Market speculation at the time suggested Dixons Motors, Reg Vardy and Sanderson Bramall may have been interested in the company - which jointly owns Appleyard Vehicle Contracts with Barclays Bank.

In a statement, Appleyard said that following the June announcement it had received a number of additional approaches. 'The board now considers that none of the discussions or approaches is likely to lead to an adequate realisation of the value inherent in the company. Accordingly, it has terminated all such discussions,' it said.

The announcement coincided with interim results which showed pre-tax profits down 15% to £3.9m for the first half of this year (1996: £4.6m), with turnover down to £380m from £390.5m. Last year Appleyard Vehicle Contracts enjoyed record-breaking performance which saw its fleet jump from 16,000 in 1995 to 17,500 in 1996.