Little break from the norm today with a corporate announcement from our parent company, FleetCor:

FleetCor Technologies Inc., a leading global provider of fuel cards and parent company to Knaresborough-based The Fuelcard Company, has today announced its acquisition of AllStar Business Solutions Limited from The Arval Group for £194 million.

At present, AllStar has approximately 40 thousand customers and about one million cardholders, a large portion of who are small and medium sized enterprises. AllStar serves both business clients directly and strategic partners like Arval leasing who in turn serve their customers. AllStar fuel cards are accepted by all UK major fuel brands, including the leading supermarket chains.

In addition, Arval and FleetCor have entered into a strategic relationship where Arval will provide fuel card payment solutions to its customers through AllStar. Existing AllStar customers will see no immediate change to their service provision.

The Fuelcard Company and AllStar will continue to run as two separate businesses for the foreseeable future with The Fuelcard Company continuing to resell its existing Shell, Keyfuels, Texaco, Esso and European products. The Fuelcard Company will remain based at its North Yorkshire head quarters.

“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of AllStar, which is consistent with our global acquisition strategy of identifying attractive assets with performance upside. We believe that we can help AllStar realise its full potential, as we have in previous acquisitions, by bringing our best practices, technology and commitment to this portfolio,” said Ron Clarke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, FleetCor Technologies, Inc.

“We believe that this sale is a positive move for AllStar employees, partners and customers. FleetCor brings global fuel card expertise, best practices and experience to AllStar, which, we believe, will enable us to improve the products and services available to its customers,” said Andrew Blazye, Chief Executive Officer, FleetCor Europe. “The [AllStar] brand will be retained.  Our intention is to run AllStar as an independent, separate business for the foreseeable future.”

“The Arval Group strategy is to offer a bundle of funding and fleet management services based on risk retention, whilst the business model for AllStar is very different as it delivers transactional fuel services. As a result, we favour a long-term partnership with a global card expert. This will allow us to focus on our core business for the benefit of our customers while continuing to deliver fuel management solutions by working with a provider that can further enhance the value proposition,” said Bart Beckers, Chief Executive Officer, Arval UK.

FleetCor financed the all cash acquisition with available cash and financing through its existing credit facilities. FleetCor expects the acquisition to be accretive to revenues and earnings in 2012. The Agreement for the sale and purchase of the entire issued share capital of AllStar Business Solutions Limited was entered into and consummated 12^th December 2011 between FleetCor Technologies, Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiary, FleetCor UK Acquisition Limited, and Arval UK Group Limited, as described in FleetCor’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC today. FleetCor intends to notify the U.K. Office of Fair Trading of this acquisition and comply with customary undertakings during the review process.

So, the obvious topic of conversation would be Tuesday’s news that the House of Commons is to grant discussion time to the issue of fuel duty and the Government’s response to the e-petition, but I think we’ve heard enough about that this week.

Rather we’re going to focus (i.e. have a rant) on something else that’s hit the news – new doubts raised over 80mph limit plan changes following the M5 crash.

The Government is planning to raise the motorway speed limit from 70mph claiming the increase would be good for business. “Increasing the speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 miles per hour for cars, light vans and motorcycles could provide hundreds of millions of pounds of benefits for the economy and I will put forward formal proposals for making these changes later this year”, says Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

Erm, how can someone driving their vehicle faster be any good for business unless you own a fuel station? Driving at 80mph could use up to 20 percent more fuel than at 70mph – for businesses already struggling with high fuel costs, this isn’t going to help one iota.

Current guidelines suggest that speed limits should be enforced at ten percent over the limit plus two miles per hour. This means that in a 70mph limit, drivers are unlikely to be prosecuted for speeding unless travelling at 79mph or faster. If the speed limit was raised to 80mph and guidelines remained the same, it would be enforced at 90mph, 20mph above the current speed limit.

Goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonne maximum gross weight are currently restricted to 60mph on motorways, but recent plans suggested this may be reduced to 56mph. Increasing the gap between speeds travelled on the motorway is more likely to result in higher fuel bills, as drivers will be forced to adopt defensive driving techniques which can not only be dangerous, but actually increase fuel consumption by as much as 40 percent.

Increasing the speed limit of other vehicles will make it more difficult for trucks to overtake each other, forcing them to adopt a ‘stop-start’ style of driving in which truck drivers have to accelerate hard to overtake a vehicle, then brake suddenly to fall back in line with the slower-moving traffic. With nearly 50 percent of the energy needed to power a vehicle going into acceleration, this will result in the truck using far more fuel than is necessary, which will cost fleet businesses more.

BBC Panorama’s investigation into ’The Great British Fuel Robbery’ on Monday night strongly highlighted the plight of fleet business across the UK who are struggling with ever-rising fuel costs.

