be. Tell us who is doing which when you enquire so the agreement is drawn correctly the first time.

Can the invoice go to a different company from the one on the agreement?

No. The party invoiced is the party on the agreement, because that is the party legally responsible for it. If the car is for one company and the cost sits with another, tell us at the enquiry stage and we will set the agreement up with the right entity from the start.

Can the car be used privately as well as for the business?

The agreement permits normal road use by named drivers. Whether your company allows private use is its own policy, and how any of it is treated in your accounts is a question for your accountant. What we need to know is who is driving, so they can be named and checked.