Shares in Northgate plummeted on Wednesday as the van rental group stunned the market with a severe profit warning, and said it was in talks with its lenders to renegotiate covenants.

The shares fell 45.7 per cent or 31½p to 37½p after Northgate, which is the largest van rental group in the UK and Spain, said it was being hit by both a fall in the number of rentals and a drop in vehicle values when it came to sell its fleet.