Vehicle-leasing firm plans expansion after beating recession (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Vehicle-leasing firm plans expansion after beating recession

2:54pm Friday 26th June 2009

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A VEHICLE-LEASING business aims to expand after weathering the storm of the recession.

Advanced Vehicle Leasing, of Urlay Nook, between Stockton and Darlington, supplies contract hire lease cars and light commercial vehicles to businesses and private individuals nationwide.

It increased its market share by ten per cent during the first quarter of the year even though the vehicle-leasing market is said to have shrunk by 50pc during the economic downturn.

Stuart Beagrie, founder and managing director, said that the market has shifted significantly over the past 18 months.

“Traditionally, our trade was pretty much split 50-50 between commercial vehicles and cars, but the latter now accounts for nearly 70pc of our business,” he said.

AVL’s ability to adapt to market fluctuations helped its net revenue remain at about £500,000 in 2008 and – although he was forced to shed one job just before Christmas – Mr Beagrie believes the worst is over.

He confidently expects growth of around 50pc over the next 24 months.

The company moved to Urlay Nook, from Preston Farm, Stockton, in April last year to allow it to expand.

It supplies more than 50 vehicles a month which, at an average cost of about £19,000, means it makes £12m a year in terms of capital outlay.

It has finance partnerships with several vehicle funders, including Network Vehicles Limited, Arval, Lombard, Lex Vehicle Partners and Commercial Vehicle Finance.

Its single-biggest contract saw it supply 700 commercial vehicles for mail order company Premier Direct – a deal worth more than £750,000.

However, most vehicles are supplied individually or in small numbers like the seven Citroen Nemo vans it has supplied to Odyssey Systems, the Stockton-based telephone system specialist.

Mr Beagrie said: “My Mum and Dad were old fashioned shopkeepers in Redcar proudly serving their customers for nearly 30 years.

“Their hard-working customer- focused philosophy has rubbed off on me.”

He worked in the legal profession for four years, the newspaper industry for 13 years and Yellow Pages for three more before getting his first taste of vehicle leasing with Dial Contracts, owned by Barclays Bank.

The company, which Mr Beagrie established in Ripon in 1997, has 11 staff.

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