Disturbingly, a recent survey showed that last year 75 percent of business that declared insolvency during 2010/2011 cited fuel costs as the main reason. With fuel costs and taxes set to rise, this will surely only get worse.

The Fuelcard Company reported last month that, with fuel prices and taxes constantly rising, businesses are being forced to turn down work which results in the running of fewer fleets who are in turn employing less people.

Panorama suggested businesses are being forced to question their morality and weigh up keeping their business afloat against the implications of sourcing cheap, and mostly illegal, fuel.

The Fuelcard Company is reminding its customers about the legalities of using contraband fuel.  Red dye is for use only by farmers and building contractors for off-road vehicles. HM Customs has the right to stop and search any vehicle with those caught illegally using Red diesel liable for an on the spot £500 fine and possible confiscation of the vehicle.

Businesses, surely it’s not worth the risk?

This week fuel card users were interested to hear that the current motor industry climate may make 2010 the ‘year of charm’ for carmakers trying to appeal to fleet managers.

In the words of John Lewis, chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), manufacturers have launched “a charm offensive on their fleet customers” to offset a drop in retail sales.

The BVRLA were responding to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders for 2009, in which there was a “real slump” in the business car market.  Its share of new car registrations fell below 50 per cent for the first time in 16 years.

John Lewis said that this was due to companies delaying purchases of new vehicles and running existing ones for longer.  However, as the economy starts to recover, the BVRLA expects fleet car sales to exceed one million in 2010.

So how much ‘charm’ exactly do manufacturers have to emit to hit that figure?  We’re trying hard to fight the image of a Hugh Grant character taking the fleet industry out for dinner and telling it how beautiful it looks.

In reality, this ‘charm offensive’ may pave the way for some great offers and promotions, dedicated fleet-orientated advertising campaigns which are bolder, braver and sexier than ever, and more ‘charming’ vehicle designs.

We can think of a certain Irish pop legend who will be rejoicing the latter prospect – Bono.  In his regular New York Times column this week, the U2 frontman called for the return of the ‘sexy’ car design brought to life in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

While the priority for business and fleet drivers is of course the functionality, reliability and versatility of their vehicles, it doesn’t hurt for them to look good too does it?  Not that they don’t at the moment!
So those are our thoughts – charm away!

=======================================================================================

The Fuel Card Company encourages small businesses to choose fuel cards with correct fuel analysis.

If you have decided to go ahead with a business fuel card, it is imperative to make a wise decision in terms of which fuel card is suitable for your business operations. A fuel card used by one company may not be suitable for another company. There are many before going ahead with the selection of a business fuel card.

We always advise our potential clients to understand the differences between fuel cards being offered by fuel suppliers like Shell, Keyfuels, Esso, Texaco and others. To assist you in making an informed decision for the best interests of your business, we have identified 6 points that you must address before buying a fuel card. These points are worth your consideration and will help you in figuring out the best fuel card for your company. Consider these as part of a very quick checklist before selecting fuel cards.

1. Do you prefer fuel cards from a specific fuel supplier? There are certain business organizations that wish to work with a single fuel company across the nation. If this is the case, we advise checking with the potential fuel company on network coverage across your area of operation in UK and Europe. For example, Shell comes with multiple variants of fuel cards and one of them is the Fleet fuel card.

http://www.businessfuelcards.co.uk/shell-cards-fuelcard-network.html

2. What fuel type do you want? If you are looking for fuel cards meant for petrol only or diesel only, then your options and potential selection will depend on the fuel supplier that offers cards with either petrol or diesel options. Take an example of CRT card offered by Shell for diesel vehicles only.

http://www.businessfuelcards.co.uk/euroshell-crt-fuel-card.html

3. Do you want a UK-only or Europe card?  Does your fleet solely through UK or does it involve travel to other European countries? There are multiple cards that will allow you to fill your tank in the UK and Europe or UK only. Depending on your preference, you    can select the appropriate card. For example, the UTA card is available for use across Europe.

http://www.businessfuelcards.co.uk/european-fuelcards-network.html

4. Do you want a card for a fleet of cars or trucks? This is a pertinent question for companies with fleets of cars and trucks or those companies that specialize in cars, vans or trucks only. For example, Esso offers a truck card for a fleet of PSVs and HGVs. Similarly, another fuel supplier, Keyfuels offers cards that are highly suitable for vans.

http://www.businessfuelcards.co.uk/keyfuels-fuel-card.html

5. Do you need a single network or multi-network fuelcard?  While you may prefer working with a single fuel supplier, it is possible for you to re-fuel at other fuel supplier’s outlets as well with certain fuel cards. For example, the Esso multi network Fuel card comes with the ability to re-fuelling at Esso and Shell stations nationwide.

http://www.businessfuelcards.co.uk/esso-multi-network-fuel-card.html

6. Do you want a fixed price fuel card or a pump price fuel card? You may look into your business fuel needs to identify whether a card with fixed price for fuel is more suitable than a fuel card that charges the price from the pump at the time of re-fuelling. Take  the example of the Esso Truck card that comes with fixed diesel price for each week.

http://www.businessfuelcards.co.uk/esso-truck-fuel-card.html

If you are able to take a minute and answer these questions, your card options will unfold by themselves, thus simplifying your decision making.

