DARLINGTON van hire firm Northgate has increased its pre-tax profit by almost 50 per cent ahead of plans to open more sites across the UK.

The company's pre-tax profit for the half year end October 31, 2014 was £47.8m, which was a 49 per cent increase on the £32m made during the same period last year. Revenue also increased from £289m to £305m.

Northgate said it intends to open an average of eight to ten new sites per year. The firm said that an increase in the number of vehicles it has on hire and the opening of new sites helped to drive profitability.

Bob Mackenzie, chairman, said: “We are pleased by the growth delivered by the group in the first six months of the year. This reflects the work done in recent years, in particular, supporting the continued investment being made in our people, systems and infrastructure. Our plans to open new sites in the UK are on track and trading from these new sites is exceeding our initial plans.

"The board remains confident that we are well positioned to deliver further growth and attractive returns to shareholders. The Group is currently trading slightly ahead of our expectations.”