Car couple on the road to expansion

Paul Brown plans to double the number of locations served by ecurie25, which hires out cars such as the Ferrari F458 and Lamborghini LP560-4 Spider.

Mr Brown said the club had proved popular during the recession, because members don't have to worry about the cost of car ownership or depreciation.

Hull-born Mr Brown is the managing director of ecurie25 (North) which he runs with his wife, Karen.

Ecurie25 is believed to be the largest club of its type, with bases in London, Wakefield, Hersham, in Surrey and Belfast. An international network is being opened with bases planned in Australia and Dubai.

Wakefield-based Cars on Demand, a car-leasing company, is the parent company of ecurie25 (North). It plans to operate from 20 bases in the next three to five years.

Paul and Karen Brown launched ecurie25 in Wakefield a year ago, and expect to own the UK master franchise by the end of October.

Their expansion plans include opening a further eight to 10 bases over the next five years.

Mr Brown said: "The next one, in Manchester, is at the planning stage. We expect to open that by the end of the year".

Other areas of interest include, Bedfordshire, the Midlands Scotland, Wales, Newcastle and the south-west.

Ecurie25 has 38 members. Mr Brown aims to grow the membership to no more than 70 because he wants to keep "the club house feel".

"We want to develop the social aspect,'' he said. "This is not a volume market."

His career started in 1983, when he got a job at Smales Fish Merchants in Hull.

He was promoted to senior roles at Michelin and Honda, before launching ecurie25 in August 2009.

"The most important lesson I have learned is not to take anything for granted and to take each day as it comes,'' he said.

Mr Brown said he hoped to increase the company's staff levels from seven to nine, and turnover was expected to hit 2m this year.