Leasing companies have pledged their commitment to the broker sector, but warned that they are only looking for long-term relationships that produce high-quality business.

The meeting comes in the wake of LeasePlan almost halving the number of its brokers and Lex Autolease letting around 70 of its brokers go (Fleet News, October 22).

But, Arval, Leaseplan and Lex Autolease all confirmed at a recent BVRLA Leasing Broker Committee meeting that the broker channel was still a significant route to market for them.

“Introducer-based business is a key part of our product mix,” said Jo Elms, brand director at Leaseplan’s Network small business division.

“We intend to significantly grow our volumes in this area in 2010, but we will use fewer brokers and will deliver higher levels of customer service.”

The committee agreed that it would work with the BVRLA on a series of measures that will continue to improve broker standards across the sector.

These will include a strengthened code of conduct, more training and accreditation and a set of best practice customer service guidelines that focus on whole-life contract management including the end-of-lease period.

For more on this story see this week’s Fleet News.

For the original ‘broker cull’ story go to: https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/story/Fleet-funding-fear-over-broker-cull/51376