AUTOHORN Fleet Services has recently acquired the stock and the customer base of Meridian Vehicle Solutions, a flexible vehicle lease provider based in Elstree, Hertfordshire.
The transfer of ownership to Autohorn included the 180 vehicle Meridian fleet which included a large proportion of electric vehicles. The £4m purchase was funded through Lombard.
Autohorn said the acquisition would give them the introduction to lease companies that supply rental vehicles to their customers which is one of the York-based company’s new routes to market.
“The Meridian transfer of ownership allows us to grow our fleet and our customer base. That’s because 80% of the customers are lease companies buying in rental from companies like ours to supply to their own customers. We used to be strong in this area before pursuing other market avenues. But it’s a sector we want to get back into, and the Meridian acquisition allows us to do this as part of our growth plans. We are based in York but deliver cars nationally.”
At the beginning of 2024, Autohorn amicably parted ways with its longtime rental partner Europcar.
Since then the company has been building up a suite of products in both the business and consumer areas as Autohorn Fleet Services, which includes daily rental, flexible leasing and fixed term leasing.
Scott added that Autohorn was looking for further acquisitions in 2025 as it focused on growing its business as Autohorn Fleet Services.
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Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
