Rugged Rentals Secures $1.1 Million Investment
Rugged Rentals – which recently opened a new location at the airport – has secured a $1.1 million investment to accelerate the growth of the company, which allowed Rugged Rentals to “increase their fleet by 100%; doubling it from 34 cars to 70.”
A Bermuda Investor Community spokesperson said, “Rugged Rentals has secured a $1.1m investment with support from the Bermuda Investor Community. The investment secures the repayment of the company’s previous lender and introduces a significant additional investment to accelerate the growth of the company, including an expansion of the Rugged Rentals fleet. This allowed Rugged Rentals to increase their fleet by 100%; doubling it from 34 cars to 70.
“This most recent success marks the Investor Community’s first major refinancing of an established local business with a local company investor. Although now included in the Investor Community’s public track record, the deal was promoted privately, meaning that the opportunity to invest was only made available to certain existing contacts of the Investor Community, based on their investment preferences.
“Tallent Clark and Justin Robinson founded Rugged rentals in 2019 and steered the business through the challenges of Covid lockdowns and the slow return of tourists to the island.”
Mr Clark said, “During the covid lockdown we supported our community and donated our fleet of vehicles to nursing homes which allowed the nurses to get to and from work and grocery shop for their patients. We were happy to provide this service to those in critical need and remain deeply committed to supporting the wellbeing of our community in times of hardship. It was our privilege to play a small role in helping essential workers continue their vital efforts, and we are proud to have contributed to the safety and care of some of the most vulnerable members of society. Following this investment in our community, the support of the Bermuda Investor Community team was invaluable as we refinanced the business for growth.”
Caroline McGill, Chair of the Bermuda Investor Community, worked alongside the founders to develop a deal structure which satisfied the requirements of the previous lender, as well as bringing in a strategic investor to provide new capital for growth as well as extensive business expertise.”
Ms McGill said, “It was a pleasure to work with TJ and Justin to help them secure the future of their business. We had a number of interested parties at the table and, through a year-long process, secured the best deal for them. I am excited to see this iconic Bermuda business go from strength to strength.
“We have a lot of exciting opportunities in the pipeline, ranging from equity for start-ups to secured debt for established cash generative businesses. We expect to see a lot more requests for refinancing support, as well as capital raising for business acquisitions as a number of local business owners seek to retire and sell their businesses to the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
The spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Investor Community’s mission is to support the growth and diversification of the Bermuda economy by developing alternate paths to local capital [debt or equity], where private investment is often more appropriate than traditional bank lending.
“The Bermuda Investor Community continues to support local businesses seeking to borrow or raise growth capital. Other notable successes included supporting CariGenetics in raising over $3.2m to date for the world’s first Caribbean-focused genomics company, and Cactus, ground-breaking tech firm specializing in data capture and transmission for the Casualty and Specialty Insurance Market, in securing its $500k pre-seed round.”
Wonderful!
When will real cars,you know, vehicles capable of transporting 2 adults, maybe a child or 2, plus some luggage, be available at the airport, just like modern airports?
Maybe when we miraculously grow another 30 or so square miles along with another 200 miles of double tarmac lanes ?