Inside Business First: UK Car and Van Leasing

When UK Car and Van Leasing moved into their office in Business First’s, Blackburn Business Centre, we thought it would be a good opportunity to interview directors, Neil Smith and John Plimley, to talk about their business, their future plans and why they chose Business First.

Can you tell us some more about your business?

UK Car and Van Leasing started up in May 2016 and was founded by Neil Smith and John Plimley. The company provides all makes and models ranging from Vauxhaulls to Audis and offers a wide range of products and services.

We’re (perhaps a little biased, but) pleased to say, our website is fantastic, it allows our customers to view vehicles they are interested in, have one-to-one personalised service with our account handlers and to be presented with special offers and much more.

In addition, we already have over 8,000 followers across the social media channels we’re active on – giving us a much broader reach and presenting us with the opportunity to provide the excellent customer service we are famous for to even more people.

To date, what has been your highlight since launching?

There have been so many highlights. We’re really proud of our staff and how much they’ve achieved with us over the last six months.

But, if we were pressed for a specific answer, we’d probably have to say that our favourite moment was when we sold 3 vehicles to Bolton Wanderers Football Club, back in August.

A couple of other highlights for us are our contract with Lancashire Police and Aerospace for advertising.

Why did you choose Business First?

We picked Business First because of the great location - being on the M65 corridor makes it easy as we could hope for to pick up and drop off vehicles - and a great looking office complex, with really friendly and professional staff.

Although our new office is slightly smaller than our original one it’s great, compact and still has room for expansion, which is perfect for our needs as our business continues to go from strength to strength.

What are UK Car and Van Leasing’s Future Plans?

We have many plans for the business. Our major plan is expansion. Like all new businesses, we are excited by the prospect of growth.

This will mean more jobs are created - which really pleases us, as we love to be part of the local community and economy – giving us the ability to respond to more leads more quickly and more effectively.

One area of the industry that we are potentially looking to get more involved in is Equestrian Vehicles; we think there’s a gap in the market there which we can take advantage of. We are hoping to offer services such as horsebox hire, ranging from 1-day up-to 1 week, as well as horsebox leasing. The Equestrian industry is growing rapidly each year and we are keen to specialise in the market in the foreseeable future.