CARS FOR STARS - who we are?

When Cars for Stars was at its concept stage, a pre-condition was that the business would not make out of the planning stage, unless we could make a difference. Our primary aim was to establish a business with honesty and integrity at the forefront and one that genuinely placed the customer first in a consistent and logical way.

We decided that we would only offer the best, opting to offer quality rather than quantity, so having purchased our first two limousines are the ripe old age of two, we later decided to take this a stage further and imported only new limousines. When we expanded into chauffeur cars, we adopted the same philosophy.

When Cars for Stars was set up, there was no real indication as to how the service would be received, but from the outset, demand outstripped supply. We then looked at ways of meeting this demand, given we were unable to service 95% of the enquiries we received. After much soul searching, the decision was made to franchise the business, with a tough criteria that ensured that whether a Cars for Stars customer hired a chauffeur car or limousines in London or Edinburgh, they would receive the same level of attention, service and delivery.

In September 2006, the efforts of the team at Cars for Stars was recognised, when the company was granted an award for 'Operator of the Year', having been a runner up the previous year. What made this award particularly pleasing was the fact that it was provided as a result of votes from customers and our peers. In our own style, the award provided us with an indication that we had to try even harder and that we had not reached our pinnacle.

Cars for Stars continues to strive to maintain a high standard, as is evidenced by the fact that more than 95% of enquiries for a Cars for Stars franchise do not cross the first hurdle.

Cars for Stars was one of the first companies in the UK to embrace and apply to have the business licensed as a Private Hire Operator. Whilst some companies were not prepared to incur the expense, time and hassle involved, Cars for Stars determined that it would be a robust and welcome test of our business and business model. Today, every Cars for Stars branch is licensed by the local authority for private hire.

The Government have now introduced new legislation that requires all limousine operators to licence their business and vehicles for hire or reward from the 1st January 2008. This new legislation has seen many smaller operations withdraw for the market and has been a challenge for even the most successful companies, however, it has resulted in the playing field being levelled, provided some regulation with the industry and provided further protection towards the travelling public given all chauffeurs must also be licensed and this will include a full medical and a criminal records bureau check.

We have made a few mistakes along the way, but we have learned from them, we continue to expand our network in a measured and controlled way and to invest in our people, back office functions and our vehicles.