Ready2Lease Limited

It was formed by James McNeil in 2020 alongside two former colleagues, who have since retired from the business. The business initially started out as a standalone broker offering personal lease and business lease deals on dealer-funded specials. However, since 2021, the business has grown, and now whilst continuing to offer dealer-funded specials, also offers unique and special rates from a panel of premium leasing funders, also known as lenders. We now operate as two directors, with our administration and compliance handled remotely.

Ready2Lease has a huge focus on customer service and bringing the best deals in front of local businesses as well as providing PCH (Personal contract hire) for individuals, families, and company car allowance drivers. Our sales lines are directly manned from our office in Leicester, which eliminates the customer dread of waiting on hold or dealing with lots of different people. We care about our customers and we always go above and beyond the make the service levels as personal as possible.

We offer all makes and models of mainstream manufactured cars, including premium German brands such as Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen. Asian manufacturers such as Kia, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai. We also supply Ford, Fiat, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Mazda, Toyota, Vauxhall, and many more.

Our Van offering is equally as comprehensive and includes brands such as Ford, Peugeot, Vauxhall, Maxus, Citroen, and Mercedes-Benz. Our commercial vehicles are often readily available for quick delivery to help customers with urgent leasing requirements.

Generally speaking, our lease terms are available for a minimum of 2 years, through to a maximum of 5 years. In most cases, the longer the term, the cheaper the lease, but there are exceptions to that.

Lease cars and vans will always require some level of servicing during their lease contract, so you can opt to upgrade your package and include routine maintenance within your monthly payment. This will cover a routine service, consumables such as brake pads and tires as well as an MOT in the fourth year, should you wish to lease for that long. If you choose not to include maintenance then you will still need to arrange these services at your own expense, these can take place at authorized dealer centres that are geographically local to you. Vehicles returned without the routine servicing having taken place are liable for end-of-contract charges, as this will have devalued the vehicle below its predicted residual value.

Leasing, which is also known as contract hire is a no-ownership product. This means that when the contract ends, there is no balloon payment and no options to re-finance the vehicle for a longer period. You simply arrange with us to have your vehicle collected and you can opt to have a new one delivered or you we can go separate ways, there are no obligations past your contract expiry point.

If you are a business and you are considering leasing or contract hire for your staff or general business usage, you will need to obtain a credit line with the funder that is offering the right deal for you. This is arranged through us as the broker and the lender will have certain limitations in place to ensure they only lend to businesses that are able to maintain the monthly repayments. This generally requires a business to have been trading for at least two years and in some cases, they are required to have a business net worth of at least the same value as the vehicle in question. There are exceptions to this and we are able to provide businesses a lease who have been trading for a shorter period, however, this would require a director’s guarantee. A Directors guarantee or “DG” gives the lender the additional security of collecting vehicle payments from the director(s) should the business fail to pay, go into administration, or be closed permanently.

If you are a sole trader or are looking for personal contract hire, you will be required to undergo a credit check to ensure that the vehicle is affordable and your credit history demonstrates consistent payments on things like a mortgage, house rent, credit cards, and previous car payments. Personal contract hire customers with a county court judgment or an individual voluntary agreement (IVA) are unlikely to be considered for a lease due to their credit history, although we promise to look at every case individually. Some lenders may ask applicants for a copy of their wage slips, bank statements, or saving history. There is no limitation on how many cars someone can have or apply for, so long as their affordability is not exhausted.

As of May 2023, there is an estimated 1.9 million UK motorists currently leasing their cars. Many of these will be families, who often choose bigger vehicles for their extended safety features, boot space, and general convenience. Our second biggest customer type is company car drivers who are fortunate enough to be given a company car by their employer. Many of these drivers opt for electric cars (EVs) for their benefit-in-kind purposes (BIK). BIK is the rate at which the government taxes the vehicle if it is supplied directly to the end user, as a non-cash benefit employees pay a small amount in additional tax to cover the benefit. Historically many of these drivers had diesel cars, but diesel cars have much higher BIK rates and as such, electric cars are much more desirable.

