Car pooling firm drives to market

CITYCARCLUB, which operates in 11 London boroughs and in other British cities and allows motorists the use of a pool of vehicles, has kicked off its share offer to raise £1 million for expansion.

The country's largest car club operator is offering the public 50% of the company at 10p a share. The offer closes on 4 July and dealings start a week later. Under the float plan, its board will retain 45% and financial advice company Nash Fitzwilliams will hold 5%.

CityCarClub has 100 sites with 1,100

members in London, Brighton & Hove, Bristol and Edinburgh. They pay £180 a year to belong, but anyone subscribing £5,000 to the new issue will get the perk of free membership for life.

The club allows private or corporate clients to arrange to pick up a car from the designated sites and return it when they have finished using it. The company has been trading as Smartmoves since 1998. It had turnover of £750,000 last year, with operating losses of £191,000.