CW Lease has come to a preferred supplier agreement with Continental Tyre Group in what could be the first pan-European deal of its kind. Continental will supply tyres to CW Lease fleets in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands with the possibility of expanding into France and Spain later.

The deal was organised through CW Lease UK. Altogether CW Lease purchases an average of between 60,000 and 70,000 tyres annually, 15,000 of which are for its UK fleet. Roger James, European commercial director of CW Lease Group, said: 'At an operational level this agreement enables us to offer the highest level of service to our customers.

'We have utilised the group purchasing power of CW Lease to set up a comprehensive deal across our companies, purchasing tyres from the UK using sterling as the single currency, although the euro is an obvious contender for further such transactions. We are driving down costs for our customers while providing the highest level of quality that is assured by Continental Tyre products.'