Ebbon Group has acquired licence checking specialist DriverCheck, positioning itself as the number one in the UK fleet driver compliance market.

L-R: Robert Pilkington, director, Ebbon Group, with Eddie Eusebi, owner of DriverCheck and Craig Gibbin, director at Ebbon Group

Ebbon Group, based in Oxford and specialised in automotive technology, already owns Licence Check, which it acquired in 2018, and the latest deal is intended to create a business that’s the clear market leader in fleet compliance – including the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI)-based vehicle condition compliance tools.

Combined, Licence Check and DriverCheck have more than 3,500 customers responsible for half a million vehicles and perform over 1.1 million licence checks per annum.

As with Licence Check, Glasgow-based DriverCheck will continue to be operated as a stand-alone entity with a separate team and brand, and will receive substantial investment in new technology.

Ebbon added that while there are similarities between the two firms’ customer bases, they operate in very different ways.

Both Licence Check and DriverCheck work across both the public and private sectors, mainly in major corporates, especially FMCG, local authorities and logistics providers.

But while Licence Check offers subscribers a self-service model, primarily through its Davis platform which provides online licence checking and a suite of compliance tools, DriverCheck offers a managed service in the licence checking arena.

Features include paperless driving licence checking from the DVLA’s Access to Driver Data (ADD) service via a web portal – accessible 24/7 and including CPC and tachograph information, backed by dynamic and static system alerts, management dashboards and KPIs plus a suite of management reports.

DriverCheck also provides grey fleet management services.

A particular focus going forwards will be the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI)-based vehicle condition compliance tools via Ebbon Intelligence, Ebbon Group’s recently announced AI initiative.

“We will see continued investment and development in AI in the coming months that will benefit both businesses, particularly in the area of vehicle condition and damage imaging,” said Ebbon Group director Craig Gibbin.

DriverCheck owner and founder, Eddie Eusebi commented: “We are very proud of the business that we have built over the last 15 years or more, and it was important for us to have stability for the team in Scotland and a secure, long-term future for the business with additional investment.

“We know that this is what Ebbon Group has achieved with Licence Check and we expect DriverCheck to develop in the same way and with the same very positive results,” he added.