ROVER has clinched the lion's share of a £40 million contract to supply cars to brewing and leisure giant Scottish & Newcastle. The manufacturer will supply around 65% of the cars in the 2,500-vehicle deal under which Ford and Nissan will also provide cars over the next four years.

Scottish & Newcastle's fleet virtually doubled following its merger with Courage, and although Rover has had a long association with the company, the inclusion of the former Courage fleet - previously dominated by Vauxhall - marks a significant boost to its business.

The company was one of the first to adopt a diesel-only policy but this was abandoned three years ago and the majority of its cars are now petrol. Although director-level grades will have a wider choice of executive cars including Jaguar and BMW, the triple-badge deal amounts to a slight tightening of the policy, which previously had few restrictions.