This article was originally published on Fleet News.
Mobility technology provider Fleetondemand has acquired vehicle management company FleetEurope, in a deal that promises customers combined access to the UK’s largest vehicle rental fleet and branch network.
A combined vehicle rental fleet of over 600,000 vehicles will be available from 2,200 branch locations nationwide, using the latest version of Fleetondemand’s Mobilleo vehicle rental platform. The system currently manages 320,000 rental transactions a year from 19,000 individual users.
Mobility as a Service
Fleetondemand plans to accelerate the growth of its Mobility as a Service(MaaS) solutions within the vehicle rental sector, through the provision of Mobilleo to FleetEurope’s clients.
Justin Whitston commented: “Bringing the two businesses together was an easy decision in our aggressive growth plan. FleetEurope has been a key business partner since 2012 and has gone from strength to strength in recent years under the guidance of Joe Howick and his experienced management team.
“Both businesses also share very similar core business philosophies and cultures and are renowned for delivering best-in-class customer service and market-leading technology. This acquisition made perfect sense, allowing us to strengthen our existing partnership and fuel our ambitious growth plans.”
Joe Howick added: “This new partnership with Fleetondemand is an extremely positive move that will enhance our existing service offering to customers. We’re experiencing a growth in demand for an all-encompassing mobility solution that allows customers to book various modes of transport, in addition to vehicle rental.
“Our customers will now have access to Mobilleo, Fleetondemand’s revolutionary MaaS technology platform that consolidates all forms of business travel into a single application, including car rental, flights, trains, ferries, taxis, car clubs, hotels, airport lounges and more.
“We’re extremely excited about this new partnership. Maintaining our reputation for delivering outstanding service is our top priority, so it will be very much a case of business as usual for our customers as we bring the two businesses together.”
Investment partner
The deal was funded by Fleetondemand’s long-term investment partner BGF, which acquired a minority stake in the technology business following a £5 million investment last year.
Chris Boyes and John Eggleston, who led the investment for BGF, added: “FleetEurope is a well-established player within the fleet sector that has shown unprecedented growth over the last three years. This impressive performance, combined with its experienced management team, broad range of long-standing clients and its reputation for service excellence were influential in our decision to invest in the business.”
Executive board
The combined business will be led by an executive board, including Fleetondemand’s chief executive officer Justin Whitston, non-executive chairman Andrew Cope, chief financial officer Nicola Sharp, operations director Matthew Heald and FleetEurope’s chief operating officer Joe Howick.
FleetEurope’s current chairman and founder, John Yarroll, will be retiring after 25 years of managing the business.
