“I’m a firm believer that the first price is the best price,” he says. “You have to be in tune with the market – the book value might drop at any time.

“Until the vehicle is sold, you haven’t earned any money.”

Does this approach help him to set more accurate residual values? “Yes – it helps us to write sensible business.”

All too often, leasing companies can get sucked into setting residual values against current market trends – if values rise, then they are more likely to take a rosy picture about future values.

However, as Barritt points out, there is no relationship between values today and the price a vehicle will fetch in three or four years’ time.

“Take 2008 as a case in point,” he says. “If you were still making money then you were doing well. We were still earning on our closures, just not as much.”

Grosvenor has always sought to write business across a wide range of customers. It was an early entrant into the public sector, but among its 300 or so clients are fleets from all industry sectors.

The typical customer runs 25-150 vehicles; Grosvenor’s largest client has around 500. Its 8,992 risk fleet is split 75:25 in favour of cars.

The company favours profit over growth – with just one shareholder to satisfy it can afford to be choosy about the type of fleet contract it takes on – although Barritt says it “would be nice” to get to 10,000 risk fleet vehicles.

Growth is more likely to come from fleet management following the launch last year of Interactive Fleet Management. However, Barritt stresses the importance of remembering Grosvenor’s existing clients.

“Looking after your existing clients is the most cost-effective way of running your business,” he says.

“We don’t focus on new business and forget what we already have. Price is important, but people still want to be looked after.”

'The bottom line is to show savings'

Interactive Fleet Management (IFM) was borne from the double-whammy residual values slump and banking crisis of 2008.

Shaun Barritt says: “It made us conscious of our risk fleet and dependency on the banks for funding.

"We could see growth coming within the fleet management sector – there’s an opportunity if it’s done well and it made sense to reduce our dependency on our risk fleet.

IFM focuses solely on the management of the fleet, including managing contract hire suppliers to ensure the company receives best pricing and service. It also advises on accident management, risk, grey fleet and rental services.

“We are now seeing some success; we are securing some major clients which are new to the business. The opportunity is enormous,” says Barritt.

“We are treating fleet management as a transitional tool rather than a primary product.

"We want to convert clients into our risk fleet or moved from a mixed fleet to become the sole provider.”

The market is typically 200-plus vehicle fleets with a mix of fully outsourced and part-outsourced.

“It’s about looking for savings and efficiencies. We become their fleet department,” Barritt says. The bottom line is we must show savings.”