Fleetondemand, a fleet and mobility tech firm, has appointed Andrew Cope as Executive Chairman, following a recent deal with Business Growth Fund (BGF), which has acquired a minority stake in the firm, through a GBP5 million investment.
The appointment and investment sees two of the most successful entrepreneurs across the fleet and vehicle hire sectors come together at a time when Fleetondemand is experiencing significant growth in the UK and internationally, in particular the rollout of its Mobility-as-a-Service platform, Mobilleo.
Cope is one of the fleet industry’s most renowned entrepreneurs and who, as the driving force behind vehicle leasing company Zenith, steered the company through five successful private equity buyouts between 2003 and 2014. In 2015, Andrew was instrumental in the sale of FMG to Redde Plc just four months after snapping up the firm in a backed management buyout. In 2015, he invested alongside Endless and acquired Essential Fleet services, merging it with Go Plant in 2017.
Prior to founding Fleetondemand, Chief Executive Justin Whitston created Nexus Vehicle Rental in 2000 and successfully established the firm as the UK’s largest independent broker of vehicle rental to business. He was responsible for inventing and delivering the leading proprietary SAAS technology solution IRIS to market, prior to exiting to Living Bridge, via a multi-million pound BIMBO.
Fleetondemand is widely regarded as one of the hottest technology companies in the fleet and Mobility-as-a-Service space. It features an innovative multi-platform which connects thousands of business people to vehicle rental, car leasing, business travel and transportation services globally.
Whitston says: “Following our recent investment, the creation of a world-class executive board was paramount to our strategy. Andrew has an unrivalled track record in his field and we are incredibly excited about working with him to drive the future success of our business.”
“With the support of BGF and Andrew, we will be able to ramp up engineering and product development and rapidly accelerate our sales strategy in the UK and pan European launch in 2019. It’s a hugely exciting time for the business and we all look forward to working together to achieve the company’s growth potential over the next three years.”
Cope says: “Sometimes every once in a while, opportunity’s come along that you have to get involved in. For me, being asked to invest in and be part of the FOD story following the recent BGF investment was just one of those moments.”
“Having known Justin for many years and watched with real interest and admiration the development of the company, the chance to become Chairman at this ground-breaking juncture in the history of the company, especially with the recent launch of the Mobilleo platform was a real honour.”
