When Kevin Bradshaw took over from the long-serving Bob Contreras as chief executive of Northgate at the start of the year, he inherited a company in decline and losing share in a vehicle hire market where success should go to the larger operators that gain the benefits of scale.
A study he commissioned suggested that while van rental was growing by about 6 per cent each year, Northgate’s UK business was falling by about 5 per cent. He instituted wide-ranging changes in the management structure and the sales team was given more flexibility over pricing and was better incentivised. Cost savings of £5 million should benefit the second half, which is why the company is confident enough that profits will be skewed towards that period,