Activa Contracts has appointed UK Fuels as its new fuel card partner, and one of the first fleets to use the solution has calculated it could cut its fuel bill by around £24,000 in the first 12 months.

Activa Contracts won a sole supply, full outsourcing fleet deal two years ago with Hughes Electrical. The company has subsequently expanded with the acquisition of commercial laundry equipment supplier, James Armstrong.

This proved to be the trigger for Hughes Electrical to pilot a solution with UK Fuels that offered access to key oil company sites and the whole UK Fuels’ network which incorporates a range of own brand, independent and supermarket sites bringing together the best of both worlds across the retail and commercial network.

The platform was then introduced to the James Armstrong fleet of 35 light commercial vehicles and five company cars.

Hughes Electrical’s group finance director Chris Thornton said: “We felt that introducing the UK Fuels’ offering would deliver the increased controls that we were looking for, which we believed that we had lost with our previous fuel card partner.

“Additionally, the terms on which fuel is bought were more attractive and the Velocityportal simplifies and reduces administration as weekly fuel card purchases are posted across 50 cost centres within the business.”

The company estimates that it will cut its £600,000 per annum fuel bill by up to 4% -£24,000 - following introduction of the new fuel card solution company-wide.

All drivers are instructed to buy fuel at the ‘cheapest’ retail outlets.

However, to ensure flexibility as supermarket forecourts are not always the nearest to depots, drivers are issued with both a UK Fuels’ card, which can be used at more than 2,800 forecourts, combined with the oil company branded card of choice for convenience.

Currently the UK Fuels’ cards are linked to around 70 vehicles - those operated by Armstrong and new vehicles delivered by Activa Contracts to Hughes TV.

They will now be rolled out to the remainder of the fleet following cancellation of the contract with the current supplier.

Thornton said: “We believe the fuel card solution that we have introduced will be perfect for the company and our drivers.”

UK Fuels’ business development manager Adam Thopliss said: “We operate via a weekly fixed fuel price compared with some suppliers that only offer pump price.

“Fleet decision-makers want clear and transparent pricing and the way some fuel card providers charge makes it difficult for businesses to see the true cost per litre.

“The cost savings identified, allied to fuel site accessibility and robust management information means it is a win-win for Hughes Electrical. We anticipate more Activa Contracts’ customers to follow its lead and switch to UK Fuels as a fuel card provider.”