ONE of the worst kept secrets in the market is out: Mobilize Financial Services, a trading entity of RCI Bank, has bought a third of Reading-based leasing broker Select Car Leasing.
What was less clear until now is the cross-stake nature of the acquisition.
While RCI Bank has acquired 36.6% of Select Car Leasing, Select owners Mark Tongue and James O’Malley have acquired a 15% stake in Mobilize Lease&Co UK Ltd.
So what is the outcome?
It’s Select Lease by Mobilize.
This new leasing brand will operated by Mobilize Lease&Co UK Ltd in the UK fleet market. According to Mobilize it combines the brand recognition and expertise of one of the UK’s leading contract hire brokers with the financial strength and ambition of Mobilize Financial Services UK.
The business will offer multi-brand leasing for both personal and business customers.
Announcing the news today on LinkedIn, Alice Altemaire, CEO of Mobilize FS in the UK, said:
In a statement about the acquisition, Mobilize FS said that “this partnership contributes to the global strategy of Mobilize Lease&Co to accelerate the deployment of operating lease offers and thus meet the new mobility needs of its customers.”
With this new partnership, Mobilize Financial Services continues to roll out its global strategy, particularly for its subsidiary Mobilize Lease&Co, aiming for a fleet size of one million vehicles by 2030. This will enable it to offer customised solutions to meet the new mobility needs of its customers. This follows the announcement of the acquisition of MeinAuto and Mobility Concept in Germany in July 2023, as part of the same operating lease strategy.
Mark Tongue (right), joint CEO and founder of Select Car Leasing added:
“As the UK’s largest and most trusted car and van leasing broker, we are delighted to formally announce this strategic partnership with Mobilize Financial Services UK.
“We are excited at the opportunity this brings to accelerate our growth in 2023 and beyond and deliver best in class mobility solutions to consumers and businesses across the UK, with a particular focus on electric solutions. This comes at a perfect time as the global electrification revolution gathers pace.
“We are also pleased to be joining with a multinational business to invest in and co-develop a new lease company, with all the Select brands right at its heart.
“It’s a truly unique move where a broker and leasing company can feed each other and thus provide true economies of scale and value to the consumer, helping people make the seamless transition to not only electric vehicles, but also charging and home energy.”
Select Car Leasing, with Mobilize FS owning a 36.6% stake, will continue to trade under its existing brand.
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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.
