History

With our roots beginning in 1958, we have 60 years' experience in vehicle leasing.

See our key moments in the timeline below.

 

1958

1958

Bryan Brothers Contract Hire

Bryan Brothers Contract Hire established in Bristol; part of the Bryan Brothers dealership Group. Ford Prefect delivered as the first leased car to a local Bristol doctor, Dr Hickey.

 

1970

1970

Bryan Brothers Contract Hire incorporated​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Bryan Brothers Contract Hire incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bryan Brothers Holdings.​​​​

 

1984

1984

1,000 vehicles

Fleet size reaches 1,000 vehicles​​​​.

 

1990

1990

Bryan Contract Hire

Renamed Bryan Contract Hire​​​​.

 

1995

1995

Management buyout

Management buyout; rebranded to BCH Vehicle Management.

 

1996

1996

10,000 vehicles

Fleet size reaches 10,000 vehicles.

 

1997

1997

London Stock Exchange

BCH Group plc floated with full listing on London Stock Exchange.

 

1999

1999

Deutsche Bank acquires BCH Group

Deutsche Bank acquires BCH Group. Pan European leasing offer created through sister operations in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

 

2000

2000

Dealer Services channel launched

Dealer Services channel launched with UK’s first established online quote, document and order system, QuDOS.

 

2001

2001

Deutsche Bank sells BCH Group

Deutsche Bank sells BCH Group and all European vehicle leasing operations to Société Générale; rebranded to ALD Automotive.

 

2003

2003

Société Générale acquires Hertz Lease Europe

Société Générale acquires Hertz Lease Europe; Hertz Lease UK (Axus UK Ltd and ACR Ltd) integrated into ALD Automotive.

 

2004

2004

ProFleet2 telematics solution launched

ProFleet2 telematics solution launched; the first integrated telemetry solution in the UK market.

 

2005

2005

Wheels Inc (USA)

Global market offer extended through alliance with Wheels Inc (USA).

 

2008

2008

50,000 vehicles

Fleet size reaches 50,000 vehicles. ALD celebrates as part of its 50th Anniversary.

 

2009

2009

Multi-sales channel strategy

Multi-sales channel strategy adopted to cater for needs of large corporate business, SME’s and private individuals via direct and indirect sales channel; first manufacturer white-label leasing operation launched.

 

2012

2012

Banking white-label leasing

Banking white-label leasing operation launched.

 

2014

2014

100,000 vehicles

UK fleet reaches 100,000 vehicles; ALD Automotive Group reaches 1 million vehicles across 40 countries

 

2016

2016

Further growth and FCA accreditation

UK fleet expands to over 125,000; Group fleet now exceeds 1.3m vehicles in over 40 countries worldwide.

 

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