Northgate Vehicle Hire has acquired FridgeXpress for an undisclosed sum, marking its entry into the chilled and freezer van rental sector.

The deal will enhance Northgate’s range of specialist LCVs in the UK

Founded in 2008, FridgeXpress is based in Rugby and runs a rental fleet of more than 600 chilled and freezer vans and trailers. These are hired out to 100+ customers nationwide, principally in the pharmaceutical and food sectors.

The business will continue to trade under the FridgeXpress brand but will gain from the increased resources and support from being part of the Northgate group.

Founder and managing director David Richards is leaving the business. Danny Bell, who has been the company’s operations director for over a decade, assumes the role of MD going forwards.

The deal will enhance Northgate’s range of specialist LCVs in the UK and follows its July 2022 acquisition of Blakedale, a leading supplier of specialist traffic management and support vehicles, which has grown its fleet by more than 30% in the past year.

Martin Ward, CEO of Redde Northgate Plc, commented: “With FridgeXpress, we continue our record of acquisitions offering significant potential for growing both customers and fleet, leveraging our extensive customer network. FridgeXpress has an impressive track record and an excellent reputation in its specialist sector.”

FridgeXpress was one of the first companies to add electric refrigerated vans to its fleet to help customers tackle their emissions particularly in urban areas.

All vehicles are managed and maintained centrally from its workshop in Rugby supported by a network of mobile service engineers.

Neil McCrossan, UK sales & marketing director for Northgate, said: “We have been impressed with all aspects of the FridgeXpress business. It is a profitable and well-run business and very complementary to Northgate and we are delighted to welcome them to the group. It employs an experienced and dedicated workforce that are extremely focused on providing a first-class service to its customers.”

Other management changes following the acquisition include the appointment of Northgate’s current branch manager of the year Craig Diaz as FridgeXpress’s new operations director, while Scott Steadman will join the company as a business development manager, moving from his current position as a new business manager at Northgate.

FridgeXpress founder David Richards said: “I am immensely proud of the business that we have built up over more than 14 years. We have single-mindedly concentrated on chilled and refrigerated rental and have become one of the best providers in the industry.

“I would like to thank my team and customers for their support, many of which have been with us from the very start. I look forward to seeing the business continue to grow with the added investment and support from the Northgate team,” he added.