The news that Chartered Trust has been bought by Lloyds UDT marks the beginning of an exciting new period in our development.

It means Chartered Trust, and our motor dealer customers, can look forward to the future with confidence as part of the Lloyds TSB Group, one of the UK's largest consumer finance providers.

The combined resources of Lloyds UDT and Chartered Trust give our group the scale and size necessary to compete more effectively in today's market. We will be able to provide our customers with the best - and most competitive - service in motor finance.

John Davies, Lloyds TSB asset finance managing director, said: “This deal allows us to consolidate our position as market leader in the motor finance business. The enlarged business will allow us to develop more attractive customer offers and become one of the lowest cost providers in the market.”

Chartered Trust customers have nothing to fear from the purchase. The two well established motor finance brands will remain separate for the foreseeable future with their own individual customer base and sales force.

Chartered Trust's motor finance division will now merge with Lloyds UDT Finance to become the motor and leisure division within Lloyds TSB Asset Finance. It will continue to be dedicated to the motor finance point-of-sale market and to servicing the needs of motor dealers.

The investment by Lloyds UDT in Chartered Trust is a clear sign of its commitment to the point-of-sale market and to motor dealers as our customers.

Chartered Trust customers will continue to benefit from their existing business relationship and the “reassuringly different” Chartered Trust service and technology. The rapid processing of loan proposals via Chartered Trust's hi-tech office in Cardiff, and other technology such as equips, will continue.

The strategic aim is to develop the two companies without losing the key brand qualities which have made them each so successful in their existing markets. In the future, each company can learn from the other's strengths to build a group which will become greater than the sum of its two parts.

Managing a purchase of this size - Lloyds TSB has paid £627m for Chartered Trust and ACL Autolease- is a complex business. Much of the detail remains to be worked on. The next few weeks and months will bring a clearer picture of the future - it will be a bright one.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about your relationship with Chartered Trust, or would like to become a customer of the dynamic new joint company, please talk to your local Account Manager.

Finally, news of the successful completion of the purchase ends a period of uncertainty for Chartered Trust and our customers who have remained loyal through a difficult time for the whole industry. Thank you for your loyalty and we look forward to enjoying a bright future together within the Lloyds TSB group.