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Anglo Scottish Asset Finance

Fleet specialist Anglo Scottish Asset Finance completes management buyout

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Durham-based Anglo Scottish Asset Finance has confirmed the completion of a management buyout (MBO) to take back control of the business.

The investment is backed by a consortium of UK-based funders, the company’s original founding directors, wider management team, existing employees, and contractual agents.

Founded in 2007, Anglo Scottish quickly established its name in the finance brokerage sector. In 2015, the company was acquired by McMillan Shakespeare Group. The MBO follows the publicly listed Australian company’s move to seek an appropriate acquirer for its UK operations on the back of a strategic view to exit the UK and focus on its core capabilities down under.

The MBO will result in an expansion of the business’s presence in the UK as Anglo Scottish aims to develop a new funding option for customers while establishing new partnerships, joint ventures and strengthening relationships with current funding partners. It plans to leverage new technologies and expand its capacity to secure new clients and support partner relationships in the industry. The funding raised will support these initiatives as the Anglo Scottish brand continues to develop.

Anglo Scottish supports fleets across the country, having helped businesses across the country access affordable finance for commercial vehicles. The company has also partnered with local councils to deliver the financial assistance scheme for fleets affected by the introduction of Clean Air Zones. This has helped more than 400 businesses to replace non-compliant vehicles.

During 2023, the company added three new divisions – Renewables, Agriculture and Ground Transport – to its existing structure, which already covers Vehicle Finance, Asset Finance, Commercial Finance and more.

The company has increased its headcount to 86, with newly employed staff based in Scotland, Merseyside, Yorkshire, London, and Devon, and has grown its network of tied agents to 68.

Additionally, the company brokered over 12,900 deals in the financial year 2022/23, reaching a substantial milestone with over £519 million of brokered business within the year. During the MBO process, the company offered investment opportunities to all employed staff and agents, allowing all to benefit from the company’s success.

Managing Director David Foster expressed his excitement for the future, stating that the MBO marks a “landmark moment” for Anglo Scottish and its leadership team. He commented: “With this continuing growth, we see a huge opportunity to develop a new way of doing business, offering a broker/funder hybrid service to our customers and bringing us closer to our industry partners.

“While the MBO gives us the financial strength to broaden our market and offering, we will maintain the identity and independent approach that our existing customers and partners have come to expect.

Commenting further David added: “We look forward to a promising future, anticipating continued growth and success for our management team, employees, and the businesses and individuals we serve.”

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

These are the laws you’re most likely to break while driving

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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How well do you and your fleet of drivers know the Highway Code? Chances are, the answer is not as well as you think! Though you might be as confident as anyone behind the wheel, there are plenty of little-known motoring laws that people around the UK break without knowing every day. You might have gotten away scot-free up to this point, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve stuck to every aspect of motoring law!

Though some aspects of motoring law may seem like common sense, other, lesser-known aspects of the law can be confusing, particularly when it comes to smoking, eating, and drinking behind the wheel – can you or can’t you? With that thought in mind, the vehicle experts at Anglo Scottish Asset Finance have highlighted some common areas where UK drivers may be likely to slip up…

Key Points

  • Contrary to common belief, eating or drinking behind the wheel is not illegal. However, if you’re deemed to not be in proper control of the car, you could receive a £100 fine and three penalty points.
  • Splashing a pedestrian with rainwater could net you a fine of up to £5,000 if you’re adjudged to be driving without proper consideration for others.
  • You could receive a fine of up to £1,000 in court if you’re caught paying with your phone whilst the car engine is running and handbrake is off.
  • You could receive a minimum of 10 points on your licence and a fine if you’re caught sleeping in your car whilst drunk.
  • Flashing your headlights to give way could result in a minimum fine of £30.

Eating and Drinking at the Wheel

The actual act of eating or drinking whilst driving is not strictly illegal. However, if you’re distracted behind the wheel, and are spotted by officers enjoying a bite to eat, you could still be breaking the law. If they deem that you aren’t in proper control of the car, you could be on the receiving end of an on-the-spot fine of £100, and three penalty points.

Turning on a Light in the Car

At some point or another during your childhood, chances are, you’ve turned on a light in the car, only to be swiftly shouted at by the driver for ‘blinding them’ or preventing them from being able to see the road clearly. Despite this, there’s no law against driving with interior lights on. If the light is adjudged to be distracting for you or even other drivers, however, you may be charged with careless driving.

Splashing a Pedestrian with Rainwater

Ever driven through a deep puddle and drenched a pedestrian? Sometimes, avoiding a puddle might be impossible. However, if you’re deemed to have driven ‘without reasonable consideration for other persons,’ you could be in hot water yourself. In that event, you could face a fine of £100 up to an eye-watering £5,000.

Phone Usage Whilst Driving

Everyone should know this offence – driving whilst using your mobile phone could net you a £200 fine and six penalty points on your licence. If you’re a new driver, you’ll lose your licence. The law stipulates that, in order to use any unmounted handheld device behind the wheel, you must be parked with the engine switched off.

This means that you could be in trouble if you use your phone to pay for a meal at the drive-thru. Any driver caught using their phone whilst driving could then receive a further fine of up to £1,000 in court, so you could end up with a VERY expensive Big Mac if you’re not careful!

Smoking in the Car

Smoking in a car on your own, or in a car full of adults, is not illegal. However, if there are any under-18s in the car with you, smoking is not permitted and has been illegal since 2015. Offenders could be punished with a £50 fine and five points on their licence – even if it’s one of your passengers who is smoking with a child in the car.

