A VEHICLE rental firm, trusted by thousands of tradesmen and holidaymakers every year, is continuing its UK expansion.

Northgate Vehicle Hire, founded in Darlington, told The Northern Echo it’s pushing ahead with plans to open branches in the West Midlands and North-West.

The move comes after bosses set up depots in Watford, Enfield and Southall, in London, and Sandyford, in Dublin, with a branch due to open in Dartford, Kent, next month.

Its Spanish division also saw rising hire deals as holidaymakers took advantage of its vehicles to explore the country.

Bosses confirmed their expansion plans after revealing the firm’s interim financial results from May 1 to September 18, which showed its new depots have helped lift growth.

They said UK vehicle hire increased by 900 to 48,500 in the period, with average vehicles on hire up ten per cent, boosted by four per cent growth from its new sites.

Spanish hires were up 1,800 to 36,500.

Mark Hunt, Northgate’s group financial controller, said markets were competitive, but added the company was in a strong position.

He said: “We aim to open up to ten new sites in the financial year, and in the first four months we’ve opened four so we are on target.

“Once Dartford is open, that’s when we’ll turn our attention to the remainder of the UK and around areas where we feel we are under-represented.

“The West Midlands and the North-West fall into that.

“The new sites that have opened in the last 18 months have played a key part in our growth.

“The market is challenging, but we are seeing some positive trends, and Spain is ahead of where we expected it to be at this stage, helped by the strong seasonal nature of that with holidaymakers.”

Northgate’s expansion means it now has more than 70 branches, operating about 54,000 vehicles.

The firm, based in Darlington Building Society’s former home in the town, previously said it wants 90 sites by December 2016.

The company started life as Noble Self Drive in 1981, when Alan Noble set up business from his Darlington home.

In 2010, it began the process of bringing its 22 separate businesses together under the Northgate brand.