DELTA & WHIPCAR

Dublin-based venture capital firm Delta Partners has invested €1.2m in a novel UK start-up that plans to reinvent the car rental business, according to The Sunday Business Post.

Whipcar allows car owners to rent out their vehicles privately to other drivers at rates of their own choosing. The company, which launched in April, has 800 private cars on its books, spread across 300 towns in the UK. Apparently, Ireland is “near to top of the list” when Whipcar is ready to export its model abroad.

The company’s revenue model is based on taking a 15% fee from whatever the car owner receives and a flat rate of £2.50 from the driver.

“Our business means that an owner can make money from their car, instead of having one of their most valuable assets depreciate,” a spokesman said. “We don’t need the capital to set up in various cities, so we can roll it out very quickly.”

The Delta money will probably largely go on marketing as the company has so far relied solely on word of mouth to grow the business to date.