For almost 90 years, Wallis Rentals has been part of the fabric of the UK motor trade, shaped by four generations of family leadership and a constant need to adapt. What started as a traditional motor business built around selling, repairing, and renting vehicles has gradually shifted into something much broader: a mixed operation balancing forecourt retail, vehicle rental, and service-led customer experience.
We spoke with Elliot Wallis, Managing Director and fourth-generation leader of the business, about how the company has evolved over time:
“We are a 90-year-old family business next year; we have been in the motor trade for all that time and have sold and fixed cars as well as rented them on and off during that period.”
There’s a sense in that statement that the business has never stood still, but equally, it has never changed for change’s sake. Instead, it has moved with the realities of the industry, sometimes gradually, sometimes out of necessity.
Over the past decade, and particularly since COVID, those pressures have intensified.
“During the past 10 years and more since covid we are moving always from car sales and vehicle repairs as the industry faces some of the hardest years we have ever seen with the challenges of electric and the complications of vehicles now and focusing more on the petrol retailing and forecourt shop that’s becoming more like a supermarket every year, and we plan on adding a CO OP soon.”
That shift is telling. Like many long-established motor businesses, Wallis Rentals has had to confront a changing landscape: electric vehicles reshaping servicing needs, margins tightening in traditional repair work, and customer expectations moving toward convenience and retail-style experiences.
The result is a business that is no longer just “cars and vans” but a hybrid retail and mobility operation, where the forecourt, the shop, and the rental desk now sit side by side.
But while strategy was evolving, operations were becoming increasingly difficult to manage in the background.
The operational reality behind the growth
As the rental side of the business continued to develop, day-to-day management became more complex than it first appeared. What had once been a relatively straightforward fleet operation gradually became a constant balancing act among compliance, utilisation, availability, and customer demand.
“Managing the fleet, keeping on top of compliance and making the most of the fleet utilisation and getting them out on hire…”
At the same time, customer behaviour is always changing. Phone bookings, once standard, can quickly become a bottleneck. Every call requires time, manual checks, and repeated explanations of requirements.
“The addition of the online booking has also been great in saving time with customers on the phone; it’s much more efficient when they book online”
That shift to online booking didn’t just reduce admin, it changed the dynamic of the rental process itself. Customers were now taking on more responsibility upfront, confirming documentation and requirements before they even arrived.
“Plus, pushing the responsibility onto them for documentation and confirming they can prove what’s needed before the hire with the tick boxes, still surprising how many tick the box but cannot provide what’s needed.”
There’s a very human frustration in that observation, something anyone who has managed bookings or compliance-heavy services will recognise. Even with systems in place, behaviour doesn’t always follow process. And that gap between expectation and reality was exactly where inefficiencies were building up.
At this point, it was clear that the business didn’t just need more effort; it needed a different structure.
Moving to a more controlled way of working: Prohire
The decision to implement Prohire came down to one core need: visibility and control.
For a business managing both rental vehicles and loan cars, knowing exactly what was where, and when, was becoming essential rather than optional.
“We run a small fleet, but it helps us manage our loan cars as well as company cars with compliance and knowing who has what vehicle and when. Making it quick to see what’s free and when.”
What changed here wasn’t just efficiency; it was confidence. Instead of relying on memory, spreadsheets, or manual tracking, the team now had a single, reliable view of their fleet.
That shift matters more than it might first appear. In a business where vehicles are constantly moving between customers, loan use, and availability windows, even small uncertainties can cause delays, double bookings, or lost revenue opportunities.
The real impact: less friction, more focus
Over time, the benefits of the system became more evident not only in operations but also in the way the business was structured.
“Time saving with bookings, simplifying the process, and putting more on the customer to provide what’s needed.”
This is where the change becomes more than operational improvement; it becomes behavioural change. Customers book differently. Staff work differently. The business itself starts to feel less reactive and more controlled.
And that shift ultimately led to a significant internal decision:
“We managed to cut staffing and remove the role of a Rental Manager after adding the online booking and reducing the fleet. We saw an increase in bookings as well with the online portal.”
That is a rare outcome in service-based businesses: reducing headcount while increasing volume. But it speaks to what happens when manual friction is removed, and processes are properly structured around digital workflows rather than legacy habits.
The importance of support, not just software
For many businesses, software adoption fails not because of the tool itself, but because of the lack of ongoing support during real-world use. That’s where the experience here stands out.
“The team that is behind it and the support and help from day one, we have always had a great response to issues and problems if and when we get them.”
And that support continues beyond implementation, particularly as the business scales up or down depending on demand.
“The Prohire Service team is very good, always friendly, helpful and efficient when needed. Similar to the Sales team, very good as well when looking at increasing or decreasing the number of vehicles or adding new features.”
It’s this adaptability that allows the system to remain relevant as the business changes, rather than becoming another rigid layer that eventually gets worked around.
A realistic market view
Even with improved internal systems, the external market remains challenging. Competition has increased significantly since Wallis Rentals first entered the rental space in 2010, and that pressure is being felt across the sector.
“We have seen a decline in rentals in the past 12 months, sadly, and we feel this is due to the increased number of companies offering rentals since we started in 2010.”
It’s a grounded observation rather than a complaint. The market has changed, and businesses now have to work harder not just to grow, but simply to maintain their position.
Looking forward
What stands out most in Wallis Rentals’ journey is not just longevity, but adaptability. A 90-year-old business that has moved through multiple eras of the motor trade is now actively reshaping itself, balancing retail expansion, fleet operations, and digital transformation simultaneously.
The introduction of Prohire hasn’t changed the business’s identity. Instead, it has removed friction from the areas that were slowing it down, allowing the team to focus on service, customer experience, and strategic direction.
In an industry where complexity is increasing year after year, the ability to simplify operations without losing control may be the difference between simply surviving and continuing to evolve for another generation.
