Wokingham: Leasedrive receives 'Value Creation Award'

At the 15th annual Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 awards, held at The Savoy Hotel in London, Wokingham-based . This ranks Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing profits over the past three years of available audited accounts.

Roddy Graham at Leasedrive said: “The Profit Track 100 Award for Value Creation, one of only five special awards on the night, came as a complete surprise to both David Bird and myself. Sponsored by UBS Wealth Management, the citation credited us with having increased the company’s value by more than 10 times when we sold it to HgCapital last December.

“This award, along with our third appearance in The Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100, really does independently support HgCapital’s own view on the management expertise and capability within our business. While the award credited David and I personally, we could not have achieved what we have done without the excellence of our people who continually deliver the highest-quality bespoke vehicle management service to our customers.”

The Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 original citation read: “This vehicle management firm was created in 2007 through the merger of Leasedrive and Velo. It leases 42,000 cars and vans to blue-chip companies across Britain such as Marks & Spencer, and advises on fuel efficiency and taxation. After buying rival Masterlease in 2011, managing director David Bird, 55, saw profits lift to £13.4m in 2012. It is integrating its operations with Zenith, a competitor also owned by HgCapital.”

Leasedrive was the second ranked company in the south east of England region. One of the UK’s largest independent privately-owned vehicle management groups, it made its first appearance in the league table in 2011 and last year was placed 46th.

Earlier in the year, the Group won the 2014 Fleet News Award for ‘Customer Service’.