GoVantage, a commercial vehicle rental service based in Stoke-On-Trent, has secured £15,000 in funding from First Enterprise under the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme. The funding will be invested in vehicles, online tracking technology and operational capabilities to support growth.
The business provides specialised van rentals to service providers for large businesses, primarily couriers. It offers an intuitive platform for tracking documents, audits, and maintenance records, along with online booking, competitive pricing, and 24/7 customer support.
Founder Ionut Balaj established the business after seeing firsthand recurring issues and inefficiencies in the van rental sector that existing providers were unable to resolve, such as managing profitability per vehicle used and tracking fleet-wide performance.
The £15,000 loan from First Enterprise will help to improve GoVantage’s software for booking and auditing van rentals, allowing them to make smarter fleet decisions. It will also be used to cover essential office setup costs, and scale operational capabilities by deploying their proprietary platform across multiple systems. These systems will support maintaining a full servicing audit trail, giving the business full expenditure visibility that wouldn’t be possible to do manually.
“A key challenge has been sourcing suitable vehicles at competitive prices, which fluctuate significantly throughout the year. My experience with First Enterprise was exceptional, highly professional, patient, and instrumental in helping me achieve my business goals. I highly recommend their services.”
— Ionut Balaj, Founder of GoVantage
Inderpal Singh, Investment Manager at First Enterprise, comments: “I really enjoyed working with Ionut through his application. His business idea is interesting, and I admire his dedication to being proactive in addressing a need in the van rental industry. I wish him the best of luck, and I look forward to seeing his business thrive.”
Louise McCoy, Managing Director, Start Up Loans Products, British Business Bank, said: “The Start Up Loans programme is designed to help smaller businesses access vital equipment to kickstart their ideas with much needed finance. The Bank looks forward to seeing GoVantage’s progress as they continue to close a gap in the market with efficient solutions in the industry.”
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