Under the new agreement, which is available now, Santander will provide the funding of the fleet, with Zenith Provecta providing all other aspects of a fully integrated fleet solution. The dual-branded fleet proposition will target car and LCV fleets operators with a full range of funding solutions including contract hire, contract purchase, sale and leaseback and self-funded contract hire in addition to maintenance, accident, risk, legacy, daily rental and grey fleet management solutions.

The deal is intended to enable Santander to provide a key service for many of its corporate customers and Zenith Provecta to continue to grow organically free of capital constraints.

Commenting on the new agreement, Mike Oxby, director of asset finance at Santander Corporate Banking, said: 'We are delighted to be partnering with Zenith Provecta in this exciting new proposition. Santander aims to build long-term relationships with corporate and commercial customers by providing a full banking service and this agreement will enable us to achieve this. The fleet market is currently undergoing significant upheaval due to some of the larger leasing companies rationalising their operations and capital constraint issues for smaller independent companies; and therefore I believe the timing of our new dual branded proposition could not be better.'

Andrew Cope, CEO at Zenith Provecta, added: 'This strategic partnership will see two businesses with shared values and ambitions doing what they do best – Santander offering a funding proposition to its customers and Zenith Provecta providing high-quality fleet management solutions.'