Van hire company secures funding to expand rental fleet

HSBC UK has provided Pace Van Hire with a £3.5million asset finance facility to help grow its rental fleet.

The London-based business has used the funding to equip its new Eltham site with rental vans and expand existing fleets across its New Cross and Croydon branches.

The expansion expected to increase turnover by a third over the next year, with van hire in high demand due to supply chain issues driven by the war in Ukraine, and a shortage of semiconductors.

The company’s fleet currently consists of 220 vehicles, an increase of 40 vans since the launch of the Eltham site in February as a result of the funding. By next year, the owners plan to increase this to 300.

The expansion of Pace Van Hire’s fleet has also led to new job opportunities with four new full-time positions and one part-time already filled.

Louis Verrico, owner of Pace Van Hire, said: “The shortage of vans in the UK has meant purchasing them as soon as they become available is vital.

“The HSBC UK asset finance facility provides us a pot of money to draw from when we need it, so we can move swiftly when an opportunity to increase our fleet arises.

Jason Mowe, area director for south and east London business banking at HSBC UK, added: “We’ve supported Pace Van Hire for the past 15 years, and have seen how the owners have successfully adapted their business model to meet changing customer demands. This has allowed the company to grow and expand, even throughout lockdown and the current cost-of-living crisis.

“Looking forward, Pace Van Hire is eager to become a bigger player in the van hire industry with ambitious plans to open more branches around London.”

Pace Van Hire is a third-generation family business which originally launched in the 1950s as a car dealership.

The company started offering van hire services in 2008 from its site in New Cross.

A decade later, Pace Van Hire launched a new site in Croydon, followed by its Eltham site launch in 2023.