FUNDING FROM THE YORKSHIRE & HUMBER EQUITY FUND HELPS TO DRIVE SUCCESS
November 07
The Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund (YHEF), the Regional Venture Capital Fund for the Yorkshire and Humber region, has invested a further £200,000 in Harrogate based Williams of Harrogate which trades as Drivestyle. The Drivestyle dealership is renowned as being one of the leading luxury car dealerships in Yorkshire.
The YHEF originally backed Steve Williams, the Managing Director of Drivestyle by investing £250,000 into the business in 2005 to enable the expansion of the Drivestyle business and to assist in the acquisition of Harrogate Horseless Carriages which was the TVR franchise operator for the Yorkshire region.
The further funding from the YHEF has enabled Drivestyle to make significant steps forward in its development by securing two additional franchises for premium sports car marques.
Drivestyle has secured a franchise for Lotus sports cars. Lotus is an iconic British sports car brand and represents a major step forward for the business by providing a complementary offering to the existing TVR franchise. Lotus sports cars are renowned for their engineering and exceptional performance with the current models of the Elise and Exige both being hugely sought after vehicles.
Drivestyle has also secured the franchise for MG cars which is another famous British car brand. The rights to the classic MGF sports car were purchased by the Chinese car manufacturer Nanjing Automobile in July 2005 and the MG TF cars are now being manufactured in the UK with other new models due for sale in the UK in early 2008. The long established reputation of MG as a classic sports car is a further boost for Drivestyle and further evidence of its growing reputation as a leading sports car specialist dealership.
Steve Williams, Managing Director of Drivestyle commented " Securing two high quality franchises such as Lotus ad MG sports cars is a massive coup for the Drivestyle business and is testament to the quality of reputation which has been built up by Drivestyle in the Yorkshire region. The two new franchises are highly complementary to the existing franchise of TVR which means we can now deliver to our customer base quality sports cars at a range of different entry levels and budgets. The business has been considerably strengthened by the new franchises and we have an outstanding opportunity to continue to grow and develop the business"
Mark Hunter Investment Director for the YHEF commented "With the introduction of the two new franchises for Lotus and MG providing complementary first class sports cars we are pleased to be of continued support to Steve working in partnership for the further growth and development of the company"
YHEF is a £25 million Regional Venture Capital Fund which will invest in fast growing SMEs across the Yorkshire and Humber region, managed by YFM Venture Finance and part of the YFM Group. Investments can be up to £500,000 although any initial tranche of money would be to a maximum of £250,000. In the 12 months to October 2007, YHEF invested in fourteen companies in deals worth a total of over £6.7 million.