Allied eyes European expansion

ALLIED Vehicles, the Glasgow-based taxi and wheelchair-friendly vehicle supplier, is looking to expand into Europe for the first time after a strong year which has seen it add 50 staff.

The company, well-known for its black cab conversions, has appointed a European development manager to focus on markets such as France where Allied buys vehicles from Peugeot.

“Hopefully it will soon see us selling French cars back to France,” said managing director Paul Nelson.

The move comes as the firm reported turnover in the year to 30 April rose by 12 per cent to £73.3 million with pre-tax profits jumping by almost 40 per cent to £1.03m.

The last year has seen Allied recruit an additional 50 staff to take its workforce up to 420.

“We now have quite an order backlog and things are definitely busier then they were a couple of years ago,” noted Nelson.

The firm has benefited from issues affecting London taxi cab manufacturer Manganese Bronze which was bought out of administration in February by Chinese car maker Geely.

“We’ve also seen the banks and finance companies start to come back into the market and agree more deals which has helped sales,” added Nelson.

Continued growth in sales of Motability vehicles has enabled the group to increase its market share to 38 per cent.

The firm’s rental fleet, which is used by nursing homes and local authorities, has also been significantly expanded from 35 to 135 vehicles.

But Nelson admitted the market for its electric vehicles was a “struggle” since a number of big manufacturers had entered the market offering cut prices.