One of the fastest growing independent vehicle rental companies in the north of England is setting a target of four new sites per year after completing its latest expansion move.
Beerhouse Self Drive Hire – which took its name from the pub-friendly East Yorkshire village in which it was founded 12 years ago – has opened a new branch in Doncaster to add to sites in Hull and Scarborough.
The company, part of the larger Minstergate car dealership group, aims to cover most of Yorkshire from its existing network, with Hull-based Garness Jones retained to identify further opportunities.
Phil Moses, Director of Beerhouse, said: “Our growth has come organically through the relationships that we have with our customers. We just keep things simple – easy to deal with and consistent with our pricing.
“Doncaster was chosen as the location as it was in keeping with our growth model of each site supplying to a 20 mile radius, enabling us to maintain our service levels and lead times.
“The new branch has allowed us to expand our coverage across all of Yorkshire and is perfect because it allows us to cover a highly populated area with great road and rail networks. There is also a lot of industry within the town which fits perfectly with our core business of corporate rental.”
Beerhouse was formed in 2004 in Dunswell, a small village between Hull and Beverley which became known as Beerhouses in the 17th century because of its high number of pubs per head of population.
Now based on Sutton Fields Industrial Estate in Hull, the company employs 24 people and runs a fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles including executive cars, vans and minibuses. As part of Minstergate, which employs 200 people at Hyundai dealerships in Hessle and Scarborough and a Peugeot dealership in Scarborough, Beeerhouse has direct access to full support facilities.
Mr Moses said: “By keeping all of our service work within group we are able to control our prices and also our lead times on service and maintenance. It helps us keep the fleet and our customers’ vehicles on the road and reduce downtime, which is critical in the current climate.”
Beerhouse has agreed a 10-year lease on the new premises at Decoy Bank North on the established Doncaster Carr Industrial Estate, close to Doncaster town centre and the motorway network.
Dave Garness, Managing Director of Garness Jones, said: “This is the first addition to the further roll out of new depots for Beerhouse. Doncaster was identified as an ideal place to fill a gap in the market place and from final decision, completion of the lease and occupation followed very quickly due to the pragmatic way in which both landlord and tenant performed.”
Cushman & Wakefield acted for the landlord, Pullans. Scott Morrison, Senior Surveyor in the National Industrial and Logistics Team at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Beerhouse Self Drive is an established vehicle rental business that is rapidly expanding and we are pleased to have secured this letting on behalf of our client. The location of the property close to the major motorway network and the accessibility into Doncaster town centre were the driving factors for Beerhouse’s decision to relocate here and we are pleased to have secured them on a long term commitment.”
