Short-term & seasonal

Short-term van leasing for seasonal & peak work

Need a working van for six months, not three years? Our 6-month minimum is materially shorter than typical contract hire — built for seasonal trade, peak demand, and contracted projects.

Get a short-term quote Talk to an adviser

Reviewed by

Billy Lang, Director

FCA Registration No: 835008

Last reviewed 2026-05-08

Six months is a moat

Most van leasing in the UK starts at 24 months and runs to 48. That works for businesses with stable demand. It doesn't work for trades with a clear peak season, contractors on a fixed project, or last-mile operators staffing up for Christmas.

Flexi Lease starts at 6 months. Extendable if the work continues; cleanly exitable if it doesn't.

Use cases that work

Gardening, landscaping, groundworks — extra capacity over spring/summer

Christmas-period last-mile delivery and parcel network ramp-ups

Trade contractors on fixed-term project work (typically 6-12 months)

Event industry crew vans for festival, conference and outdoor seasons

Harvest and agricultural seasonal labour

Bridging vans during a longer fleet-replacement cycle

Pop-up retail, market traders, food-business expansion trials

Holiday-let cleaning teams in tourist regions

What changes for short-term leases

Shorter terms are usually slightly more expensive per month than longer leases — that's the cost of the flexibility. The other mechanics work the same as our standard Flexi Lease: soft credit check via Creditsafe, 1.5 or 3-month initial rental, mileage allowance set up front.

When something else fits better

We'll tell you when to look elsewhere

Need a van for less than 6 months?
Look at a van subscription product or daily/weekly rental. Flexi Lease is for sustained working use, not short bridging.
Need a van for 36+ months and your work is stable?
Standard contract hire is typically cheaper monthly than Flexi for long, stable terms. See the comparison.

A real example

Placeholder — awaiting real case study

Anonymised approval — short-term seasonal van

Short paragraph describing one real customer (no name) — the seasonal use case, the term they took, and what happened at the end (extended, exited cleanly, swapped). Client to supply.

Frequently asked questions

What's the minimum lease term?

Flexi Lease terms start from 6 months. That's materially shorter than typical contract hire (24+ months) or PCH agreements. For shorter than 6 months, you'd be looking at a van subscription product instead.

Can I extend the lease if the work continues?

Yes. Flexi Lease is built around the assumption that working patterns change. You can extend at the end of term — a quick conversation with us before the original term ends, no penalty for the extension.

Can I hand back early if the work finishes sooner than expected?

Both products have early-exit terms. Flexi Lease early-exit is designed to be cleaner than typical contract hire because we know working patterns shift. The exact terms are explicit in the agreement before you sign — no surprises.

How does the cost compare to van rental for the same period?

For periods under a couple of weeks, daily/weekly van rental wins on simplicity. From a month upwards, a Flexi Lease typically beats rental on per-day cost by a wide margin — the rental rate is built around short-term flexibility, the lease rate is built around extended use.

What use cases does this fit?

Gardeners and landscapers needing extra capacity over spring/summer. Christmas couriers and last-mile peak work. Trade contractors on a fixed-term project. Event-industry crew. Harvest and rural seasonal work. Bridging-period vans for businesses between contracts.

All applications subject to status.

Flexi Lease minimum term is currently 6 months and may be revised periodically. First Flexi Lease is a trading name of Oak First Investments Ltd. FCA Registration No: 835008. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.