CEO Hubert Brody said acquisitions opportunities were “opening up now”, indicating that the group intended to grow the car rental and tourism unit into a bigger portion of the overall portfolio. Other major divisions include logistics and car dealerships.
Acquisition targets, he said, had to fit “synergically” within its business and offer “opportunities of substance”.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Europcar SA, Brody also said the company sought to grow organically and described the tourism industry as “attractive”.
Europcar SA, which formally replaced Imperial Car Rental on Monday as the group's flagship car rental business, would continue to be 100% owned by Imperial.
Europcar SA CEO Dawn Nathan-Jones said Imperial would pay a franchise fee as a percentage of the turnover to Europcar International, the European car rental firm that operates in 160 countries.
She said Europcar SA, with a 32% share of the South African car rental market, would gain access to the global market.
Nathan-Jones said Europcar SA planned to invest R100m in the change over, staff development and technology.
“The global recognition, credibility and opportunities Europcar has brought to the local operation so far confirm we made a good decision and chose the right franchise partner,” Nathan-Jones said.
Osman Arbee, chairman of car rental and tourism business and executive director at Imperial, confirmed that Europcar SA, which has a fleet of 15000 rental vehicles and a network of 120 branches, would be a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial.
“We look upon this partnership as a South African business using an internationally recognised brand to bring a global service to our customers,” he said.
Arbee said the company had the opportunity to provide a “seamless” global offering to its local customers.
Given forthcoming international events, the tourism sector was in a “sweet spot” and would continue to grow long after the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The Europcar launch marked an end to the rationalisation process that started 18 months ago.
Source: Business Day
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