Europcar Looks to Boost Low-Cost Presence With Goldcar Deal

French rental car company, Europcar has made its fourth acquisition of the year in the form of Europe's largest low-cost car rental agency, Goldcar.

Europcar announced in December that it was looking to spend up to €500 million on franchised companies, car sharing services or local rivals within the car rental sector in order to achieve its ambitious growth targets and remain competitive.

Caroline Parot, Europcar chief executive, commented that the acquisition was “an important step” towards achieving the company’s goal to strengthen its influence in Europe. She stated: “This strategic acquisition will increase our exposure to three major growth engines – the Mediterranean region, the leisure segment and the low-cost segment – and become a major player in the fast-growing European low-cost segment.”

Parot also stated that following recent acquisitions, which include Milan-based car sharing company GuidaMi, Europcar Denmark and Germany's Buchbinder Rent-a-Car, the company is well placed to reach its annual sales goal of €3 billion and an underlying EBITDA margin above 14 per cent by the end of 2020.

Investors have declared the acquisition of Goldcar, which is based in Spain, as a smart and natural choice for Europcar due to Goldcar's strong position on the Iberian Peninsula, a key target area for the French company. The acquisition is also expected to generate €30 million of cost synergies per year by 2020.

Goldcar chief executive Juan Carlos Azcona said the deal would help increase the growth prospects of both companies. He said: “We are very excited to be joining the Europcar Group, the leading player in the European car rental industry, and look forward to bringing our entrepreneurial know-how and low-cost expertise to the group.”

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