This will very much be at the discretion of the leasing company and the terms and conditions for early termination should be set out in the documentation you received when you took out the fixed-term agreement. In my experience, almost all firms demand some form of fee or penalty payment to end a van lease early - this can be as much as 50 per cent of the outstanding balance.

First things first, contact the leasing firm and ask about any potential fees associated with a query about early termination – it isn’t unknown for a leasing company to demand money to simply look into this for you. Explain your situation and be honest about the reasons you want to end the lease early. They might take your situation into consideration and allow you to leave the contract for a nominal fee. Alternatively, they might offer to extend the lease and lower the monthly payments to allow you to keep the van and reduce your monthly outgoings. Or they may allow you to swap to a different van, to match your change in circumstances.

Sadly, they will not allow you to walk away without paying some form of penalty.