DFM takes on expanded Riverside fleet
October 2007
Daimler Fleet Management (DFM) has won the contract to supply the 65-vehicle fleet of English Churches Housing Group (ECHG). ECHG has recently merged with The Riverside Group, a leading housing and regeneration company, which is based in Liverpool and owns/manages approximately 50,000 homes throughout England. DFM is also the sole fleet management supplier for Riverside.
The intake of ECHG vehicles has brought major changes in The Riverside Group's fleet. ECHG's fleet is currently managed by DFM, but is progressively migrating to contract hire with a maintenance arrangement. Riverside's existing 95-vehicle fleet, including all subsidiaries, is also mainly funded through contract hire .
Simon Morris, Riverside's Group Finance Director, explained "Combining the fleet has required a flexible approach from DFM. Our fleet has significantly increased in size, so different car policies and vehicle requirements had to be accommodated. The ECHG fleet is entirely Ford vehicles, whereas the rest of The Riverside Group fleet is mixed, mainly executive vehicles and commercial vehicles. ECHG also requires greater staff mobility than the rest of the Group because of a need to manage a widespread network of specialised housing for vulnerable people requiring regular care and support. We rationalised all our fleet three years ago with DFM as our single supplier and they have provided excellent service, enabling us to focus on the core activities we do best".
The Riverside Group has almost 80 years experience of providing sustainable regeneration and renting homes for social purposes and invests substantial sums in community projects each year. Recently it became the largest housing association to be awarded the government's Charter Mark quality award.
For further information, please contact:
Tracey Watson
Marketing Manager
(t) 01908 697 106
(e) marketinguk@daimler.com