COMMERCIAL vehicle giant Northgate is targeting domestic users as it seeks to see off competitors moving into the van hire market.

The Darlington business is rolling out its UK retail van hire nationally a part of its One Northgate rebrand, which started in 2010 to bring its 22 separate businesses under one umbrella, with the same services and prices at every depot.

The company, which has 60 sites UK-wide plus a Spanish van rental business, had previously hired vans to members of the public on an as-and- when basis.

The new strategy is part of a wider campaign to attract customers who do not have a business account.

Marketing manager Jonathan Pearce said: “Our core business has been business to business hire with our commercial vehicles but we took the decision since the rebrand across the UK that we needed a national strategy for retail hire.

“The campaign is relaunching with ‘got something to move?’

“We feel with our expertise in commercial vehicles, we’ve got the knowledge to tell you what you need to do the job, whether you are moving a double bed or some shelves.

“It’s a growing area of the market. We’ve seen a lot of our competitors come into the commercial vehicle marketplace; there’s been an overall drop in retail hire for cars, so car companies are seeing opportunities in commercial.”

All Northgate staff are being trained over the next couple of months to handle inquiries from the public and standardised prices have been introduced nationwide.

As part of the relaunch, it is also aiming to attract domestic customers with an incentive scheme which gives a free vehicle hire for every five stamps on their loyalty card.

Pearce added: “While Northgate isn’t typically associated with retail hire we wanted to take this opportunity to let the local communities around our depots know that our vehicles can be used for personal use as well as by businesses that have accounts with us.

“From moving house to taking a van load to the tip or picking up new furniture, we are here to help and make life that little bit less stressful.”

The company, which has been hiring vans for more than three decades, currently has more than 52,000 vehicles on the road in the UK.

It currently going through a major restructure which will result in around 80 new jobs at its Darlington head office but said there would be a net drop of around 100 posts nationally over the course of the year.