Short-term vehicle lease company FlexxiLease, which has a fleet of 4,000 vehicles, has stopped taking on any new business with immediate effect.

A spokesman for the Dorset-based company, which trades alongside its sister companies FlexxiVan, FlexxiPartner and Car and Commercial ­ all brands of the One Stop Car Shop (OSCS) and part of the Car Crash Line Group (CCL) ­ said OSCS will manage all existing contracts through to completion but will not be writing any new business.

The companies provide lease contracts typically between three and 24 months to businesses and private motorists.
OSCS declined to make any further comment.

Meanwhile, Helphire, which supplies credit hire vehicles as well as supplying cars to short-term hire companies, has announced that it will close its Spanish operations and concentrate only on its UK operations.

It has also been advised by one of its "significant referrers" that it expects to end referrals to the group
within months.

The referrer is reported to be Acromas, the combined business of the AA and Saga, but this has not been confirmed.

Helphire¹s shares dropped 16.7% as a result.

Martin Ward, Helphire group managing director, said: "We have enjoyed a long relationship with this particular referrer.

"However, over time maintaining this relationship has led to a level of profitability that would have become unsustainable in the near term."

UPDATE: Short-term vehicle lease company FlexxiLease is back in business and under new ownership after it closing its order book in the summer. Click here to find out more.