The Fuelcard Company UK Ltd has bought Abbey Fuelcards in a deal which will see the firm grow by £45m of annual revenue from 2,000 business fleet customers.

The Yorkshire firm is one of the biggest commercial fuel card resellers in the UK and has partnerships with Shell, Esso, Texaco, Keyfuels and Routemate.

It is the UK division of FleetCor and the purchase of Abbey is the third acquisition made by FleetCor Europe this year.

A consultation with Abbey staff has begun to decide if any jobs will be lost as part of the takeover.

Andrew Blazye, chief executive officer of FleetCor Europe, said the acquisition would help to build up the firm.

"We are thrilled to make this announcement. It will allow us to build on the expertise and service innovation Abbey has cultivated over 18 years by offering FleetCor's global products and account management systems.

"It shows our continued investment to bring its significant financial resources and leading customer management techniques to clients in the UK and continental Europe.

Charles Freund, managing director of The Fuelcard Company, which directly serves more than 5,000 business fleets, said: "As FleetCor builds its European footprint we are constantly on the lookout for companies who can expand our knowledge and customer offerings.

"We look forward to learning from Abbey's proficiencies with online marketing and to further advancing the UK fuel card business."

Abbey was founded in 1990 and has become one of the leading fuel card resellers in the UK.

It has been successful by developing specific fuel card programs to market segments.

Bob Sturgess, founder and managing director of Abbey, said: "FleetCor is the worldwide leader in fuel cards and is a great long-term home for our business.

"We look forward to working with FleetCor and to having Abbey Fuelcards' customers benefit from the company's years of experience."

Ron Clarke, chairman and chief executive officer of FleetCor, which is privately owned by management and a group of institutional private equity investors including Bain Capital, Summit Partners and Advent International, said Abbey was an "excellent fit" for his firm.

"With these tactical acquisitions we are continuing the business strategy of building FleetCor by expanding the application of our fleet card expertise into international markets.

"We are excited about additional opportunities we see for growth in Europe and other international markets."

FleetCor serves more than 650,000 business fleets and about 3.5m cardholders in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The firm and its subsidiaries have 26 offices worldwide. Its card programs are marketed under several brand names including CCS, CFN, Keyfuels, Fuelman, The Fuel Card Company, and Mannatec.