Family owned campervan specialists seek advice to scale and grow

Background

Carefree Campers is a family-owned business that specialises in providing good quality camper vans for sale, rental, and hire. They also offer a wide range of associated services on the maintenance and installation of camper van accessories. Trading for over 12 years, the business is based in Apsley in Hemel Hempstead in the Dacorum District in Hertfordshire.

The Challenge

Sean Norris, Managing Director of Carefree Campers was introduced to the Growth Hub through participating in the Help to Grow Management programme which is delivered by the University of Hertfordshire. Kieran Thorpe, Growth Account Manager, at Hertfordshire Growth Hub conducted a business diagnostic with Sean to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the business.

Carefree Campers had made a considerable investment in new premises and was seeking to grow through the opportunities afforded by the investment with a long-term plan to create a scalable business that maximises the opportunities open from several different revenue streams.

The Solution

After completing the initial business diagnostic with Growth Account Manager, Kieran Thorpe, which helped pinpoint any barriers to growth and opportunities for the business. The Growth Hub introduced Carefree Campers to funded training for some of its staff members on leadership and management. Kieran also provided details of other appropriate support that the business would be eligible for which included support to take advantage of opportunities in the Film and TV supply chain and highlighted a brand-new green energy grant funding scheme for businesses in the local area.

The Impact

The support given to Carefree Campers has allowed them to have a better understanding of their own business and enabled them to plan more effectively for future growth. It has also allowed them to put in place a better management structure enabling other members of the team to take up additional responsibilities, to free up more time to pursue the strategic objectives.

As a result of the support received from Hertfordshire Growth Hub, Carefree Campers are confident in being able to grow the business moving forward and have seen an increase in the amount of business they are getting.

Client quote

“A friendly, easy-to-access service that works around our needs. There when we need them, very happy to think that someone is keeping an eye out for us in terms of any potential funding schemes we might be able to make use of.”

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Hertfordshire Growth Hub, they are there to help you as a Hertfordshire business, and as the service is fully funded - you’ve got nothing to lose!”

- Sean Norris, Managing Director, Carefree Campers Ltd