Car demand overtakes commercial van.

A TEES Valley vehicle leasing business which has seen demand for commercial vans fall while demand for cars rose during the recession, said it was now confident of achieving its growth target.

Advanced Vehicle Leasing (AVL), based at Urlay Nook, between Stockton and Darlington, supplies contract hire, lease cars and light commercial vehicles to businesses and private individuals across the UK.

In the first quarter of 2009 it increased market share by approximately 10% - even though the vehicle leasing market was estimated to be about 50% smaller in the wake of the economic downturn.

"The effects of the recession were quite scary for a time," said founder and MD Stuart Beagrie. "But it's at times like that when you discover just how much grip your business has on the road.

"The market has shifted significantly over the past 18 months. Traditionally our trade was pretty much split 50-50 between commercial vehicles and cars, the latter now accounts for nearly 70% of our business." Net revenue remained around pounds 500,000 in 2008 and, though it was forced to shed one job just before

Christmas, Mr Beagrie believed the worst of the downturn was behind it.

He said he was confident it would grow its business in the region by 50% in the next 24 months.

Its single biggest contract was 700 commercial vehicles for mail order company Premier Direct, worth more than pounds 750,000; more typical was the recent contract for seven commercial vans for Stockton-based telephone system specialists Odyssey Systems..

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MAGNIFICENT SEVEN VANS: Mike Odysseas, managing director of Odyssey Systems, right, and AVL founder and MD Stuart Beagrie