US rental car firm expands Irish operation

American car rental company Enterprise Rent-A-Car is to expand its Irish operation into Northern Ireland next month when it opens its first office at Mullusk, Co Antrim.

The company has recently opened new offices at Sandyford in Dublin and in Newbridge, Co Kildare and next month will open a new office in Cavan in line with its expansion plans announced earlier this year.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car now has 18 offices and 120 employees in Ireland and is operating a recruitment drive to staff up for the next phase of expansion.

The car rental firm opened its Irish operations in 1997 and has seen steady growth year on year, with August this year being its busiest month to date.

Speaking today, Mike Hawkins, General Manager of Enterprise said: "In the US there is an Enterprise Rent-A-Car office within 15 minutes of 90% of the population and ultimately we aim to have the same service available to Irish customers.

"We plan to continue to invest and grow in Ireland over the coming years so that we can provide a complete nationwide service," he added.

Worldwide revenue for the company to the 12 months ending July 2003 was $6.9bn.