KBC Autolease delivers 46 MINI Aceman cars to Vandelanotte Combining professional and family business acumen for nearly 80 years!
With 25 branch offices, Vandelanotte is the largest independent accounting, auditing and consultancy firm in Belgium. In early September, 46 brand-new MINI Aceman cars were delivered to its doorstep by KBC Autolease, branded in the proud livery of Vandelanotte. A car, a lease contract and a corporate culture aligning with each other perfectly. Nikolas Vandelanotte and Maxime Deforche tell KBC Autolease exactly how!
A family business for almost 80 years
Nikolas Vandelanotte feels proud. When his grandfather established an accounting firm in 1948, almost no one had faith in ‘Mr Roger’s’ plans. Roger Vandelanotte was a teacher but he was quick to realise that the government and tax authorities were imposing ever more rules and regulations on businesses. The shrewd teacher knew a business case when he saw one and – let’s not shy away from clichés here – the rest is history…
”In 1998, grandson Nikolas was the third generation to join the family business; fully taking over at the helm from his uncle Hein in 2019, he now co-leads Belgium’s largest independent accounting and auditing firm, with more than 800 employees.
“This makes us unique,” he explains. “Our firm grew and has continued to grow without ever having been under foreign control or in the hands of private equity. Accountancy and audit remain our core business but our staff now also includes tax specialists, legal professionals and other HR experts. Our clients? SMEs and often also family businesses, as well as social profit organisations and public authorities, all with one thing in common: they want the best possible professional advice but also like to work in a personal context, with personal connections. Which is also exactly why we are working with KBC Autolease for this large delivery of starter cars!”
Starter cars?
Maxime Deforche, Compensation & Benefits Manager and responsible for Vandelanotte’s vehicle fleet, explains why the MINI Aceman is referred to as a ‘starter car’ within the company.
“Let’s not beat about the bush: staff turnover is fairly high in our sector,” Maxime explains. “We’re quite proud to see that the average career in our firm lasts between five and eight years: proof that we’re able not just to attract people in our sector but offer future prospects as well. Around three quarters of our employees have a company car, which equates to a vehicle fleet of more than 500 cars, and a suitable, customised car is an integral part of the remuneration package – especially for starters!”
Why the MINI Aceman?
No one will be surprised to learn that vehicle selection at Vandelanotte is thoroughly evaluated from a tax perspective. “We employ experts who design the car policies for our clients, so it would be very strange if we didn’t tax-optimise our own vehicle fleet,” says Nikolas Vandelanotte with a smile.
With that in mind, the MINI Aceman proved to be an excellent choice this year for the starters in the firm. “But besides being very interesting from a tax perspective, the Aceman is also clearly an attractive car for people just starting out on their career,” Maxime Deforche adds. “We want to invest optimally in our young employees and this car, with its proud corporate branding, perfectly illustrates that.”
Tailor-made partnership
KBC had already been one of Vandelanotte’s main banks for a very long time and with this delivery, KBC Autolease has become a valued partner as well. “The passion that has characterised Vandelanotte for 77 years now is something we proudly share with them,” says Kurt Beckers, KBC Autolease Sales Director. “Supporting and advising young businesses in their growth, enabling entrepreneurs to deliver their vision in optimal conditions: Vandelanotte has already been doing that for such a long time and we’re pleased that we can now do this for them with our full-service approach.” Vandelanotte will also be ‘trialling’ a number of fleet management activities for these 46 MINI Aceman cars, including in-house management of roadside assistance services and tyre changes. If this approach proves to be successful, it can also be applied for future orders. “Co-creating an optimal total package of mobility solutions, that’s what we are eager to collaborate on with our customers,” Kurt Beckers concludes.
Contact KBC Autolease if you have ideas for your vehicle fleet but aren’t quite sure how to apply them in practice – we’ll be happy to listen to all your questions about mobility.
(“And anyone also wanting accounting advice from a real Belgian family business can always contact us!”, Nikolas Vandelanotte enthusiastically chimes in.) Partnership and co-creation, just like we said!
Photographs © Vandelanotte