SECURICOR Group is investing £19 million in a three-year renewal programme for its fleet covering 1,770 vehicles.

The firm has renewed its fleet management contract with Lex Transfleet, the commercial vehicle fleet support firm, for three years as part of the deal.

The contract will initially serve Securicor Cash Services, a subsidiary of Securicor Group, and could be extended into other areas of the organisation in the future. Securicor Cash Services is a national operator with more than 40% of the UK's cash in transit market.

The Lex Transfleet deal came after a three-month tender and includes a commitment to cap maintenance costs according to the economic life of the vehicle.

Costs in excess of the agreed figure are paid by Lex, but SCS takes 60% of any savings.

SCS has worked with Lex Transfleet since 1998 and was the fleet management division's first customer. Since then it has seen major reductions in costs, including a 40% drop in fleet management costs.

Steve Bennett, head of fleet management at Securicor Cash Services, said: 'The tender process confirmed that Lex Transfleet has the best expertise and systems to enable us to deliver a first class service to our customers.

'Having worked with the team for five years I was confident that the partnership we have could continue to grow and importantly Lex Transfleet demonstrated it could continue to deliver excellent service while increasing our efficiency.'

In total, Lex Transfleet manages more than 35,000 commercial vehicles and plant on behalf of its customers.

Simon Purchon, fleet management sales director at Lex Transfleet said: 'Our work with Securicor over the past five years has generated excellent results for all concerned and we look forward to the next stage in our partnership.'