Carillion Fleet Management has grown its fleet by 30% to 17,700 vehicles after its parent company, Carillion, acquired Alfred McAlpine for £572 million.

Alfred McAlpine ran an internal fleet division operating 4,200 vehicles that has now been integrated with Carillion’s 13,500-strong fleet, a task that took just seven weeks.

This pushes Carillion, which was placed 24th in the latest FN50, close to being one of the top 20 largest fleet management companies in the UK.

The acquisition also signals a new era for the business as it opens up its books to external customers for the first time.

“Carillion has gained huge experience in specifying and running specialist vans and HGVs, as well as company cars, and we now want to offer this expertise to other fleets,” explained Gil Kelly, Carillion Fleet Management’s director.