Swindon businessmen Paul Burrows and Jason Roberts have become franchisees of national van leasing specialist Vanarama.
The pair, with more than 25 years’ experience in the motor, and will use their specialist commercial vehicle knowledge to advise van owners in Swindon and the surrounding area, from delivery firms to builders, gardeners to farmers.
The pair say that although the economy is showing signs of recovery, local businesses still have huge demands being placed on them for cash and so more are choosing to lease their vehicles and hang onto their capital.
Jason said: “Small businesses and the self-employed often rely heavily on their van. They can’t afford downtime, so are not willing to risk owning an older, unreliable vehicle.
“Loans for some things may still be hard to come by but in the commercial vehicle sector it is different. The finance houses know that their money is secured against an asset so have a healthy appetite to lend and just as importantly, funds are available.”
As vans are classified as commercial vehicles, business users are able to reclaim up to 100% of the VAT.
While Vanarama is known as an internet business, it has also developed a regionally-based team of specialists to cater for business owners who prefer the personal touch.
Rather than ask customers to deal with a call centre, Paul and Jason will visit customers to offer advice face-to-face on the best type of van to suit their business needs.
Paul said: “Many of the van suppliers out there are linked to franchised dealerships and tied to one manufacturer, which tend to concentrate on cars. Vanarama will deal in vans and pickups alone, giving advice on everything from fuel consumption or load capacity, to finance options and tax advantages.”
