The shoe manufacturer required the vehicles for staff on an in-house project that promotes in-store training for managers and staff to generate more retail sales through the national chain of shoe shops.

However, the company did not want to commit to lengthy contract hire contracts and face potential early termination charges, while daily rental, including the option of on-hire and then off-hire at the end of a week, was deemed inflexible and too expensive.

CLM already manages the 200-strong Clarks vehicle fleet and recommended a six-month rolling mini-lease to cover all 14 vehicles over the 18-month life of the project, generating savings in excess of £32,000 compared with the projected costs for the two alternatives.

The fleet of 14 identical vehicles, all silver Peugeot 308 1.6 HDI 90 Sport five-door models, were delivered to Clark’s head office in Street, generating considerable interest amongst Clarks’ employees in what is seen as a very important project for the company.

Clarks’ fleet coordinator Sue Mosley said: 'This is a very important project for us and we wanted the most economical and flexible solution for the period of time involved with vehicles that were fit for purpose, as well as embracing key issues, such as duty of care and accident management.

'CLM’s mini-lease solution was perfect and the handover worked extremely smoothly. We have had very positive feedback from the team leaders involved and from the drivers,' she said.