JCT600 Vehicle Leasing Solutions (VLS) has secured a major salary sacrifice deal with Relx, a global information and analytics company.

The vehicle leasing company was chosen to provide the electric vehicle (EV) only scheme following a competitive tender process, with the “chemistry” and “expertise” of its staff key to it winning the bid.

Vanessa Ancill-Griffiths, senior manager, HR and professional Services, FM global procurement at Relx, explained: “When choosing a partner to deliver our new car scheme it was important for us to not only believe in the solution being provided but also in the people delivering it.

“We spent considerable time with our shortlisted providers to get to know the people we would be working with. JCT600 VLS’ people really stood out for us, it was very clear we could trust them to deliver a market-leading solution for our business and employees.”

In one week alone, almost one-in-five (17%) of the 5,200 eligible employees actively expressed an interest in the scheme. A figure, says JCT600 VLS, that supersedes the average uptake of similar schemes across the industry.

Ancill-Griffiths said: “Throughout the whole process JCT600 VLS has been really accountable, knowledgeable and very easy to work with, so we weren’t surprised that the number of interested employees was so high.

“It is a real testament to not only the scheme offering, but also how it has been delivered.”

JCT600 VLS worked closely with the Relx team to develop a scheme that was in line with the company’s climate pledge to become net-zero by no later than 2040.

Key was a communications plan that it says was carefully executed to inform and educate eligible employees in a way which would engage and excite them.

Rebecca Eggington, head of retail at JCT600 VLS, said: “Working with Relx has been an absolute delight. The whole team has been really engaged and committed to creating a scheme tailored exactly to their requirements.”

The scheme is being delivered via the leasing company’s driver portal, Origo, which provides a completely live journey for employees who can access policy documents, education materials, quotes, vehicle comparisons and place orders based on their individual specification.

JCT600 VLS will now work with the Relx team to initiate phase two of the communications plan, which includes webinars and roadshows at key office locations.

Eggington continued: “We have been thrilled by the interest from the Relx employee population to date. We’re looking forward to implementing phase two of the scheme and taking it on the road direct to employees.”

JCT600 VLS’ salary sacrifice win comes just a couple of months after it reported a 300% growth in salary sacrifice schemes over the past 12 months. 

Double-digit growth predicted

Ben Creswick (pictured), managing director of JCT600 VLS, says that he is "proud" of everything that the JCT600 VLS team has achieved over the past few years.

The leasing company, which had a risk fleet of 6,238 cars and vans, according to the most recent FN50 survey, was named Leasing Company of Year (up to 20,000 vehicles) at the 2021 Fleet News Awards, and was highly commended in 2022.

“Our agenda is being the best we can possibly be. We don’t want to be the biggest; I’m not chasing a fleet number,” Ben Creswick, JCT600 VLS

Creswick told Fleet News that the leasing company’s success has been down to “honesty” and “integrity”, and investment in people and technology.

“It has not been done aggressively in pursuit of profit,” he added. “Our agenda is being the best we can possibly be. We don’t want to be the biggest; I’m not chasing a fleet number.”

JCT600 VLS is winning in its “core space”, according to Creswick, with fleets operating 20-150 vehicles, but is also securing new deals with fleets operating 200-plus cars and vans.

He said: "All our core underlying metrics are up. If you look at all those core underlying income streams, core underlying fleet size growth, they're all up and I can easily see, over the next two years, continued double digit growth of the business."

JCT600 VLS, like other leasing companies, has had to endure squeezed new car and van supply due, in part, to the semiconductor shortage.

Creswick says that lead times are beginning to shorten, with just 4% of its order bank having to wait until next year for vehicles to be delivered.

He added: “There are still some (vehicles) that are on ridiculous lead times, but quite a few companies have now had enough and ask, ‘what are my other options?’.

“We find other vehicles that we can get quicker."

Fleet News reported earlier this year, that many fleets were ready to walk away from some established manufacturer relationships after branding the level of service they have been receiving as “disgraceful”.

A lack of transparency over vehicle availability, long lead times and vehicles being cancelled at the eleventh hour have left fleet decision-makers angry.

For leasing companies, like JCT600 VLS, they have often been the ones having to bear the bad news. “You are ultimately responsible, and you are the one who has to go and sit in front of that client,” said Creswick.

“You have to have 'a' generated the goodwill over time; and 'b' have always acted with honesty and integrity.”

Creswick talks about the tech, the trust and the team being integral to the company's continued success. But, he added: “In the end, you can't deliver the best tech if you haven't got a really good team who are passionate about what they're delivering.”