Equistone invests in Nottingham vehicle rental firm
Equistone Partners Europe, the mid-market private equity investor, has invested an undisclosed amount in T.O.M. Vehicle Rental, which has a base in Nottingham.
Founded in 1991, T.O.M. provides long-term, flexible hire of commercial vehicles (vans, trucks, trailers, and cars) to over 900 public and private sector customers. Its rental business comprises 11 hire locations across the UK (six in Scotland and five in England) and is one of only two multi-vehicle rental specialists in this market. The company also operates a complementary commercial vehicle dealership across five sites through its two franchised dealer brands, Mercedes Benz and Citroen.
T.O.M. generated revenues of £213m in the financial year ending March 2016. Equistone’s investment will support the company’s ongoing organic and acquisitive growth plans to further increase its market share within the UK vehicle rental sector.
Tim Swales, partner at Equistone Partners Europe, said: “T.O.M. has a strong business model, a compelling growth trajectory, and a highly regarded, dynamic management team with an impressive track record. Accordingly, it represents a great addition to Equistone’s UK portfolio and we’re delighted to have backed the Company.”
Paul Harper, partner at Equistone Partners Europe, added: “The Deloitte team gave us valuable support from day one, bringing their knowledge of the vehicle / asset rental space to bear and providing excellent input throughout. Their open and honest style, responsiveness and good understanding of what was important to us meant they were a key part of the team.”
Robert Stewart, group managing director of T.O.M Vehicle Rental, said: “Equistone’s investment in T.O.M is transformational for our business, in terms of both the financial backing and the increased executive team bandwidth it provides. This additional support will allow us to accelerate the ambitious expansion in our market share, number of UK locations, fleet size, customer base, and rental service offering. Throughout these changes, the same quality of service and concern for customer satisfaction that have underpinned T.O.M.’s success to date will remain our core focus.”
Martin Jenkins, partner at Deloitte, who advised Equistone, said: “The automotive services space is one in which we have built a strong national and international presence. Equistone’s investment in T.O.M represents a fantastic opportunity for all concerned and we are proud to have helped consummate this transaction. We wish Robert, Paul, Tim and the entire team all the best for what promises to be an exciting future.”
