Palladian Investment Partners has agreed to acquire B2B car and van leasing broker Global Vehicle Group from private equity backer H2 Equity Partners in a secondary buyout, subject to regulatory approval.
Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed. H2 Equity Partners exits the business after a four-year holding period, having first backed the vehicle broker in 2020.
In parallel with the transaction, former Zenith chief executive Andrew Cope will join the Global Vehicle Group board as non-executive chairman. Cope previously led Zenith through several management buyouts during his tenure at the fleet management firm.
The firm will draw on fresh equity to fund buy-and-build expansion, targeting market share gains in the UK SME commercial vehicle and corporate fleet markets.
Advisers and debt providers on the transaction were not disclosed.
Andrew Hurst, chief executive of Global Vehicle Group, said: “We share a vision with Palladian that our business can continue on its strong growth trajectory and take a bigger share of the market for corporate cars and vans in the UK. It will allow us to build on our customer proposition by developing our proprietary technology and investing in our team of people.”
Doug Oppenheim, co-managing partner of Palladian, added: “We see a significant opportunity to go further by investing in technology, broadening the product offering and helping the business capture a greater share of the SME van, car and fleet markets.”
