Car-leasing firm Zenith Leasedrive secures £100m payout

One of the country’s largest independent car-leasing group’s has just struck a £100m payout following a big refinancing deal.

According to Sky News, Zenith Leasedrive (ZLD), headquartered in Leeds and employs more than 500 people, has struck a refinancing deal with its lenders, which is set to become one of the largest dividends paid by a private company so far this year.

Owned by Hg Capital, a leading private equity firm, the company was created in March last year after the merger of Zenith Vehicle Contracts and the Leasedrive Group.

The company now operates a fleet of more than 64,000 vehicles and focuses on serving blue-chip customers.

As part of the refinancing deal, which has allowed the £100m payout, ZLD has agreed with HSBC, Intermediate Capital Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland to increase its borrowing facilities to £250m.

This increase will most likely lead to several more deals for ZLD, which wants to utilize the synergies available from growing scale in a sector such as vehicle leasing.

Jon Walden, the former boss of Lex Vehicle Leasing and ex-chairman of HR Owen, the quoted luxury car retailer, was appointed chairman of ZLD by Hg Capital.

Hg Capital said: “This platform should also enable further strategic M&A [mergers and acquisitions], where HgCapital’s experience in buy-and-build and the company’s flexible capital structure makes Zenith Leasedrive a compelling acquirer.”

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