Leasing an Electric car is becoming more popular every day, with around 50% of our customers now opting to drive electric, a huge amount of our focus goes on finding the best electric car deals and setting businesses and drivers up with an electric car charging point. These charging points can be installed at your home or office and generally start at about £1000.

Our most popular Electric cars for lease include Tesla, Polestar, Kia, Nissan, and Peugeot. Our panel of lenders are particularly keen on Tesla and Polestar leasing as they appeal to business drivers predominantly, which allows them to better predict vehicle usage during its lease.

A question we are often asked by people who are new to leasing is about returning the vehicle early and vehicle insurance. To return your vehicle early, in most cases you would be required to pay 50% of the remaining rentals, although all situations are different and the lender will always confirm a settlement figure in writing should this be required. With regards to insurance, all lease cars and lease vans require fully comprehensive insurance for the full duration of the lease.

Ready2Lease are also proud to offer a salary sacrifice scheme, for employers to offer their employees as a perk. This works by the employer obtaining an electric car on behalf of the employee and deducting the rental from their salary, pre-tax. The benefit of this is that the employee is able to save as much as 45% on the normal rental price, allowing them to obtain a car above their normal budget or make a huge saving. The Employer will also benefit by making a saving on their national insurance contributions. This is a bespoke, cost-neutral product we provide to businesses.

What is included in a Car Lease?

Unless otherwise stated, all cars offered for lease by Ready2Lease include a suite of benefits. These include free UK Mainland delivery, road tax for the full duration of the contract, the full remaining manufacturer’s warranty, and at least 12 months of breakdown cover. Some lenders extend the breakdown cover for the full duration of the contract, but this can vary.
What is not included in a Car Lease?
We cannot and do not include vehicle insurance, this needs to be arranged separately. Deliveries to Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands, or anywhere that we have to cross water are charged extra depending on the customer’s location and the vehicle type. Fuel is not included for ICE vehicles and electric is not included for EVs, although some Tesla vehicles do include access to the Supercharger network around the UK.

What is optional on a Car Lease?

With all vehicles, you can specify exactly how you want it, including exterior colours, interior fabrics and colours, and factory options such as performance packs or additional safety features. Dealer fit options such as premium car mats, tow bars, and roof boxes can be added on at the point of order. You can also opt to increase your monthly rental to cover the cost of maintenance, this includes your routine service, consumables, extended breakdown cover, and replacement vehicle. You should always check with us on what is included in a maintenance pack as it does vary from different lenders.

What is your most popular Lease car?

Almost from the day we began the most popular cars for us have been the Nissan Qashqai and Fiat 500. Two totally different vehicles for different types of drivers. Ready2Lease is proud to be an authorized broker for Nissan products, through their own lending this gives us their exclusive rates on the Qashqai, Leaf, Juke, and X-Trail. Our Fiat 500 is popular with estate agents, small businesses, and newer drivers who want a small, economical city car for very little money.

Director’s thoughts:

Vehicle ownership in the UK is continuing to evolve, with fewer and fewer people being fixed on the idea of traditional car ownership or old-fashioned finance products that include eye-watering, double-figure interest rates. This presents a great opportunity for Ready2Lease to provide a value-added service of leasing a new vehicle, especially with more drivers looking to move to electric. Electric vehicles are expensive to buy but on par with ICE (internal Combustion Engine) to lease. As the UK moves toward a future without ICE cars polluting our roads, we believe more and more people will want to lease their cars, to enhance the safety of themselves and their passengers, reduce their carbon footprint, and remove the hassle of buying, running, fixing and selling cars. There is an old saying about managing money and assets which is “if it appreciates, buy it. If it depreciates, lease it. Whilst there are always a few exceptions to the rule, generally speaking, cars and vans only ever depreciate.