HELPHIRE has agreed to acquire Swift Rentacar, the car credit hire business, for up to £25.2m.

The acquisition brings an additional 400 prestige cars to Helphire's current prestige fleet of 1,000 and a call centre in Northwich, Cheshire.

A statement from Helphire said the move would provide an ‘enhanced service to Swift customers and suppliers through a broader product offering to Swift customers through other accident management services including credit repair; a broader product offering to Swift dealerships with all vehicle types available and larger volumes of car purchasing from dealership referrers.'

The initial consideration for the acquisition is £21.26m comprising cash of £15.01m, new ordinary shares with a value of £3.25m and loan notes of £3.03m. Further payments totalling £4m and £1.89m may also be made depending on collection of outstanding debts of Swift and receipt by Swift of certain tax deductions. The cost of the acquisition to the company will not exceed £25.26m.

Richard Burrell, non-executive chairman of Helphire, said: "We are delighted to have reached agreement for the acquisition of Swift, one of the longest standing and most respected companies in the industry. We expect to enjoy considerable operational synergies from the enhanced service we can offer customers of both companies. The success of the pre-placing demonstrates the enthusiasm with which our investors have received the details of the deal."