Portsmouth-based Industrial Maintenance Services (IMS) has purchased 12 new Renault vans as it moves to double in size in the next five years.

IMS specialises in the installation and maintenance of mechanical and electrical infrastructure, plant and machinery, and the refurbishment of commercial and industrial facilities.

The £150,000 investment was supported by a hire purchase facility, which allows the cost of the vans to be spread over their useful working life and paid for out of the revenue they earn.

IMS, which aims to double in size in five years by continuing to grow its share of the market, is predicting revenues of more than £4 million for 2015, up from £3m last year.

It has 35 staff and customers include BAE Systems, Serco, Sodexo, the MoD, the Royal Navy and Trinity House Lighthouse Service.

The company was founded in 2003 by managing director Ian Brown and operations director Pete Fry.

Brown said: “Some of our vans were more than eight years old. We kept the vehicles going through the recession but now that business has picked up again, it is the right time to invest in replacing the fleet.

“We were spending upwards of £1,000 a month maintaining the old vans, so the new vehicles will remove that cost and they will also be much more reliable and fuel efficient.

“The newly-liveried vans also look very smart out on the road, helping improve the company’s image.

“Buying the vehicles on hire purchase helps us to maintain a strong cashflow at a time when we are going through a period of growth.

“Interest rates are also pretty low at the moment so it is a relatively cheap way to fund the investment. Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance made the transaction very quick and straightforward.”

The vans were supplied by Seward Group, of Bilton Way, Portsmouth.