Rentuu, trading as easyHire, is an equipment hire platform that operates a marketing and technology based franchise network within the tool hire and equipment rental industry. This gives customers – both professional tradespeople and DIY enthusiasts – access to tools and equipment at the click of a button; making tool hire as easy as booking a hotel or hiring a car online.
Rentuu has a special relationship with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet. In fact, the company holds an exclusive brand licence to trade under several easyJet-affiliated brands – easyHire, easyToolhire, and easyEventhire. The “easy” brand holds 90 per cent consumer brand recognition in Europe; the affiliation saves millions in potential marketing costs.
But easyGroup, the personal investment vehicle of the easyJet founder, is not the only shareholder. Rentuu can boast Fabio Cannavale, CEO and founder of lasminute.com, Boost Heroes VC and the Italian Angels of Growth Syndicate as investors too.
To date, Rentuu has raised more than €5.5m in funding and has experienced 10x client growth and 6x depot growth since the pandemic began. The company currently operates in the UK (easyToolhire and easyEventhire), Spain (easyAlquiler), and Italy (easyNoleggio), and works with independent tool hire operators to attract new customers and streamline business processes by helping them to create new revenue streams, improve efficiencies, and increase productivity.
The platform’s latest injection of capital is supported by Rentuu’s current shareholders and will fuel further growth in markets across Europe, and it will enable Rentuu to accelerate its ambitious expansion plans and product development roadmap.
In a joint statement, Andrea Guzzoni and Dennis Helderman, co-founders of Rentuu, said of the latest injection of funds: “Hiring tools and vital equipment for a construction project, or even an event, should be an easy task. Yet the hire industry is full of tiresome paperwork and T&Cs. It’s a sector that few first-time customers understand, as hire requirements, deposits, insurances and pricing breakdowns mount up, and there are few equipment rental businesses that offer a end to end seamless online hire experience in an accessible format.
“Our relationship with rental companies is based on a long-term alignment on the important role digitisation is playing in the future of equipment rental. The average deal we have with our partner businesses is five years, and our model is based on building a lasting, deep business partnership with rental companies, allowing them to serve customers better locally.”
Guzzoni and Helderman continued: “We’ve built some pretty cool tech to make this happen smoothly. We offer real-time stock availability, online ID verification services, automatic carbon offsetting, smart auto-suggestions, a complete turn-key digital solution and an ecosystem for independent owned rental/hire companies that enables them to compete with the industry big boys.
“We’re launching more comprehensive B2B trade accounts on the system to cater towards customers that hire more frequently. For example, we're exploring automated credit verification integrations, additional insurance coverage, and credit provider partnerships to enhance the rental offering.
“These latest funds will be used to catapult Rentuu further forward and this €3m capital injection shows that our shareholders have faith and support our ambitions to make tool hire easier for the end user.”