London — Mayer Brown has advised AURELIUS Equity Opportunities (AURELIUS), the listed entity within the AURELIUS Group that focuses on investing in special situations and mid-market transaction opportunities in a broad range of industries, on the acquisition of leading end-to-end commercial fleet management operator, BT Fleet Solutions from BT Group PLC. In addition, Mayer Brown advised AURELIUS on the complex transitional arrangements put in place to ensure the carve out from BT is carried out successfully and the long-term outsourcing agreement entered into between BT Group PLC and BT Fleet Solutions, which ensures that BT Fleet Solutions continues to manage BT's vehicle fleet nationwide following the acquisition.
BT Fleet Solutions is a non-core division of the FTSE 100 company and provides full fleet management services across all stages of the vehicle life cycle. Established in 2002, BT Fleet Solutions employs approximately 950 staff across the UK and manages more than 80,000 vehicles for over 26 blue chip customers. BT Fleet Solutions will continue to manage BT's fleet following the transaction. The latest published statutory accounts for 2017/18 for BT Fleet Ltd show annual revenues of £209.5 million and its industry leading position leaves it well placed to capture the high levels of growth available in the UK’s fleet management market post divestment.
This deal represents another example of AURELIUS' specialism in complex divestment processes.
The Mayer Brown team was led by Perry Yam, co-leader of the global Corporate & Securities practice and Corporate & Securities partner James West and included: Corporate & Securities lead associate Tom Mallalieu, IP & IT partners Oliver Yaros and Mark Prinsley, associates Valerie Vanryckeghem and Ryota Nishikawa; Employment & Benefits partner Chris Fisher and associate Sarah Reeve-Young; Pensions partner Richard Goldstein; Restructuring, Bankruptcy and Insolvency senior associate Henry Glen; Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner Sam Eastwood; Environmental partner Michael Hutchinson and counsel Timothy Baines; and Tax Transactions & Consulting partners James Hill and Simon Rose and associate Matthew O'Brien.