CONTRACT hire and leasing have declined despite a marked increase in company car acquisition according to new statistics from finance house Barclays Mercantile.

According to Barclays, the number of companies which have acquired cars across all sectors of industry has risen from 44% to 60% this year. But the survey found that only 35% of companies buying cars had used longer term forms for finance such as contract hire, leasing or hire purchase arrangements - down a massive 14% on last year.

According to the study, 49% of companies questioned used cash to purchase their cars, 35% used some form of leasing or contract hire and 14% used a bank overdraft - up 8% on last year. Based on telephone interviews with more than 200 company directors during June, the research predicts a modest recovery in the contract hire and leasing market next year.