FEATURE
DRIVING FORCE
Management – Van Ninja ’ s commercial manager Jonathan Beadle ( right ), with sales director Gary Henry ( centre ) and marketing assistant Mark Robson .
Personal touch among the keys to success for leasing firm Van Ninja
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : MARTIN WALKER
54 | Tees Business
Any business starting during the pandemic was always likely to encounter a few bumps in the road .
Despite some initial challenges , Stocktonbased van leasing specialist Van Ninja is now in a great position to keep driving forward .
A division of Dawsongroup Vans – itself part of the giant Dawsongroup plc – Van Ninja concentrates on leasing brand new , premium brand vans to sole traders and SMEs .
The goal is simple – to match customers to the correct van for their needs , and to the correct finance deal for their budget .
Overseen by Gary Henry and Jonathan Beadle , and supported by Mark Robson , Van Ninja started with a staff of three , based at a Dawsongroup Vans office on Stockton ’ s North Tees Industrial Estate .
Now , two years after launch and testament to the project ’ s success , it ’ s just taken on its 12th staff member , sales team leader Matthew Bell .
Gary explained : “ Dawsongroup Vans already provides a comprehensive rental service to mid to large fleets .
“ Van Ninja identified an opportunity to help small businesses that maybe only required one or two vehicles . We looked into several options that might fill that gap for us , and we decided leasing was the way forward .”
And although based in Stockton , it ’ s a national operation , operating over 13,000 vehicles across the country , using Dawsongroup Vans ’ 13 UK depots .
And it ’ s so far , so good – despite those initial challenges posed by the pandemic .
Commercial manager Jonathan Beadle has been with the project from the beginning . He admits it was a challenging start .
He explained : “ We faced a few challenges , especially at the start of 2021 . Lockdown and furlough meant much of our target market was not getting as much work , and not looking for new vehicles . Factories were also shut down , which impacted our supply of new vans .
“ In a way , starting relatively slowly gave us the chance to get everything up and running and ensure it worked .
“ We had a new CMS system integrating with our website and phone technology . We took the opportunity to make sure our