FLEET News Award-winning leasing and fleet management firm Leasedrive has merged with rival business VELO to form the largest independent, privately-owned vehicle management group in the UK.

The deal heralds the next stage in a wave of consolidation to hit the UK’s leasing industry and creates a new business, Leasedrive VELO, with a combined fleet of about 17,500 cars, putting it in 20th place in the FN50 list of the country’s largest leasing companies with a combined turnover of more than £55 million.

The merger includes the whole of Leasedrive Group, including Countrywide Car and Van Rental and Stopgap Mid-term Rental.

VELOs range of services includes employee car ownership schemes and cross-border services, through its partnership with the European Fleet Alliance.

The new senior management team at Leasedrive VELO will be Roger Partridge, chief executive officer (formerly CEO of Leasedrive); Roddy Graham, commercial director (formerly commercial director of Leasedrive); David Bird, chief financial officer (formerly Chief operating officer of Leasedrive); and Tony Johnston as chief operating officer (formerly chief executive of VELO).

Partridge said: ‘The fit between our two companies could not be better. Both Leasedrive and VELO share the same core business philosophies of providing blue chip clients with the highest quality bespoke vehicle management service available.’

Johnston, added: ‘The combined historical fleet industry experience of our two companies exceeds 40 years. We have one of the most experienced management teams in the sector at senior and middle management levels.’

Leasedrive was winner of the 2006 Fleet News Award for ‘Best Contract Hire/Fleet Management Company’ and it also took the 2006 GreenFleet Award for ‘Leasing/Rental Company of the Year’.