SPECIALIST vehicle leasing business XL Group has attracted an an initial £1.2 million equity investment from Macquarie Corporate and Asset Finance.

XL specialises in the short-term contract hire of executive cars and supercars to both corporate and private clients – with over 700 vehicles currently in its fleet throughout the UK controlled from its head office in Lincolnshire.

Macquarie’s Vehicle Finance team will partner with XL’s management team to expand existing operations, not only through the equity investment but with an initial £10 million operating lease facility which may be extended to facilitate the anticipated growth of the business.

Macquarie has been active in the car leasing industry since 1998 and has built up a portfolio of over 600,000+ vehicles globally and is a leading vehicle financier in Australia.

The investment in XL enables Macquarie to increase its foothold in the UK mobility and specialist vehicle finance sector and provides XL with access not only to Macquarie’s global leasing expertise, but also direct funding for its fleet and rapid forecast growth.

Julian Liddy, Regional Head of Asset Finance in EMEA, said: “Having become a leading provider of vehicle finance in Australia, we are now looking to selectively expand the business into new markets and saw great potential to partner with XL in the UK.

A key element of our vehicle finance strategy is based on the migration of customers from a ‘finance to own’ to a ‘finance to return’ model which XL already operates through its short-term contracts – and which we believe could be deployed across similar markets.”

Steve Hampson, Chairman of XL, said: “This investment presents an exciting opportunity to expand and fortify its position as market leader in this specialist market place. We are looking to secure additional avenues into market in early 2019 and aiming to bring the numbers of cars on lease to over 5,000 in the shortest timeframe possible.”