LLOYDS TSB autolease will announce next week a series of staffing changes at employee car ownership brand Whitechapel Corporate Services aimed at quashing industry speculation about changes at the firm it bought earlier this year.

Whitechapel was acquired as part of its £400 million purchase of First National Vehicle Holdings in April and industry insiders have claimed there have been a series of major departures.

Lloyds TSB autolease says it has introduced 'new faces' as Whitechapel prepares for an expansion of its structured personal leasing product, promoting it to a wider audience, including medium-sized companies.

Lloyds TSB autolease said it wanted to create a higher profile for a brand which effectively invented the structured personal leasing market a decade ago.

Nigel Stead, managing director of Lloyds TSB autolease, said: 'There is no doubt that Whitechapel is the most highly rated and sought-after car ownership scheme in the UK fleet industry.

'While it is exceptionally well regarded, we think it can go even further to realise its full potential in the market as the product of choice for car ownership.'

Established in 1991, Whitechapel claims to have been the UK's first cash-for-car financing specialist, taking a consultancy approach to offering tailor-made car ownership schemes, that provide the equivalent of a company car, but without any benefit-in-kind tax liability.