Personnel manager James Little said: 'Under our management structure a fleet department of two people reports to the personnel department, which has ultimate responsibility. Because of the size of the fleet we were really burdening them with an onerous burden.'

Having agreed the principle of outsourcing, a shortlist of three leading fleet management companies was drawn up with each being measured against Scottish Life's strict criteria. Little said: 'FCM stood out by some way. They offered many more accident management repair centres than any other potential supplier, meaning that we could get the vehicles back on the road much more quickly.'