Hire purchase and leasing are different deals, not variations of one. This puts them side by side on the same asset so the cheaper headline rate stops deciding it for you.
Under hire purchase you are buying over time and own the asset at the end. It generally goes on your balance sheet, you can usually claim capital allowances on it, and only the interest element is a deductible cost. Under an operating lease you are renting: you never own it, the rentals are generally deductible as an expense, and at the end you hand it back or re-lease.
So the lower monthly figure is frequently not the cheaper deal once the tax treatment is in. Put both options in front of whoever prepares your accounts before you sign — the decision is effectively irreversible once the agreement starts.
Hire purchase suits equipment with a long useful life that you intend to keep. Leasing suits anything that dates quickly, anything you replace on a cycle, and anything where obsolescence is a bigger risk than cost. A van you will run for eight years and a laptop fleet you replace every three are not the same decision.
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