Venture Capital Company Buys New Online Car Hire Service
ECI Partners, a venture capital company, has made a major investment in an online car hire supplier called CarTrawler. The funding details were not disclosed, but ECI typically invests in companies that are valued at up to 150 million pounds. The funding will be used by CarTrawler to continue its aggressive expansion plans.
The company is based in Dublin with an office in Seattle, and operates technology to link consumers with car rental suppliers directly and through third-party websites. Customers can obtain real-time car rental prices and availability from over 550 car rental suppliers internationally through the service, with pick-up from 28,000 city and airport locations in 175 countries. The website is available in 29 languages, and provides quotes in 49 currencies. ECI expects CarTrawler to increase its share of the global car hire market, profiting from the continued growth of online travel in Asia and Latin America.