Motiva has secured a refinancing deal with Santander.

The contract hire and rental company, which also offers fleet management services, has agreed the multi-million refinancing deal to allow it not only to refinance its existing debts but to get access to capital to fund its growth.

The Motiva Group, which operates the M Way Vehicle Rentals, Motrak and Litelease – which fills the gap between rental and contract hire - brands as well as Motiva Vehicle Contracts, operates a fleet of more than 4,700 vehicles.

It plans to expand its contract hire fleet by 15% - just over 700 vehicles, which will take its total fleet to some 5,400 vehicles – as well as grow its small fleet operation and its latest Litelease offering, which sits between rental and lease.

Litelease provides contract-free vehicles to corporate customers for between one month and three years.

Demand has grown markedly for the service as it allows fleets to acquire vehicles when they are needed at lower rates than they would get through rental but without the need to sign long lease contracts.

“This is the right product at the right time,” says Peter Davenport, Motiva group managing director. “It gives fleets the flexibility they need.”

The growth of the service has also come at a good time for car dealers. Following the end of the scrappage scheme, they have been keen to exploit new routes to market.

They have also been keen to supply cars on buy-back deals into services such as Litelease as it means they have guaranteed access to nearly new cars to sell on.

Dealer access to nearly-new stock has been restricted after several manufacturers pulled back from the short-term rental market over the past 24 months.

The terms of the refinancing deal have not been disclosed, although Davenport said: “Motiva has achieved rapid growth since our management buy-out in 2006 and the deal we have been able to arrange with Santander Corporate Banking puts the business in an excellent position to take advantage of any strategic opportunities presented by the current market.”

Chris Hyde, relationship director at Santander’s West Midlands Corporate Business Centre, added: “We have great confidence in the company’s management, business model and growth strategy, and we have developed a bespoke funding package including asset finance and term loan facilities to support Motiva through the next phase of its development