Skip to main content

Leasing and contract hire

Forklift and Equipment Leasing and Contract Hire

Lease purchase, contract hire and operating lease on forklifts and warehouse trucks, pallet trucks and stackers, access platforms and cleaning machines, on used machines as well as new. Need a machine for a few weeks instead? Hire runs from a single day.

Since 1982
trading, under the same name
New and used
lease purchase, contract hire and operating lease on both
8 depots
delivering nationwide on our own transport

Hire, lease or buy

Hire, contract hire or lease: the ways to take a machine

Ways to take a machine
Short term hireA few days, a few weeks, or the length of one job. No fixed contract: you pay more per week and buy flexibility. Short term hire
Long term hireSettled, predictable work that will still be there in two years. You commit and the weekly cost falls.
Contract hireFor a requirement that has become permanent.
Lease purchase and operating leaseAvailable on used machines as well as new. Tell us which suits your accounting and we will quote it.
Buy outrightNew or used. Part exchange is open on any make and model, working or not. Part exchange

Most operations end up running a permanent core with short term machines around the edges. If a hire runs on and starts to look permanent, we will say so, because past a certain number of months a longer agreement or buying is usually cheaper.

Long term hire

Long term forklift hire

Electric counterbalance forklift

Long term hire suits settled, predictable work that will still be there in two years. You commit and the weekly cost falls.

Short term suits anything with an end date, anything uncertain and anything you have not done before: you pay more per week and buy flexibility.

  • Consistent access to the same equipment
  • Servicing, maintenance and breakdowns stay ours
  • None of the responsibilities of owning it

How hire works, from delivery to breakdowns: forklift hire.

Contract hire

Forklift contract hire

Two Acclaim Handling engineers working on a Hyundai forklift

Contract hire is for a requirement that has become permanent. Regular customers can put the machine, its servicing and its statutory inspections together as a contract, in one monthly payment.

  • Lease purchase, contract hire and operating lease
  • On used machines as well as new
  • Part exchange on what it replaces

More on servicing, LOLER thorough examinations and, across several sites, fleet management.

What you can lease

Leasing across the range

STILL FXV warehouse truck

Forklifts and warehouse trucks

Most customers do not pay for a forklift outright. Lease purchase, contract hire and operating lease are all available.

  • Diesel, electric and LPG counterbalance forklifts
  • Reach trucks
  • Order pickers and VNA trucks

Forklift hire
Forklifts for sale

Powered Pallet Trucks_

Pallet trucks and stackers

On used as well as new: lease purchase, contract hire, operating lease and outright purchase.

  • Powered pallet trucks
  • Pallet stackers

Pallet truck hire
Powered pallet trucks for sale
Pallet stackers for sale

Genie GS-1932 electric slab scissor lift

Access platforms

Buy outright or finance through lease purchase, contract hire or operating lease.

  • Scissor lifts
  • Boom lifts and cherry pickers
  • Vertical mast lifts

Access platform hire
Access platforms for sale

Kärcher KM 90/60 R ride-on sweeper

Cleaning machines

Everything can be bought outright, financed through lease purchase, contract hire or operating lease, or hired.

  • Scrubber dryers
  • Sweepers
  • Industrial vacuums

Cleaning equipment hire
Cleaning machines for sale

Not sure which machine you need? .

Tax

Leasing, buying and capital allowances

Capital allowances
Rent or lease, never ownIf you rent or lease a machine and never own it, the machine is not your asset, so you cannot claim capital allowances on it. The payments are normally treated as an ordinary business expense instead, which is still a deduction, just a different one.
BuyA forklift is plant and machinery, so it normally qualifies for capital allowances.
Tax adviceAcclaim Handling is not a tax adviser.

The detail, with its sources, is on forklift tax relief and capital allowances. It is general information, not tax advice.

Leasing and contract hire: common questions

Yes. Lease purchase, contract hire and operating lease are available on forklifts and warehouse trucks, on used machines as well as new. You can also buy outright or hire.

Yes. Lease purchase, contract hire and operating lease are available on access platforms, on pallet trucks and stackers, and on scrubber dryers, sweepers and industrial vacuums, as well as on forklifts.

Yes, on used as well as new: lease purchase, contract hire, operating lease and outright purchase.

Contract hire is for a requirement that has become permanent. Regular customers can put the machine, its servicing and its statutory inspections together as a contract, in one monthly payment.

Short term hire covers a few days, a few weeks or the length of one job, with no fixed contract: you pay more per week and buy flexibility. Long term hire suits settled, predictable work that will still be there in two years: you commit and the weekly cost falls. Contract hire is for a requirement that has become permanent.

Short term suits anything with an end date, anything uncertain and anything you have not done before: you pay more per week and buy flexibility. Long term suits settled, predictable work, and the weekly cost falls. If a hire runs on and starts to look permanent we will tell you, because past a certain number of months a longer agreement or buying is usually cheaper.

Tell us what you need to lift, how high and how often, and which option suits your accounting, and we will put a specification and a price in front of you. All our prices are ex VAT.

If you never take ownership of the machine, you cannot claim capital allowances on it. The rental is normally an allowable business expense instead. Acclaim Handling is not a tax adviser. Our forklift tax relief page has the detail.

Yes. Part exchange is open on any make and model, working or not.

Additional Services

Checkout our range of other machine services below

Need help? Speak to one of our experts