What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Rental company Enterprise has acquired rival rental firm Burnt Tree and its fleet of 17,000 commercial vehicles for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will increase the number of vehicles and services that Enterprise can offer alongside its Flex-e-Rent banner. The deal also includes Burnt Tree’s fleet management system and its network of 20 branches and 400 staff, taking Enterprise’s fleet of commercial vehicles over the 25,000 mark.

Enterprise was attracted by Burnt Tree’s experience, which according to Danny Glynn, Enterprise Flex-e-Rent director, is a “way to accelerate the growth of our commercial vehicle division”. Northgate is the market leader in terms of LCV rentals with more than 62,000 vehicles.

“From what we know so far, we would expect that
Burnt Tree would come under the Enterprise Flex-E-Rent brand in the longer term. However,
this isn’t something that we’d take lightly or would do overnight,” said Glynn. “When we eventually integrate the businesses, it will enable a transfer of knowledge between the two companies, greater economies of scale, and will create a combined entity that has a huge potential for growth.”

Burnt Tree is Enterprise UK’s first acquisition, so is the company hungry to
snap up other firms? Glynn remained coy, telling What Van?: “We will always consider opportunities that enhance the range of rental services we can provide customers, either through organic growth or acquisition.”

The Burnt Tree deal follows on from Enterprise’s announcement that it has opened its first location on the Isle of Wight with a new branch in Newport. The Crocker Street site will offer cars and light commercial vehicles through a range of daily, weekly and longer-term programmes. Enterprise now has a network of 370 sites across the UK.