Burnt Tree name comes to an end

Burnt Tree in Shrewsbury was taken over by Enterprise last year, including its fleet of 17,000 vehicles and its 20 branches around the country.

Initially, Burnt Tree retained its own identity alongside Enterprise's commercial vehicle hire division, Flex-E-Rent.

Now it has completed the move to unite the businesses under the Flex-E-Rent brand, which will continue to be based at Shrewsbury's Battlefield Enterprise Park.

Under the unified Enterprise banner, the integrated company will operate a fleet of more than 25,000 commercial vans and trucks, with a combined team of more than 450 employees.

Enterprise Flex-E-Rent managing director Danny Glynn said: "We have had a very strong first year since the acquisition of Burnt Tree and we have to thank our customers for their positive response to the combined business.

"The Burnt Tree brand had a fantastic reputation in the commercial vehicle industry, which made it such an attractive proposition in the first place.

"However, we believe that the time is right to unite the businesses under a single brand, Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, which stands for the highest levels of customer service, investment and innovation."

All 21 Burnt Tree locations in England, Scotland and Wales will be rebranded as Enterprise Flex-E-Rent. A selection of new vans and trucks will also feature a livery that has been specially commissioned for the merged entity.

Shortly after the takeover in August 2014, Enterprise injected £20 million into the business to boost its van fleet.

"The past 12 months have been essential to enable the cultures of these two businesses to come together," Mr Glynn added.

"Our vision was to combine the skills of both sets of employees to create a business that was stronger and could deliver an even better service to all our customers. We believe we have achieved that, have a great team in place and look forward to working with our customers moving forwards as Enterprise Flex-E-Rent."

Last year's acquisition of Burnt Tree by Enterprise was a major step in Enterprise's efforts to become the UK's biggest provider of vehicle hire.

More recently, in April 2015, Enterprise also bought City Car Club, Britain's biggest independent car sharing company, expanding its portfolio of rental services.