Norma McAtear and Julian Mason have embarked upon a new venture together by investing in the Thrifty Car Rental franchise territory for North Yorkshire.

Norma McAtear: new car hire franchise venture in York

The couple opened their Thrifty Car Rental branch in Osbaldwick Link Road, York, recently - the 80th thrifty location to open in the UK.

Following a similar career path, both Julian and Norma previously worked for a Ford dealer in Harrogate - Julian as senior vehicle technician, whilst Norma ran a car rental operation from the dealership.

In October 1997 the couple decided to fulfil their ambition to own and run their own rental business and opened an independent company in the town.

After 18 months on their own, Julian and Norma decided to take on the Thrifty franchise as part of a strategic expansion plan.

Norma said: "We realised we could only expand so far if we remained on our own, but we didn't want to lose control of the overall running of the business.

"By joining up with Thrifty, we knew we would benefit from the banner of a well-known, national brand and from the fleet support the company offers, whilst retaining our local decision making authority."

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