VAN hire firm Northgate yesterday said it is to acquire the remaining 51 per cent stake in its Spanish business Record Rent by the end of the month.

The Darlington-based plc said that the purchase will be completed after the statutory accounts for 2005 have been approved and audited.

Northgate bought its stake in Record Rent in July. The complete deal is worth about £95m. The group said in a trading update yesterday that both its Spanish businesses, Record Rent and Fualsa, as well as its UK fleets have continued to grow in line with expectations.

It said in a statement: "Northgate's UK business continues to operate in a competitive market and hire rates have remained under pressure, particularly in the third quarter of the financial year."

Northgate, which buys vehicles, rents them out and then sells them on, is Britain's largest van hire group, with a fleet of 52,400 vans, trucks and cars in the UK.

In the six months to October 31, group pre-tax profits were £28.3m, from revenues that rose 5.9 per cent to £176.9m. In February Northgate bought Sunderland bus and train operator Arriva's rental business, Arriva Vehicle Rental (AVR).

Yesterday, the group said: "Since the acquisition, the AVR business has been successfully integrated into Northgate."