Wattsway Travel goes electric with Paragon Bank funding package
Surrey-based coach company Wattsway Travel has added its first electric coach to its fleet after securing a six-figure funding package from Paragon Bank, via broker, Stoke Park Finance Limited.
The company has acquired a 53-seat Yutong TCe12 all electric coach, which offers a range in excess of 200 miles at a full charge.
The vehicle will be primarily used to service contracts for schools in South West London and is the first electric vehicle in the company’s nine-strong fleet.
Wattsway Travel estimates that the vehicle will remove 414kg of Co2 that a diesel vehicle of a similar size with a Euro 6 compliant engine would produce over a 10-year period, based on 44,000 miles per year.
The finance was arranged with Paragon Bank through Sarah Hardiman, director of brokerage Stoke Park Finance Limited, and led on behalf of the bank by asset finance regional director Fraser Tilley.
Wattsway Travel was founded in 2017 by Mark Watts.
Mark said: “I have been delighted with the performance of the coach and I would like to transition the fleet towards being predominantly electric over the next four to five years. The majority of our work is within urban areas, so they are the ideal solution.
“We have a number of contracts with schools and the pupils were increasingly asking why we were using diesel vehicles when electric options were available. As a country, we are becoming more accepting of – and enjoying – electric vehicles and that is now extending to commercial vehicles.”
Paragon Bank’s Fraser Tilley said: “We were delighted to support Mark and Wattsway Travel with this funding. Companies such as Wattsway Travel are pioneering new ways of operating and making the important steps we require as we move towards net zero by 2050. Paragon is keen to support a range of green assets and this is a great example of how we can support a new type of asset.”
Sarah Hardiman, director of Stoke Park Finance Limited, added: “This proposal was one of the most fascinating to present in our thirty years of funding bus and coach. We have worked with Wattsway for many years, and were thrilled to be with them at the start of their journey towards a greener fleet. New technology brings an added dimension to the credit process and requires a vital understanding of the benefits of the product itself, back up available from the supplier (Pelican Engineering) and in this case, the advantages of decarbonisation and the potential returns on capital invested. We thank Paragon for its support of this proposal, and we wish Wattsway continued success with their new vehicle.”
