Member Article

Car 2 U celebrate £135,000 investment

A Washington based car rental firm is celebrating the expansion of its fleet and the creation of new jobs, thanks to a £135,000 investment in the business.

Northstar Ventures, who manage the Finance for Business North East Accelerator Fund decided to invest in Car 2 U, after their demonstrated strong ambitions for growth.

Car 2 U specialise in supplying dual control cars, 4x4s and commercial vehicles with tow bars to driving schools and accident management companies.

As well as buying new vehicles to add to their current fleet, the firm now homes to expand into various business and commercial sectors to provide other niche vehicles for work and leisure purposes.

Alongside these changes, Car 2 U also plan to further develop bespoke software for the hand -held PDAs carried by their delivery drivers. The new software will allow vehicle availability to be updates in near real-time, minimising paperwork and administration costs, improving efficiency and helping to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel costs by emliminating wasted journeys.

Car 2 U managing director Gillian Frary expressed her delight at the news.

She commented: “In this sector, providing exceptional customer service is paramount – and this is reflected in the fact the business has already performed well since we started it in February 2010.

“This new investment gives us the opportunity to broaden our fleet, offer new and existing customers a better range of vehicles and help us maintain our already high levels of customer service.”

The changes within the businesses will also create a number of new posts, including back-office and sales positions.

Rebecca Crawford, of Northstar Ventures added, “We are delighted to be working alongside Car 2 U.

“It is a very exciting, young North East-based company, and has a great opportunity for growth within the market.

“Our investment will help it to expand its fleet and workforce, enabling it to operate at its full potential.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .