Oliphant would not disclose how much of the £100m he spent on securing the LVM deal, but admits: “I didn’t spend all the money.”

LVM’s customer base has given Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions valuable insight into the SME market, which Oliphant says will help shape its own offering.

But what is the attraction with the SME market? Oliphant explains: “If it’s done the right way it can be profitable.

“We’ve concentrated our efforts over the past decade turning ourselves into an added value service provider and we’ve majored on large corporates.

“Looking at where we go next, one of the areas we haven’t attacked is the SME sector.”

Confidence in the SME sector is the highest it’s been for the past five years. Three million businesses are planning for growth and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions aims to tap into that new-found buoyancy.

“It’s going to be one of the engines of recovery for the UK and as a result I don’t think you can afford to ignore that sector,” says Oliphant.

Alongside the lessons learned from LVM’s former customers, the company expects to bring the best practice it has developed from dealing with big businesses to the SME sector. “The scale is different, but the principles are the same,” says Oliphant.

However, making the SME sector cost-effective will see more online interaction and access to products via smartphone apps.

Brokers will also provide a conduit for business and Oliphant says Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions intends to use its supply chain to also tap into the sector.

A 15-strong team is already in place, but that will grow and in terms of systems development, people and marketing, the company has set aside £1m next year to ensure momentum is maintained.

Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions’s SME customer base is currently “quite small”, Oliphant says. But he has set his sights on operating an SME fleet of around 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles in the next four to five years. That would equate to around 20-30% of its overall fleet.

However, he stresses: “I’m not worried whether we get there in four years or five years, or potentially six years. I want to do it the right way.”

The SME sector is particularly van heavy and this will also help the company’s aspirations to bring more commercial vehicles on to its risk fleet.