CONTRACT hire company Fleetlease has seen turnover increase 14% to £34 million for the six months to the end of September and gross profit rise by a third to £4.1 million. It helped parent company Hitatchi Credit (UK) achieve turnover up 26% to £44.7 million (1997: £35.6 million) with pre-tax profits up 36% to £4.4 million (1997: £3.2 million).

Fleetlease said it had been conservative with residual value forecasts and had begun selling ex-contract vehicles to the public to boost prices of these vehicles. The unbranded initiative is an alternative to auctions or trade sales and has provided 'excellent' results according to managing director Rob Whalley, who said options for the future include selling through a branded retail site or through the Internet.