Lloyds Banking Group, the owner of Lex Autolease, the largest leasing company in the U.K., has acquired salary sacrifice specialist Tusker in a deal worth around £300 million.

Lloyds Banking Group says Tusker’s focus on the provision of ultra-low emission and zero emission vehicles will help the Group hit its net zero emissions targets by 2050 or sooner.

Tusker is an expert in the provision of salary sacrifice cars — where employees sacrifice part of their gross salary for the benefit of a leased vehicle provided by their employer — having launched the U.K.’s first car benefit scheme in 2008.

The company currently has a fleet of more than 23,000 vehicles, which Tusker says it has grown tenfold over the last 10 years and now has 1,300 customers ranging from SMEs to large corporates. More than 60% of its fleet consists of electric vehicles. The company was also an early member of the EV100, a group of companies committed to switching its fleet to be fully electric by 2030.

Paul Gilsham, Tusker’s CEO, said both companies were aligned on the commitment to net zero, and the acquisition would enable it to grow its electric fleet faster.

The Watford, Hertfordshire-based company would continue to operate as a standalone entity.

Nick Williams, managing director Transport, Lloyds Banking Group, said: “As part of our 2022 strategy, we outlined our ambitions to grow our participation in vehicle leasing, and the acquisition of Tusker is a key part of delivering on this with a net-zero focus, at a time when the transition to sustainable methods of transport is a high priority for both our business clients and retail customers.

“Alongside our Lex Autolease business, this acquisition allows Lloyds Banking Group to offer our products and services across a wider section of businesses and enterprises, enabling them to provide competitive benefits packages while helping them transition to net-zero.”