Streetcar's desire after US rival moves in

Wimbledon-based Streetcar has been bought by America's Zipcar, to create a group with combined membership of more than 400,000 in the US, Canada and Europe.

The takeover gives Zipcar a greater presence in the UK, where it has around 12,000 members out of 360,000 overall worldwide.

Streetcar founders Andrew Valentine and Brett Akker have grown the business into a group with around 50,000 members and spanning 1,100 locations nationwide since launch six years ago.

The service works by allowing members to pay a fee to rent cars 24/7 by the hour or day, with vehicles located around eight UK cities.

Zipcar has only operated in the UK market for the past two-and-a-half years, but has grown significantly in the US, where it now has cars in a network of a dozen cities.

It also has a minority stake in Barcelona-based Avancar following a deal last year and aims to take a controlling stake this year under plans for expansion across Europe.

A recent report by research firm Frost & Sullivan estimates that there is the potential for 5.5 million car sharing club members across Europe, delivering earnings of around 14.7bn by 2016.

Streetcar is to be rebranded under the Zipcar banner.