SG Fleet’s acquisition of LeasePlan ANZ is now complete – which ultimately is great news for companies and public organisations operating fleets across the country. 

The acquisition puts a highly compelling fleet management and leasing offering for customers across both Australia and New Zealand, the combined 250,000 vehicles under management giving some indication of the market power of the combined organisations.  

The merging of assets alone means SG Fleet is now among the top three lease providers in New Zealand, with one of the organisation’s major points of difference being additional expertise gained from across the combined customer base and product types.

“We have a strong cultural alignment,” says SG Fleet’s managing director Geoff Tipene, speaking of the two companies, “so this will stand us in good stead as we focus on the retention of relevant expertise. 

An acquisition of this magnitude does not come together easily, but the transaction has run smoothly and as expected in the initial March statement, which indicated a third quarter timeframe for the transaction to be completed. 

It is a mark of dedication and commitment on the part of both organisations that everything has come together so well. It will take about three years before full integration and system transitions are in place. 

Geoff says this is a standard timeframe for an integration of this size. “However, we don’t have to wait for everything to be up and running. It is pretty much business as usual from Day One.

“A dedicated team is in place to handle the integration process, while our customers receive the excellent level of care they are used to. Local integration will progress in tandem with Australia’s.”

Geoff says the acquisition is a significant milestone for SG Fleet. It brings together the best of two already highly regarded businesses to deliver transferable benefits to new and existing customers.  

“Along with best-in-class service to those customers, we will be in an even stronger position to lead the Mobility-as-a-Service trend and deliver a comprehensive suite of products and business advantages.”

A good example is the BookingIntelligence Tool – an application created by SG Fleet to enable the management of pools of resources online – just one of the innovative products which SG Fleet customers know well and which LeasePlan customers will shortly be introduced to. 

For SG Fleet then, business is buoyant and exciting – indicative of a solid economic recovery. 

“We have continued conversion of managed-only customers to funding and, while new vehicle supply issues persist for all market players, second-hand values remain at record levels,” says Geoff.

“There is a strong demand for innovation expertise,” Geoff adds. “And we’ve gained increased recognition – reinforced by the acquisition – as an industry expert in low or zero-emission vehicles and mobility services.”