Motor lease group books double-digit profits hike

Car hire group Leaseplan has registered a doubledigit rise in profits.

The Dutch-based group said annual pre-tax profits accelerated by 13 per cent to €676.6 million (£602m), with revenues up 2 per cent to €9.4 billion. Its services fleet grew 5.5 per cent to 1.7 million cars over the period.

Chief executive Tex Gunning said: “We have more cars on the road than ever before, and at the same time, our underlying net result and return on equity continued to increase significantly.

“We can achieve so much more. There is a clear megatrend from ownership to usership and subscription models taking place in both the new and highquality used car markets.”