Car club case study: OnlyRoses

Anian Schmitt, co-owner of OnlyRoses

Cars: 1, a Smart Fortwo; hire vehicles as needed

Financing method: Lease and car club spot hire

Anian Schmitt runs OnlyRoses with his wife, Sabine.

As the OnlyRoses name suggests, the south-west London company specialises in one thing: roses. The roses come from Ecuador. Anian collects them twice weekly from the airport.

The business also delivers roses from its shop to customers throughout London, as and when orders are placed.

That means OnlyRoses needs a delivery vehicle, but not all the time – and it’s impossible to predict when. It also makes little sense to lease a van full time for just two jobs per week. Anian’s solution is simple: rent vehicles when they’re needed.

OnlyRoses leases a Smart Fortwo full time, but for larger deliveries, they hire a VW Golf from an innovative company called Streetcar – a car club. They also use a Streetcar-provided VW Transporter van for the twice-weekly airport collection.