Pentland Brands which owns or licenses brands such as Speedo, Ted Baker footwear, Berghaus and Lacoste footwear, has appointed Alphabet to supply cars and fleet management services.

Alphabet won a six-way tender put out by Pentland to find a supplier capable of moving its car scheme from employee car ownership to company cars, funded on a contract hire arrangement. The change is expected to deliver considerable saving in fleet costs, and reduce the fleet’s carbon foot print by 12%, over four years.

Alphabet is supplying cars, maintenance management, breakdown recovery and accident management for its company car drivers, as well as driver licence checks and daily rental vehicles for Pentland’s complete business driver population, which includes cash-takers.

Mark Sinclair, director, Alphabet, said: “Pentland Brands is an exceptional organisation and we are extremely pleased to have won their business in the face of competing bids from five larger leasing companies.”

“We went to the table with the capability of the Alphabet Online quoting and ordering system, our broad portfolio of highly integrated products and our hands-on approach to implementing schemes for customers.”

Pentland’s Fleet Manager, Steve Osborne, agrees. “It was apparent from the moment the tender responses arrived that Alphabet, with their product range, evident capability and company ethos, sat very smoothly with the way we operate here at Pentland. Our tender team was particularly impressed that the Business Development Manager from Alphabet who presented the solution, would ensure continuity by staying “hands on” with us throughout the implementation.”

“This continuity they offered and provided was exactly what we were looking for in a partner.”

“Alphabet made everything so simple for us. In 20 years of dealing with contract hire companies, it’s very refreshing to find a company that is so customer focused right from start to finish.”

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