Some lease companies refuse to sell to private individuals outright to avoid any reclaim of VAT from HMRC.

To whom would they sell the cars to in that case? Car supermarkets perhaps?

I wouldn't have thought (at least in normal times) car dealerships would want to bulk buy 3-4yo cars unless at a cheap price due to them being near to or outside the warranty period, which would mean the 'cost' to the leasing firm would likely be passed onto the people leasing the cars originall in the form of higher monthly charges.

I suppose it might depend on the period of the lease.

Some lease co's have a group of select dealers who pitch offers for ex-lease cars.

My old Juke ended up at a car supermarket 5 miles from the lease company base. I suspect most end up at places like Bruntingthorpe, destined for auction by Mannheim or BCA.

It is unusual for a lease co not to sell, s I know several who have done what the OP hoped to do.

PCP /Lease can have the option to buy the car (or any other piece of equipment) at the end of the lease.

Some leases do not allow the purchase by the lessee at the end of the lease.

The reason is a financial one - where the vehicle is leased and the leasing company takes on & claims tax allowances for owning the vehicle, then the lessee cannot buy at the end of the lease.

If the lease company treats the lease as "a loan" then it is possible to buy the vehicle at the end of the lease.

Some lease equipment, say a company's large server, although not able to be bought at the end of the lease can still be rented at a peppercorn rate - typically the monthly figure might become the annual figure