Driving in Incorrect Footwear

Did you know that certain types of footwear are prohibited behind the wheel? Though it’s not against the law, Rule 97 of the Highway Code states that ‘the footwear and clothing you wear whilst driving must not prevent you from using the controls in the correct manner.’ This means any footwear without a closed back or strap could earn you a £100 fine, as they could slide off your feet or get stuck under the brake pedal – so no flip-flops!

Improper Use of the Hard Shoulder

When you’re stuck in standstill traffic on the motorway, the hard shoulder could look like a great way to get around. However, since March 2018, this has been a finable offence. With fixed charges of £100 and three penalty points to be dished out for hard shoulder users, don’t get caught out!

Sleeping in the Car Whilst Drunk

You’ve had a few too many and – correctly – decide that driving would be far too dangerous. Probably best to sleep in the car and drive home in the morning when you’ve sobered up, right? Wrong. The law states that whoever is in charge of a vehicle should not be inebriated, and police have often classed sleeping owners as being ‘in charge.’ You could therefore receive 10 points on your licence and a substantial fine.

Driving With Headphones On

Driving with headphones on is not illegal – there’s no specific law that says you aren’t allowed to do so. However, it’s certainly unadvisable – your ears are key to identifying the position of pedestrians and other cars on the road, so you should always use the stereo rather than headphones where possible.

Using a Sat-Nav

Though using a sat-nav whilst driving is legal, there are a number of rules and regulations in place to prevent dangerous usage. Your sat-nav must be in a fixed position on your windscreen or dashboard – if you’re using it whilst unfixed, you could receive up to six penalty points and a £200 fine.

Flashing Your Lights to Give Way

You see it daily on the road – a driver flashing their lights to allow another driver through, or to allow a pedestrian to cross the road. However, you aren’t legally allowed to do this – you could encourage someone to make a manoeuvre when it isn’t safe. Using your headlamps in this way could carry a minimum fine of £30.

So, how many of these infractions were you aware of? And how many have you managed to avoid doing so far? It’s always worth giving your knowledge of the road a refresh from time to time, in order to ensure that you are driving as safely as possible for yourself and the other drivers on the road!

Allan Hetherington, Head of Prestige Car Finance at Anglo Scottish Asset Finance, said: ‘Motoring law can be complicated, and oftentimes drivers are unaware of new changes to the law, which is constantly updating in response to new technology and more. We strive to ensure all of our clients are up-to-date with their knowledge of motoring law and the Highway Code, so the roads are as safe as possible for everyone!’

Strategic partnership looks to accelerate transition to electric vehicles in the workplace

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

Durham-based, Anglo Scottish Asset Finance, is partnering with Diode, an electric vehicle (EV) suitability assessment software platform, to help break down the barriers to EV adoption and drive forward electrification in the workplace.

The partnership has been spearheaded by Charlotte Enright, business development manager and sustainability lead at Anglo Scottish Asset Finance.

Following discussions with Diode, which was established in 2020 in response to the climate change emergency and is a recipient of Innovate UK and Department for Transport grant funding, the two companies are partnering to provide a full circle service for businesses looking to invest in EVs.

Diode, an innovative web-based software platform that provides an all-in-one solution to help businesses, employees and consumers assess their electric vehicle suitability, generate a tailored charge point roll-out plan and purchase charge points through an automated tender process, identified that initial investment for many businesses would require finance and, as such, the relationship between the two companies was agreed.

The partnership coincides with the recent publication of the government’s UK Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy. Included, was a £1.6 billion commitment towards achie3ving a tenfold increase in charge points by 2030, which will accelerate the government’s aim to end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and ensure all new cars and vans are zero-emission by 2035.

With the average driver needing to charge for approximately seven hours per week at a standard 7kW charge point, installing charge points at workplaces will be a critical component if the target is to be achieved.

Established in 2007 and with headquarters in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, Anglo Scottish is an independent business finance broker, providing a range of financial services across the UK including asset finance, business loans and vendor and dealer finance, as well as personal vehicle solutions and vehicle sourcing.

Dan Eyre, co-founder and COO, Diode, said: “At current petrol and electricity prices, the cost per mile for electric vehicles is about half that of an equivalent petrol vehicle.

“The high upfront costs of the vehicles and charge points can put businesses and drivers off making the switch and is why finance options are so important, because it means our customers can start taking advantage of low-cost electric driving from day one.

“More than 90% of the drivers that complete our Electric Vehicle Readiness Assessment are in the position to make the switch. For some businesses, they may choose to make a full transition then and there, whilst others may wish to go at a slower pace. Diode can help companies that fit in to both of these groups and with Anglo Scottish as our finance partner, customers will quickly reap the benefits, both in terms of cost savings and accelerating their transition to electric vehicles.”

Charlotte Enright, sustainability lead, Anglo Scottish Asset Finance, said: “Recent figures published by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders highlighted a huge increase in sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2021. In fact, more new battery electric vehicles were registered than over the previous five years combined. Interestingly, there were 190,727 battery electric vehicles and 114,554 plug-in hybrids, meaning 18.5% of all new cars registered in 2021 could be plugged in.

“As part of the UK’s transition to electric vehicles, Diode has identified the need for a streamlined, simple, data driven platform that requires very little in terms of time investment. Results are quick and the benefits for businesses that work with the platform are huge.

“Once employees have completed their assessments, and businesses have generated their roll-out plans, thoseseeking finance are directed to Anglo Scottish, where we will find the best possible finance deals for electric vehicles and charging stations, via our vast panel of lenders.

David Foster, managing director, Anglo Scottish Asset Finance, said: “As we continue to strengthen our sustainable finance offering, with the aim of becoming the leading provider in the UK, we need look no further than the current investment taking place within electrification.

“For many, the journey towards making workplace operations sustainable will be on-going and Anglo Scottish aims to make this transition as smooth as possible, both for existing and new customers.”