What do you mean by sale and lease back?
Sarah Garza
Updated on February 26, 2026
In a sale-leaseback, an asset that is previously owned by the seller is sold to someone else and then leased back to the first owner for a long duration. In this way, a business owner can continue to use a vital asset but doesn’t own it.
How does sale and leaseback work?
A sale and leaseback is when a company looks to sell a building it both owns and occupies, while entering into a lease agreement with a buyer of the building. In other words, the original owner sells the property to a property investor, who immediately becomes his landlord.
What is meant by lease back in business?
Sale and leaseback definition Sale and leaseback is a financial arrangement whereby a company sells the vehicles it owns to a third party contract hire company. The lease payments will be based on the term of the agreement, the mileage to be covered and the estimated future value of the vehicles.
Why is sale and lease back good?
Given the low cost of debt, the lease payments under a sale and lease transaction may be more expensive than the interest payments on the debt, but a sale and leaseback can provide greater certainty to the company due to a long-term lease. The company can also secure 100% of the value of its property assets in cash.
How does a leaseback work?
A sale leaseback allows a buyer to rent the property back to the sellers, letting them stay in the home for a predetermined amount of time after the closing. This situation is fairly common if the sellers haven’t bought a new home before their house sells, and need a place to live.
Is leaseback a good idea?
More and more retirees are taking advantage of the leaseback option. It gives them the ability to continue living in the home they owned while having more money for retirement. And of course, it is good option for people who have suffered financial reverses due to job loss or other difficult circumstances.
What is the definition of sale and leaseback?
The sale and leaseback definition is a transaction in which a company sells its property to another c ompany and then leases that property. The company that sells the asset becomes the lessee, and the company that purchases the asset becomes the lessor.
What does it mean to lease back an asset?
A leaseback is an arrangement in which the company that sells an asset can lease back that same asset from the purchaser. With a leaseback—also called a sale-leaseback—the details of the arrangement, such as the lease payments and lease duration, are made immediately after the sale of the asset.
Who is the lessee in a leaseback transaction?
Leaseback is a financial transaction in which the company sells its asset and then takes the same asset on lease from the purchaser, which implies that the seller becomes the lessee and the purchaser becomes the lessor.
Where are leasebacks used in the real estate industry?
As such, leasebacks are common in the building and transportation industries, and the real estate and aerospace sectors. Companies use leasebacks when they need to utilize the cash they invested in an asset for other purposes but they still need the asset itself to operate their business.