Food truck and food trailer leasing

With a financial lease you are the economic owner from the start: the trailer is on your balance sheet and at the end of the term it is yours outright. With an operational lease you are effectively renting and hand it back. In Sweden leasing works differently: the leasing company owns the vehicle throughout and you are the user, with a residual value of twenty percent at the end of a term of twenty four to sixty months. We will tell you which form applies in your country before you sign.

In the Netherlands you usually have an answer within one to two working days. In Germany and Austria the credit check takes twenty four to forty eight hours once your documents are in. In Belgium allow three to four working days, because supporting documents are always required there and cannot be submitted in advance. A complex file takes longer.

Usually yes. Finance is normally arranged on the amount excluding VAT and the VAT is paid as an advance, so plan for that separately from your deposit. There are exceptions, and some lenders can include it. Ask us early, because this is the item that most often catches people out when the invoice arrives.

There is no official price guide for food trailers, so value comes down to condition, paperwork and how broadly usable the fit-out is. A trailer with a registration document, a CoC and current inspections demonstrably sells more easily than a self-build without papers.

Look at the penalty for early settlement, the obligations around insurance and maintenance, and whether there is a balloon payment at the end that you have to find in one go. Get the schedule and have your accountant read it before you sign.

Yes. Equipment, fit-out and branding can go into the same agreement. That matters more than people expect, because the trailer is only part of the investment: on average it is around three quarters, and with a full wrap and several certifications it can drop closer to sixty percent of the total.

You settle the outstanding balance. If you sell for less than that, the difference stays as a debt, and that is where owners get caught out. Ask for the amortisation schedule up front so you can see what is outstanding in each year, and factor that into how long you commit for.

With a financial lease that is built in: once the term is paid off, the trailer is yours. That is what most starters are looking for and it is why this is the usual route in our market.

With a financial lease you become the economic owner: the trailer is on your balance sheet, you depreciate it, and at the end of the term it is yours. With an operational lease you are effectively renting for a fixed period and hand it back at the end. Most of our customers go the financial lease route because they want to own the unit.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Sweden, and the United Kingdom through AFS UK Ltd. Beyond those we can approach a lender in most European countries, so ask even if your country is not on the list. Terms and timescales differ per country and we will tell you what applies to yours.

It differs per country, and we are deliberately not tied to one. In the United Kingdom we work with AFS UK Ltd. In the Netherlands with TK Lease and DTC Lease, in Belgium with TK Lease and KBC Lease, in France with Corhofi, Leasy and TK Lease, and in Germany and Austria with LeaseForce, PEAC, AGL Hannover and ABCFinance. Several of those place your file with a number of banks in turn, which is why a refusal at one desk says nothing about the next.

That depends on the funder, the country and your figures. Deposits generally sit somewhere between nothing at all and around a third of the amount excluding VAT. A larger deposit lowers the monthly payment and improves your chances of approval, so tell us what you have available and we will tell you straight away what is realistic.

It depends on the lender and the country. In the United Kingdom we work with a dedicated asset finance partner, and outside our core markets we can approach a lender in most European countries for you. What counts for more than how long you have existed is your turnover, your result and a plan that holds up. Do not assume the answer is no: send us your situation and we will tell you which route is open before you spend time on paperwork. It depends on the lender and the country. In the United Kingdom we work with a dedicated asset finance partner, and outside our core markets we can approach a lender in most European countries for you. What counts for more than how long you have existed is your turnover, your result and a plan that holds up. Do not assume the answer is no: send us your situation and we will tell you which route is open before you spend time on paperwork.