Splend, an Australian car rental provider that caters to Uber drivers who down own their own vehicles, raised $220 million in debt financing, recently. In addition to the debt financing, Splend also received $7.2 million in cash. A portion of the funding will go to purchasing 13,300 more vehicles in the coming years.
Australian Financial Review reported that “the financing, which came from Element Fleet Management, will enable the company’s international expansion, as it’s in the process of securing deals with car manufacturers”.
The funding will be used to reinforce Splend’s international presence.
“Over the next few years, we see ourselves getting to 15,000 vehicles. Australia is a small market, but in Mexico City, there are more people in one city than the whole of Australia and public transport is poor and there are high barriers to car ownership,” he said.
“Australia is our home and our primary market, but I’ve relocated to London to spearhead the international launches and we’ve had other senior leaders move to Canada and Mexico too.”
The company launched back in July of 2015 and since then, operates 1,700 vehicles throughout Australia. There are Splend offices in Toronto, Mexico City, and London.
