RAC Business partners SHB Hire Ltd with new five year contract

RAC Business has secured a new five year contract with one of the UK’s most interesting and diverse vehicle leasing businesses - SHB Hire Ltd.

The deal to provide Breakdown and European Breakdown Cover for SHB Hire Ltd will see RAC potentially coming to the assistance of more than 13,500 vehicles ranging from standard B2B hire cars, to golf buggies, all-terrain vehicles, cranes and other specialist vehicles.

SHB Hire Ltd has evolved from its original foundations as a building company, which began hiring vehicles in 1968, to a UK-wide business with nearly 50 years’ experience. It can also boast Europe’s largest 4x4 hire fleet and the UK’s largest hire fleet of HGV tippers and crane lorries, as well as being one of the largest providers of specialist vehicles.

SHB Hire has provided the provision of one of the largest hire fleets of 4x4 vehicles for Glastonbury Festival and operates the UK’s largest fleet of golf buggies. All of which means you can expect to see RAC patrol vans in some interesting locations as they come to the support of its new partner and their customers.

The RAC beat off stiff competition to secure the contract and was chosen based on its policy of investing in the latest innovations, the quality of its technical team and its drive to remain the number one breakdown organisation in the UK today. The partnership will be managed by a team of experienced account managers and a dedicated contact team for customers providing a high level of service.

The RAC has almost 120 years’ experience serving the needs of motorists and is well equipped to deal with the full range of vehicles offered by SHB. While its patrols have the technical skills and know-how to fix four out of five vehicles at the side of the road, they also have the capability to service the requirements of any vehicle ranging from a 3.5 tonne van to a 44 tonne truck and everything in between.

The RAC’s new director of business services David Wallace said: “This is a very exciting win for our Business Services team and secures a partnership with one of the UK’s leading vehicle hire companies with a wide range of vehicle needs serving a range of businesses from construction to finance and distribution to leisure.

“The RAC has extensive experience in serving traditional motorists, B2B fleets and meeting the needs of a wide variety of business customers. We recognise how critical it is to business customers to keep their vehicle fleets on the road and to ensure that downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.

“Our industry experts have in-depth knowledge of the diverse range of trucks and construction vehicles, ancillary equipment and haulage in service today and so can provide a professional trusted service to meet the customer’s needs. This has led to a strong partnership that we believe will continue to grow and deliver major benefits to SHB Hire Ltd and to their customers.”

Nicky Simpson, Commercial Director at SHB Hire Ltd, said: “I looking forward to working with the RAC and I believe our customers will see the benefits in the relationship through quick response times and more repairs being carried out roadside.

“A key theme to awarding this contract was having a ‘first time, right solution’ culture. We wanted to ensure the correct specialist attendance is provided resulting in minimal downtime for our customers, which I believe the RAC can deliver.”