Vehicle brokers in fast lane towards £200m target
Vehicle brokers Vanaways have revealed plans to double turnover to £200m in the next two years.
The Bristol-based company has already seen strong growth since the pandemic, with turnover rising from £15m in 2020 to £109m in 2023/4.
It has now invested in technology and artificial intelligence, as well as new hires, to aim for further growth over the next 24 months.
Founders Adam Carter and Chris Jakeways say the company is “only just getting started” as they plan to make it the best-regarded vehicle broking brand in the UK.
“We’re aiming for £200m turnover and vehicle sales in excess of 10,000 units within the next 24 months,” said Carter. “But we want to do it right. We could grow quicker by spending lots with Google, driving leads and treating customers poorly. But where would that leave us?
“Instead, we’re trying to grow organically, continuing the ethos which got us where we are now. We may be turning over £100m already, but we’re only just getting started.”
Free of debt and with organic growth, two key elements of future expansion at Vanaways will be technology and retaining the right people, said Carter.
The company currently employs 70 people.
“In 2023 we went back to the drawing board with hiring,” he said. “We essentially wrote a wish list of all the best staff who we’d previously worked with and who we would like to be at the company. Then we tasked a recruitment company with going out and hiring them.”
Carter also said that AI is proving a powerful tool in managing customer relationships and driving efficiencies in the sales process.
“We’re investing in technology to optimise the customer experience,” he said. “Our phone system is already artificial intelligence-linked so that every word spoken is transcribed and any red flag words will alert managers in real time.
“In the future, we plan to use technology to explore how to gain new customers and ensure out staff are able to respond to their demands quicker than ever.”
