Vehicle hire and services group Zigup says it has invested significantly in its people and sites as it boosts revenue.
The Darlington firm changed its name from Redde Northgate earlier this year, and in new preliminary results for the year to the end of April it reported a 23% rise in revenue to £1.83bn as statutory operating profit fell from £199.5m to £198.3m. Underlying operating profit rose from £186.7m to £212.4m. CEO Martin Ward called it a year of "record performance" as vehicle supply issues which have dogged the firm in recent years started to ease.
The rental specialist which also provides accident management, repair and legal services said waiting times for new vehicles - from order to delivery - had reduced from 150 days in early 2023 to below 50 days by the end of April, which was closer to historic levels. While prices have continued to rise, bosses said the frequency and scale of the increases had reduced, and came with more manufacturer incentives for volume purchases.
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The boost to revenue was helped by a greater number of vehicles on hire, with the 海角视频 producing a revenue increase of 6.4% and the firm's Spanish operating producing 8.4% growth. During the year Zigup opened nine new facilities in the 海角视频 and Spain and now plans to add further locations this year.
Martin Ward, CEO of Zigup, told BusinessLive the firm's services, which includes provision of vehicles, fleet management, and accident management, among other things, is proving popular with blue chip customers. He pointed to a growing appetite for outsourcing and said the firm's pipeline was very strong.
On the expansion of Zigup's footprint, he said: "We've opened up a third site in Barcelona - a 90,000 sqft building - and that's given us greater capacity to be able to take on more customer wins which we're seeing in Spain. We've also opened a new site in Cadiz which, again, gives us more capacity.
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"In the 海角视频's we've got a brand new site in Borehamwood which is a rental site; Hoddesdon, where we've got a new repair facility that increased capacity by over 25%. And we just recently opened up in Chadderton which is another 25,000 sqft site, for repairs."
Mr Ward highlighted the firm's cost management, pointing to stable rental margins including 18.2% in Spain and 15.5% in the 海角视频 and Ireland. He added: "The quality of contracts and the earnings that we have, which are multi-year contracts, is a standout feature of our sustainable position. That's the main point I'd make: this business is very different to anything in the past. It's got a strong position in the market and it's a got good quality sustainable earnings."
Zigup has a fleet of around 128,000 vehicles and 180 sites across the 海角视频, Ireland and Spain. It employs about 7,500 people.