What is "leaseback"

n. (context finance English) A property transaction where a party sale something, then leases it from the purchaser. The seller is released from tax, depreciation, and maintenance costs, and the buyer is guaranteed an income from the property.

Leaseback, short for 'sale-and-leaseback,' is a financial transaction, where one sells an asset and leases it back for the long-term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done for fixed assets, notably real estate, as well as for durable and capital goods such as airplanes and trains. The concept can also be applied by national governments to territorial assets; prior to the Falklands War, the government of the United Kingdom proposed a leaseback arrangement whereby the Falklands Islands would be transferred to Argentina, with a 99-year leaseback period, and a similar arrangement - also for 99 years - had been in place prior to the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China. Leaseback arrangements are usually employed because they confer financing, accounting or taxation benefits.