IT’S not often we see Thrifty making the news. Usually, it’s business as usual at Thrifty Car & Van Rental – which means supplying rental vehicles on demand, efficiently and without fuss.

But in December 2017 a new face appeared on the established team sheet: Martin Wilson.

Formerly Fleet and then Sales Director of Hyundai, Martin joined the Scot Group – the company which trades the Thrifty brand in the UK – as Managing Director.

Was Roger Hancock, the former MD of Thrifty, about to take a back seat?

Not the case, responds Roger emphatically. “I wanted to strengthen the management team. So I have stepped up to take the role of Chairman and will stay actively involved in the business.

“Martin Wilson has joined as MD and the senior executive team report into Martin; Martin then reports into me.

“But I will remain full involved as before as we continue to grow Thrifty and maintain our excellent relationships with both customers and manufacture partners.”

Management change part of growth trajectory

Thrifty’s business is perhaps not the traditional mix for a daily rental firm.

It is significantly involved in the UK corporate domestic marketplace with 80% of its revenues coming through the corporate sector, while only 20% are attributed to the leisure sector.

“We are expanding organically,” says Roger.

“And as our client base continually grows so our enviable reputation for service grows too. It is this service provision that is essentially driving our success in the corporate sector. And because we are so heavily involved in the corporate sector, I wanted to strengthen the team to ensure this continues.”

It’s not just organic growth at Thrifty, though.

Roger points to conquests such as a substantial win in the insurance sector, which commenced at the beginning of March 2018.

“It comes at a time when we are increasing our footprint in the blue light sector, in the contract hire & leasing sector, in every branch of our portfolio we continue to grow,” Roger continues. “It is growth based on service rather than pricing actions we have taken.”

In which areas does Thrifty operate?

Below is a breakdown of the Thrifty contracts by sector:

• Government and military emergency services – 8%
• Banking & Finance – 5%
• Contract hire and leasing – 21%
• Insurance – 10%
• Manufacturer replacement sector – 8%
• Other corporate – 28%
• Leisure – 20%

Where does Thrifty see the market in five years time? And in 10 years?

With a strategy in place for its enhanced management team, how does Hancock envisage the daily rental market in the medium term?

“I see it in a similar place, but perhaps with different fuels,” reckons Roger. “Possibly there will be more car sharing, but that has to be proven in our sector. It’s more likely to succeed in leisure rather than corporate.

“I see that mobility is growing in traction – at least there’s a lot of discussion around the subject – and there are plenty of car share clubs. But daily rental is right at the very heart of responsible and sustainable mobility.”

And 10 years?

“I think it is so liquid, there is so much incredible change of fuel type, currency fluctuation, autonomous transport, and of course we’ve yet to see how Brexit is delivered. So it’s impossible to predict where will be in 10 years; let’s face it, it’s difficult to see the changing market place in five years!

Describe Thrifty in 10 words:

“Largest UK privately owned rental business delivering exceptional customer service!”

“Why? The Government holds many of the keys. The Pound is causing issues with vehicle purchase. It’s not only that, there’s the insurance aspect with the Ogden report and difficulty with terrorism pushing insurance premiums higher. All these issues will be brought into the market place, along with the rising cost of employees. The effect of that that has to push prices upward. Prices have to rise.”

A short history of Thrifty

The Scot Group Ltd is a privately owned UK company which owns the rights to the Thrifty and Dollar brands in UK and in Northern Ireland.

It has 2000 employees – including a new Managing Director – and 102 locations with an average of 85 car parking spaces per location. While this is fewer than rivals, Thrifty says the size of the sites gives them similar capacity.

Thrifty operates from its Exeter HQ in Devon.

The Thrifty story in its current format began in 2006 when Scot Group expanded its trading position when it bought Flightform Ltd, which held the UK master franchise for both Dollar and Thrifty brands. “This coincided with the end of our 30 year franchise arrangement with Hertz,” adds Roger. “We have recently signed a 25 year agreement for both the Thrifty & Dollar Master Franchises for the UK & Northern Ireland.”

Since 2008 Thrifty has owned all its employees and vehicles rather than using any franchise model, with an extensive delivery network featuring Thrifty staff.

“We will purchase circa 40,000 vehicles in 2018 on an average of six months with 85% of the purchase at our own risk,” continues Roger.

The car range available is from A sector to executive /performance models and a CV range that “matches customer requirements”. Currently diesel hybrid, PHEV and electric cars account for circa 3% of the fleet.

In terms of disposal channels Thrifty wholesales itself using an in-house remarketing team selling directly to retailers. “Less than 1% of our remarketing is with an outside agency,” adds Roger.

Roger points out that one of the key features of Thrifty is the flexibility of business and its ability to scale up for new business.

“All of the decisions are made in this office,” he says. “Whether we purchase new cars or decide not to dispose of them because we need them for new customers all happens here.

“We have significant funding headroom that will allow us to move quickly when opportunities present themselves.”

Key Thrifty personnel

The addition of Martin Wilson is a significant change in the long serving and stable management team at Thrifty. Key people are:

• Elliot Scott – Director of Fleet Operations
• Caroline Gallagher – Corporate Sales Director
• Alison Chadwick – Retail & Specialty Rental Director
• Linda Maliff – Central Services Director
• Stephen Sandford – Operations Director
• Chris Hume – Financial Director following the retirement of Peter Granados in April 2018

Roger Hancock – Executive Chairman

• Joined Scot Group just after the war (WW1)
• Previous – Managing Director Thrifty for 12 Years…32 years with the business in total!
• Active in many pursuits but only modestly successful in any of them…

Martin Wilson – Managing Director

• Joined Thrifty Dec 2017
• 2007 – 2017 Hyundai Motor UK in many roles most recently as Sales Director and Fleet Director
• Married to Jo with three kids and a dog called Skip
• Failed also-ran rugby player with Newcastle Falcons