RAC boosted by £1bn Ford contract

RAC, the motoring services group, has won a £1bn deal at its contract hire business, which is a joint venture with the bank HBOS.

Ford Financial, a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company, has chosen the joint venture, Lex Vehicle Leasing, to outsource its contract hire services. Lex Vehicle Leasing will pay £130m to take over the fleet of 20,000 vehicles that Ford Financial has leased to corporate customers. The vehicles are from the various Ford brands, which include Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin, as well as Ford.

The Lex venture will then provide the maintenance, servicing and repairs of this Ford fleet under a seven-year contract. Jon Walden, Lex Vehicle Leasing's managing director, said: "This is the largest contract won by Lex Vehicle Leasing.... Working together with Ford we expect to grow the business substantially."

The deal came on the back of a recent 15-year contract with the Ministry of Defence worth £500m.