The ABN/AMRO banking group has purchased a 51 per cent stake in the Irish Fleet Management Services company for an undisclosed sum. Fleet Management Services is a family-owned business established in 1984 by Mr Oisin O'Buachalla. It manages 2,000 vehicles on behalf of its clients and employs 14 people in Dublin.

The new company will trade as Lease Plan Fleet Management to provide for the transport requirements of Irish companies, it said yesterday. Lease Plan is one of Europe's biggest vehicle leasing companies with 19 branches. The group has 350,000 vehicles on lease in Europe and 65,000 in the UK. It also has operations in the US, Australia and New Zealand.