Fraikin Truck Hire is taking over the Commercial Fleet Division of Lex Transfleet for an undisclosed sum.
Fraikin has been in the UK market since 1978 and has a turnover of nearly £30m, 130 employees, and around 2,100 commercial vehicles (1,750 contract hire and 350 rental). Owned since 2003 by Eurazeo, the French investment firm, Fraikin operates 34,000 commercial vehicles across Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Spain and the UK.
Lex Transfleet’s Commercial Fleet Division has 457 staff in the UK, with 4,500 contract hire vehicles, over 1,000 rental vehicles and 8,000 customer-owned vehicles under fleet management contracts.
The combined company – which will continue to be called Fraikin – will have nearly 16,000 vehicles under its management, with a depot and office infrastructure spanning the UK, and a combined turnover of approximately £120m.
Fraikin UK managing director John Ball said: “You can either be a small player, or a large player to remain sustainable and competitive,” said Mr Ball. “Before this acquisition, we were a medium sized player in the UK, which was unsustainable in the long-term.”
