Italian group buys IT software business

Italian group Safo, which specialises in automotive IT, has taken over Coventry-based TR Fleet.

It has taken a 75% stake in the business for an undisclosed sum.

TR Fleet has company car and grey fleet compliance software package DriveSecure, which is to be further developed and sold throughout Europe by Safo.

Julie Summerell, TR Fleet’s managing director, said: “When I set up TR Fleet I wondered if there was an existing data hub on the market but I couldn’t find anything that was based on the asset being the driver rather than the vehicle.

“As the business has grown and developed I needed a partner that had a similar vision and commitment to driver safety and would help me develop DriveSecure into the hub that I always thought it could be.”

The DriveSecure package integrates with third party data suppliers and enables fleet managers to manage company employees who drive while on business. 

Safo Group chief executive Dr Elpidio Sacchi added: “It will be present as TR Fleet in the other countries where we are already present.

“We already process more than 350,000 fines per year in the UK and we work with some of the biggest parking agents for the electronic exchange of fines. I think there is a lot that can be done for developing the way in which the leasing and rental industry interacts with the authorities.”