BUDGET car hire firm easyRentacar has signed a £26 million finance deal to expand its business throughout the UK and Europe, in a step towards a possible stock market flotation. Two-year-old easyRentacar operates from 14 sites in the UK, France, Spain and the Netherlands, and will use the funding to open new sites in the UK and throughout Europe. With £55 million already available, the firm now has around £80 million for purchasing new rental cars. Stelios Haji-Ioannou, easy-Group chairman, said: 'This represents an important milestone in the continued development of another one of my ventures.' The expansion funding deal has been put together by a consortium of Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking and NBGI Private Equity which will take stakes in the business. The Bank of Scotland already provides the lease finance to fund the easyRentacar vehicle fleet. In March, the hire company announced an expansion of its Mercedes A-class fleet from 4,000 to 13,000, with plans to increase to 20,000 in the next three years.