ARI to fund fleet for The Modern Milkman

The app-based plastic-free milk and produce delivery service, The Modern Milkman, has chosen ARI to fund and source its fleet.

The Modern Milkman has opted for ARI’s FlexLease product to fund its vehicles as it allows it to adapt quickly as the business grows and its offering develops, the company said.

The company’s growth allowed it to achieve a 1400% increase in revenue in 2020 as its delivery service spread across the North and Midlands, and by the end of 2022, the company is aiming to cover the whole of the UK.

ARI has sourced and funded 55 vans and manages the conversion process and in-life services.

FlexLease has no end-of-contract mileage charges and allows the fleet, not the leasing provider, to determine when they defleet vehicles by combining real time data, online dashboards and finance lease funding.

“The Modern Milkman is the epitome of a modern disruptor business: taking a traditional product - the reusable glass milk bottle - and giving it a brilliant new spin using technology. And using FlexLease, a disruptive new way of leasing, means it can grow quickly without fear of incurring unnecessary fleet costs,” said ARI’s sales director, Rory Mackinnon.

The Modern Milkman has also recently secured funding of £5 million from environmentally focused investment fund ETF Partners, so it needed flexible funding to allow it to move to EVs when it suits, said ARI.

“Through FlexLease, The Modern Milkman will be able move to electric as soon as the operational conditions are right. We will help them to make that decision through insight and data from our transparent fleet management system,” added Mackinnon.

Simon Mellin, CEO and one of the founders of The Modern Milkman, said: “Our business is very agile, so we needed a funding and fleet management partner who was able to work in the same way.

“ARI fits the bill perfectly. Because we are growing so quickly, we are always learning, and ARI’s FlexLease product helps us in this way because it is entirely transparent: we can see all costs and work which means we have a clear understanding of what is going on with our vehicles at all times.

“Then, when we want to move to electric, the flexibility of ARIs proposition means we can transition when it suits us, rather than having to wait for leasing contracts to end. Our business is predicated on sustainability, and ARI’s FlexLease will help us to deliver this.”