Dentons has advised Marshall Motor Holdings plc (Marshall), the AIM-listed motor dealer group with 104 franchises covering 24 brands in the UK, on the strategic disposal of its leasing business, Marshall Leasing Limited, for £42.5 million to N.I.I.B. Group Limited (which trades as Northridge Finance), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc. The transaction is conditional on N.I.I.B. Group Limited receiving approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Listed at number 26 in the FN50, the annual guide compiled by Fleet News which ranks the largest 50 contract hire and leasing companies in the UK, Marshall Leasing Limited is a nationally recognised and well regarded independent automotive leasing and fleet management provider.

The deal follows Marshall's £24.4 million acquisition of SG Smith, a motor dealer group based in Surrey, Kent and London, in November 2015 and Marshall's £106.9 million acquisition of the Ridgeway Group last year. The Dentons Automotive team, led by automotive specialists Matthew Wilmot and Francesca Bettermann, advised Marshall on both of these transactions.

Commenting on the deal, Matthew Wilmot said, "We are delighted to have acted for Marshall, a long-standing client of the Firm, on another strategic transaction."

Dentons' market-leading automotive practice provides advice to automotive manufacturers and motor retailer groups in the UK on issues ranging from corporate and commercial transactions through to dispute resolution, real estate, tax, environmental, regulatory, employment matters and government regulation.