The not-for-profit business offers advice, design, installation and maintenance of renewable energy systems such as solar panels, through a recently established network of 72 franchise companies.

However despite Puragen being a part of the Ascertiva Group, which is owned by the Electrical Safety Council, the organisation found it almost impossible to establish a fleet deal for its franchise holders with many LCV manufacturers.

‘What we needed was recognition that although our franchise owners were new-start businesses, they would benefit from the strength of the group from day one,’ said Jeremy Malindine, head of Puragen.

‘We soon discovered the problem that faces every new national franchise operation made up of privately-owned franchises with no trading history. Manufacturers tend to see each franchise as a single entity, rather than recognising the aggregate value of the entire franchise network.’

Working with dealer group West Way Nissan, Nissan has been able to provide a range of contract hire agreements for Puragen franchisees, from a pool of suppliers. The deals include a three-year, fully maintained supply of Nissan NV200, NV400 and Primastar vans, allowing the individual companies to benefit from the group deal and fleet back-up.

‘Nissan’s light commercials are more economical than most of the other vans we considered and also have better emission levels, an important factor to align with our credentials as an eco-business,’ continued Mr Malindine.

‘Load space in the vans is also critical as the systems that we are carrying, including solar panels and hot water cylinders, can be large and bulky. That’s also why every vehicle is being supplied ply-lined.’

The vans have also been specified with roof racks with ladder systems and pipe carriers, while internally they have air-conditioning.

Puragen expects its franchise partners to purchase up to 100 Nissan vans in the coming year.