Northgate has launched a sale and rent-back product aimed at fleets wanting to move to vehicle rental.

When the business economy comes under pressure one of the first actions taken by companies is to axe or delay any capital expenditure, explained Phil Moorhouse, managing director of Northgate Vehicle Hire, which operates a fleet of 68,500 vehicles.

Simultaneously, he says, businesses are increasingly focussing on reducing their transport carbon footprint and improving their occupational road risk management - both of which are harder to achieve as vehicle replacement cycles are extended and older cars and vans are operated.

Companies using the new product will get an immediate cash injection.

They will also benefit from the removal of depreciating vehicle assets from their balance sheet.

Depending on the age of vehicles, companies will either rent the same units back at a fixed rate or, if older than 27 months, take delivery of new vehicles.