Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reportedly signed a deal with ALD Automotive to take on its Lombard Vehicle Management car and van leasing business.

The business will be wound down over the next few years, with Lombard continuing to provide a contract hire and fleet management service to existing customers under a white label deal being managed by ALD Automotive, a subsidiary of Société Générale.

The new arrangement will be officially launched in June/July this year. An RBS spokesman said: “Having to cut jobs is the most difficult part of our work to rebuild RBS. The decision to close Lombard Vehicle Management was a difficult one but is a necessary step in our plan to de-risk and re-focus RBS, making the bank safer and stronger. We will do all we can to support our staff, offer redeployment opportunities wherever possible, and keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum.”

Managing director of ALD Automotive, Keith Allen, said: “We're delighted that RBS and Lombard have chosen ALD to provide contract hire and fleet management solutions for Lombard. The new proposition will have access to all the vehicle leasing business generated through RBS banking and Lombard relationships, reinforcing the success of the multi-sales channel strategy we have adopted to grow our business and driving the business further forward to become a top three player within the UK leasing industry.”

The Lombard fleet totals around 70,000 vehicles. ALD currently has a fleet of around 63,000 vehicles and estimates that it will write about 30,000 new contracts over the next five years as a result of the deal.

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