One of the country’s largest financers of fleet business has stopped offering contracts to companies that provide fleet services onto their clients.

Alliance and Leicester, which currently provides £6.5 billion worth of commercial lending, said it had taken the decision following a review of its fleet finance operations.

“Following a review, we have taken the decision to cease providing undisclosed agency contracts,” said a company spokesman.

“This type of contract is provided to fleet companies, which then offer fleet services to individual businesses.”

Alliance and Leicester currently provides finance to the majority of the country’s independent contract hire companies.
It will now only supply finance to lease and contract hire companies that are its direct customers.

The move follows the bank’s takeover in October 2008, when it became part of Santander.

Santander policy demands that it has business relationships with end-user customers rather than providing finance to intermediary companies.

“Following a review of our services, we have taken the decision to focus on relationship-led banking, in line with Santander's business model,” said the spokesman.

“This has led to the bank ceasing to offer undisclosed agency contracts to organisations operating in the fleet services sector.”

Alliance and Leicester also operates a commercial vehicle fleet management arm.

While it would not disclose the number of commercial vehicles it has on its books, it stressed that following the takeover it is now looking closely at expanding its presence in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) fleet sector.

“The SME market is a prime area of focus for Santander,” it said. This would fit in well with its current fleet management operation, which specialises in the management of commercial vehicles.

“These operations are focussed around the commercial vehicle market and are provided in the main as a support to our commercial vehicle contract hire customers,” explained the bank’s spokesman.

“We will continue to offer our range of finance products to customers with whom we have a direct relationship.

"Both of these areas of business will continue unchanged.”