Driver Hire celebrated a record year’s trading at its annual conference, held in Gateshead. Based on a ‘No Limits’ theme, delegates from across its nationwide network gathered to hear keynote speeches from former combat helicopter pilot and Squadron Leader, Sarah Furness and mountaineer, Bonita Norris. Bonita is the youngest person ever to conquer both Mount Everest and reach the North Pole.
During the course of the day, over 30 offices collected awards for outstanding trading. Driver Hire’s 2026 ‘Franchisee of the Year’ were husband and wife team, Ash and Charline Mustafa, owners of Driver Hire Southampton.
In his annual review, Chris Chidley, Driver Hire’s CEO, congratulated the network on an all-time record year. Turnover reached £129.1m, an impressive 7.8% up year-on-year. The company traded with 4,700 customers and found work for over 15,000 drivers.
He added: “Our success is broad-based with great performances from offices across the whole of the country. In addition, our training business enjoyed an outstanding year. In particular, HGV licence acquisition and other vocational skills training were up 40%. The ‘No Limits’ theme adopted for this year’s Conference shows that we are pushing hard to maintain our growth momentum. That means, in the year ahead, we’ll be helping more clients and finding more work for our drivers.”