I have come across many people who are confused in terms of fuel cards and credit cards. Most will use the terms interchangeably. For someone who has been in the industry of ‘Business Fuel Cards’ for many years, it becomes imperative for me to make an effort in dispelling myths and notions about fuel cards and credit cards being one and similar.

Honestly speaking, both credit cards and fuel cards use the same underlying technology to deliver payments and manage credit. However, while the credit cards have much broader application in diverse financial segments, fuel cards have a very tight usage and are limited to the niche of management of business fuel expenses only. You can consider fuel-cards to be specialized credit and fuel management financial tool. I call it specialized because fuel cards bring a lot on the table, especially in terms of management of business fuel expenses and adding value to your business by integrating all fuel costs on one platform.

Fuel cards literally explode at the seams with the intrinsic value addition that they bring.

Overall fuel expense management becomes a breeze. With the availability of centralized management tools, the business owners find it easy to monitor, track and validate fuel expenses of the business across multiple vehicles, and areas. The management information system makes it possible for business owners to take remedial measures to check fuel expense related fraud and it also allows them to keep a tab on drivers as well.

In fact, fuel cards can be allocated for business use such that only specified drivers can avail it, or only specified vehicles can avail it or a combination of both can be used to limit scope of fuel pilferage. This means that your business fuel card is safe against any attempts of misuse by any of your drivers.

Unlike the accounting process and procedures that are used to expense out the fuel charges paid through credit cards, the business fuel cards help in consolidation of all business related fuel expenses on a single level.  This consolidation saves time for the accounting department and reduces the number of hours spent carrying out mundane tasks of collecting fuel charges from multiple credit card statements and validating them against the fuel receipts. On top of all this, the business fuel cards come with HMRC approved VAT invoices, making VAT reclamation a simpler process.

In effect, if you compare fuel cards with credit cards there are 3 add-on benefits that you get with a fuel card.

1. There is consolidation of all business fuel expenses across the organization at a single level, leading to better and effective cost control and a tighter control over fuel pilferage. The centralized reporting makes fuel cards a delightful accessory for business managers.

2. Its more secured because you can limit fuel card usage by driver, vehicle, fuel type or a combination of these factors.

3. You get to enjoy a chance of getting fuel at wholesale rates. This is something that no credit card can offer you.

All these reasons are compelling enough for business managers to take a decision towards transitioning their business from credit cards to business fuel cards. For those who are on the brink, we would love to grab a piece of your overall business.

One of the distinguishing features of fuel card against credit card is the limited fraud susceptibility of fuel cards. While security enhancement on cards is an ongoing process, we need to understand that a fuel card comes with something that offers a lot of satisfaction for the subscribers. This is because a fuel card does not divulge any of your banking details and hence isolates your banking details from the fuel card.

Since, fuel cards are a niche product that appeal to a niche-audience, it is easy to limit its exposure and hence reduce the chances of financial frauds. Unlike a credit card, which if stolen, can cause havoc in your life, a fuel card offers only the free fuel to the guy who stole it. So, professional card thieves do not have any kind of an incentive to steal a fuel card while a credit card offers them more inducement to do so.

Having said that, security of fuel card is controlled by the smartchip. We know that we can control fuel card dispensation by virtue of fuel type, vehicle identifier or driver identifier. And, this essentially means the fuel card is less prone to financial irregularities than other financial instruments.

Not stopping at the current security setup that is built-in the fuel cards, fuel suppliers are working overtime to adopt a real-time authentication for fuel transactions that are made with fuel cards. This is based on the PIN number. So, while getting the vehicle re-fuelled there is a real-time authorization of the PIN number. This, essentially, adds a 2nd leg of security to the fuel cards to ensure that all transactions go through PIN authentication, alongside the chip identification. BP and Esso have already implemented this in their fuel cards. Infact, BP has already implemented PIN on 400,000 cards. More suppliers are integrating PIN authorizations for fuel cards in the near future.

While the overall financial risks are already limited to misuse of fuel in the case of fuel cards rather than the entire credit line in the case of credit cards, PIN and chip will assist in settling the security apprehensions of folks who are committed to 100% security on financial instruments.