Our Story

In 2014, I invested in this business having been a customer previously. Being a touring musician myself I was fully aware of the need for the type of vehicle we supply and the flexibility offered within the terms of our hires (multiple drivers, being able to travel beyond the U.K, etc.) I was also fully aware of the competition and the market failing to meet the needs of the touring band with the smaller budget. Unfortunately all was not as it had been described at the time of sale. The months following my investment cost substantial amounts of money for the business and me; the vehicles failed to deliver, and our reputation declined to the point where it became local gossip. Drastic action had to be taken, and it wasn't going to be easy.

In March 2015 new management was put in place, with me now overseeing the office side of the business and Christophe being employed on the front line: dealing with hires and vehicle management. As well as being a highly experienced and well-toured FOH engineer, Chris also has a mechanics background and knows his way around an engine. We quickly created a strong relationship with a garage in West Yorkshire and fixed up our busses as best as possible for the short term, before purchasing two Sprinter vans and having them converted into new busses. The old fleet was sold off and we ran the company through 2016 with just two vehicles. In February 2017 a 3rd van was purchased and converted.

Having such a small fleet makes it manageable for two people to run the business effectively and efficiently. The vehicles can constantly be monitored for faults and problems and we can quickly tend to any issues that occur. Looking at our records it is very apparent that most of the problems we have to take to the garage are the result of customers having bumps and scrapes that need cosmetic attention. The 3 vehicles all have a full service every 10,000 miles and are well within their expected life spans. The two of us regularly drive them when not on hire, partly to keep an eye and ear out for any unknown faults. Modern Mercedes vans have a highly sophisticated and computerised fault management system making keeping them problem free as easy as is possible to do.

From a business perspective since these changes our call outs for break down services have dropped by over 700% !!! We have used the RAC a mere 6 times in since July 2015 and 3 of those were for tyre blowouts.

My point in writing this is to assure potential new hirers that we are running the business as professionally as possible and take your safety and experience with us very seriously.

Of course, as with all vehicles on the road, something can go wrong at any moment - things that could not have been foreseen by anyone in advance. I appreciate that if that were to happen, it can cause great stress and indeed anger - you have paid for the hire of a working vehicle. We have put working systems in place to get you on the road as soon as is possible. Our contract with the RAC ensures that bus , content & passengers will all reach their immediate U.K destination and we will then either find somewhere local that to carry out repairs or get a replacement bus with you within 24 hours. We won’t take responsibility if you do miss a show, but you can be assured that we will do everything that we can to make sure you don’t [indeed this has happened only once during Christophe’s tenure].

I reiterate we are running this business with a musician based background and we have an understanding of sound-check times, stage times etc. Just call us the moment you feel something is under performing if such a situation arises so we can get on with sorting it out

I’d like to say that all of the people that hire off us approached the transaction with the same amount of professionalism and good will, but sadly , this is not the case and so we have to cover ourselves with extensive terms & conditions and the taking of deposits to secure our position during the hire. This makes us no different to hiring off any big company and simply covers our backs for situations where the hirer has mistreated our vehicle or is attempting to avoid some fine, parking ticket, speeding offence in the misconception that a hire vehicle will make them uncontactable. The T&Cs are a result of being manipulated / had-over / stolen from / deceived in the past with no written assurance to prevent it. We are not the cheapest bus company out there, we are far from being the most expensive, but I am sure you will find we prove to be the most responsive to our clientele as well as being one of the most reliable out there.

Happy, safe travels.

Simon Archer

Owner