Eclipx, the vehicle leasing company announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Right2Drive Pty Ltd (R2D) for $67.0m.
The company will continue with its current management and staff in place with plans to grow significantly. The sale and company valuation is a significant for achievement for a company that was founded just over 3 years ago. The acquisition expected to complete on or about 19 May 2016
Commenting on the acquisition, Eclipx Chief Executive Officer, Doc Klotz said: “This is an exciting, synergistic and strategic acquisition providing Eclipx with a platform to expand into the medium term vehicle rental segment providing new and used accident replacement vehicles to ‘not at fault’ drivers.
“With an existing base of approximately 1,200 vehicles operating from 16 branches in Australia and New Zealand, R2D operates in an attractive, high growth and underpenetrated market, characterised by smaller operators that lack the resources to take advantage of growth opportunities. This market is underpenetrated relative to the UK with a current estimated potential Australian and New Zealand addressable market size of approximately A$550 million of revenue per annum. We estimate that R2D is the largest operator with 7.5% of the total addressable Australia and New Zealand market, with the other market operators making up approximate 10.5% in aggregate.”
Damian Mullins, MD of Right2Drive who describes the company as ‘the Uber of the smash repair industry’, said: “Our focus is always on customer service and it is what fuels our growth. Our employees are passionate, proactive, empathetic and action-orientated. We meet our customers usually on what is one of the worst days they will have. Most people only have one car accident in their lifetime and we speak to them just after they’ve had it. They’re frustrated, they’re worried and they’re wondering how they will get by without a car. We move swiftly to turn their negative experience into a very positive one. We set the benchmark in Australia and New Zealand for customer service in our field – we operate 24/7 and we go the extra mile to deliver our customers an outstanding experience.
“It is business as usual for us. With the support of Eclipx, an ASX top 200 company, we have the ability to grow even faster, helping more drivers get back on the road after they lose the use of their vehicle due to someone else’s negligence.
The not at fault car replacement business model is not one that has found favour with many insurers however Mullins says that the investment by Eclipx show that: “Credit hire is here to stay and is set to be a much bigger part of the Australian repair industry – insurers that understand this and work together with credit hire companies will save costs and improve services to their customers.
Eclipx Group describes itself on its website as an established leader in vehicle fleet leasing, fleet management and diversified financial services in Australia and New Zealand.
The Group helps consumers and businesses of all sizes access the funds they need to operate through fleet leasing, novated leasing, vehicle sales, commercial equipment finance and consumer motor vehicle finance solutions.
Eclipx Group is relentlessly focused on delivering high growth and strong performance to benefit both customers and investors, through:
A commitment to customer, first: delivering outstanding customer experiences through its commitment to customer service and value-adding end-to-end technology
A highly tuned, diversified funding model: providing customers access to funding via a capital efficient, securitised funding model that is both cost-effective and low-risk.