Northgate boss Phil Moorhouse has spoken of how the van rental giant is prepared for a continuing downturn in the economy.
“Should a doomsday scenario occur we’ll stop growing our fleet, downscale and pay off debt,” said Moorhouse.
However, Moorhouse denied Northgate will start a large scale dumping of vehicles should the gloom deepen.
“We wouldn’t sell off lots of vehicles, just stop buying them,” continued Moorhouse.
The comments came after Northgate announced an increase of 5% in pre-tax profits. Its UK fleet also increased by 5% in 2007. This was partly through organic growth and partly through the purchase of Hampsons and Abington Vehicle Rental businesses.
“Our fleet has every chance of continuing to grow at the 5% level,” continued Moorhouse. “This will be mainly organic growth but we will look at opportunities for purchasing smaller groups should they arise.”