Marshall Leasing has bought London-based Gates Contract Hire in a move that takes the company over the 5000-vehicle mark, with the potential for further acquisitional growth.

"There are a number of businesses sitting just outside the top 50 leasing companies, family-based businesses similar to Gates, and if this model works then why not do it again?" Marshall sales and marketing director Jonathan Ross told Fleet Week. "We'd like to find the right opportunities, maybe businesses slightly bigger than Gates."

Gates Contract Hire's fleet of 600 vehicles joins Marshall's 4400, and Ross said that the two businesses will be kept separate, and the Gates brand won't be lost as "it's a well-known local name". Gates' boss Richard Ripley remains in charge, though the Marshall management team will be "getting involved in the overall management of Gates," according to Ross, who said Mashall was selected from "many interested parties", after an eight-month acquisition process.

He also said that the two businesses are a good fit because of their "similar approach to the way we work with clients, an old-fashioned, pretty intimate relationship."

The new ownership will "inject new ideas and technology", said Ross. "We didn't just want to buy volume," he said. "We want to enhance what they've got and give it real value."

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