Domiciliary care provider Q Care is poised to expand its workforce after signing a new vehicle leasing deal with Lex Autolease.

The South Wales-based business has leased 28 Citroen C1 vehicles from Lex Autolease, the specialist small business vehicle leasing company, on a three-year contract hire agreement basis.

The move signals a complete change from the previous arrangement, whereby staff used personal cars for business travel and were paid fuel compensation.

Not only has the switch generated savings of around 12.5%, which will be reinvested in training and improving services, but the leased vehicles represent a crucial part of Q Care’s plan to attract and retain staff.

The fully-branded vehicles will also play a central role in the business’s marketing strategy, increasing its visibility as staff go about their day-to-day work.

The company, founded in 1993, provides care for elderly and vulnerable people in their homes and offers a range of services including household management and continuing healthcare after hospitalisation.

Its 600-strong staff are based across England and Wales, with locations including Cardiff, Gloucester and Herefordshire, and it works in partnership with twelve Local Authorities.

Tony Dainty (pictured), managing director of Q Care, said: “We believe that providing the best care starts with hiring the best staff, who are encouraged to see caring as a career.

“By offering incentives such as pool cars, we can continue to attract and retain the brightest and best carers to our workforce.

“However, our desire to incentivise our staff had to balance with reducing our vehicle costs.

“Working with Lex Autolease has enabled us to find an arrangement which is both good value and excellent quality.

“The service we’ve received from the team at Lex Autolease has been outstanding from day one, and this is just the start of a long-term relationship.

“We’re hoping to increase the number of pool vehicles to over 100 in the near future.”

Jason Spence, business development manager at Lex Autolease, said: “Our work with Q Care demonstrates that exploring different vehicle leasing options can have a tangible positive impact on businesses of all sizes and in all sectors.

“By understanding the team’s desire to attract and incentivise staff as well as reduce costs, we were able to recommend a deal on a contract hire agreement basis that suits the needs of the business perfectly.

“We’re sure the increased cash flow as a result of the savings will be of huge benefit to Q Care’s customers and service users.”