Perth rental finance group ThinkSmart is targeting further expansion in Europe following the successful launch of its SmartPlan product throughout the UK and Spain.
Perth rental finance group ThinkSmart is targeting further expansion in Europe following the successful launch of its SmartPlan product throughout the UK and Spain.
SmartPlan, known locally as RentSmart, is available in France through PC City super stores, owned by electrical retailer Dixons Sales Group International.
ThinkSmart managing director and CEO Ned Montarello said the launch in France was part of the company’s long-term international expansion plans.
“PC City has an aggressive expansion plan under way across France, with an aim to have 100 retail outlets throughout France over the next five years,” he said.
The agreement with PC City to offer SmartPlan in its French stores utilises a wholesale funding relationship with French bank, Societe Generale.
Mr Montarello said the agreement with Dixons tied ThinkSmart into its plans to expand throughout 15 countries in Europe, including PC City’s operations in Italy and Sweden.
“We are looking to roll-out SmartPlan with PC City in Sweden in November and Italy in the first quarter of 2007,” he said.
Mr Montarello told WA Business News the success of SmartPlan in the UK and Spain had resulted in about 70 per cent of sales volumes coming from Europe.
“There are enormous opportunities for further growth in Europe, with a total market of 400 million people and over 20 million small businesses.”
He said the company had been operating at a 50 per cent annual growth rate in the UK market since the launch of SmartPlan in 2003.
“Spain does half the volume of what we do in Australia and that is after just one year. We have a strong appetite for growth beyond Europe and we are looking at both Asia and the United States as possibilities.”
Mr Montarello said local RentSmart operations were also expanding, with the company experiencing 25 per cent plus growth during the past four years.
Future moves could include acquisitions or a share market listing to fund further growth.
In 2003, ThinkSmart established a European operation centre in Manchester and launched its RentSmart product as SmartPlan through Dixons’ PC World super stores in a joint venture with the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).
The product is offered through more than 135 PC World stores throughout UK, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
In May of last year, the company expanded SmartPlan into Spain through PC World’s European sister chain, PC City, and established a wholesale funding arrangement with Spanish bank Banco Santander.
RentSmart is a business rental facility that allows small businesses to finance the acquisition of technology items such as computers and printers and is available in more than 1,000 retail outlets around Australia.
Its retail partners include Myer, Megamart, Officeworks, Dick Smith Electronics, David Jones, Next Byte and Harris Technology.
The company was founded in 1996 by Mr Montarello, who won the Telstra and Australian government’s ‘entrepreneur of the year’ award in 1998.
The board is chaired by Freehills partner Steven Penglis, who is joined by non-executive chairman of Great Southern Plantations Ltd and ARC Energy Ltd and a non-executive director of Advanced Nanotechnology Ltd, David Griffiths, and Australian Capital Equity’s Curt McDonald.