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Maxxia acquires Eurodrive Motor Finance

Business car finance specialist Maxxia UK has acquired specialist point-of-sale car finance broker, European Vehicle Contracts Ltd, which trades as Eurodrive Motor Finance.

European Vehicle Contracts directors

Eurodrive directors: Stephen Dixon, MD (left); Derek Goodsir, CFO (right); Kirstie Tyson, director (seated).

Eurodrive joins the group of companies owned by McMillan Shakespeare Limited (MSL), an Australian listed company.  The deal forms part of MSL’s growth strategy in the UK and follows the acquisition of CLM Fleet Management in 2013 and, more recently, Anglo Scottish Asset Finance in 2015.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne based Eurodrive is a specialist in vehicle finance to personal and small business customers, operating through a network of 400 franchised and independent new and used car dealers, mainly from Central Scotland to South Yorkshire.

The business was founded in 2008 by Stephen Dixon and Derek Goodsir who are active in the business today as managing director and CFO respectively, and who will remain with the business. It currently employs 33 staff.

Maxxia added that the deal further strengthens its presence in the UK asset finance market and continues its strategy for growth and expansion in targeted areas of the UK automotive arena.

CEO Roger Skinner said: “The acquisition of Eurodrive provides us with entry to the dealer point of sale consumer finance market and is complementary to our existing asset finance business.

“The Eurodrive team has deep market knowledge in the dealer-facing finance arena and we intend to expand on its already established network across the UK. This new relationship will further enhance our position as the trusted partner for asset financing.

”The acquisition will involve minimal disruption to Eurodrive’s business as the senior management team will continue to run and manage the business and, from a dealer and customer experience perspective, it will be very much business as usual.”

Stephen Dixon, managing director at Eurodrive, added: “I personally am very excited about the opportunities this new ownership brings. We are very proud of the business we have created and considered a number of options that would enable us to take the business to the next phase of our ambitious growth plans. We have worked hard to find the right business partners, and now with Maxxia that has resulted in an outcome that is great news for our customers, employees and dealers.”

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.