Electric car rental company Rugged Rentals has secured a $1.1 million capital injection, enabling it to double its fleet of vehicles.

The investment was secured with the support of the Bermuda Investor Community, which links entrepreneurs with investors through its online platform.

A joint press release from the company and the investor community said the investment would enable repayment of the company’s previous lender and to accelerate the company’s growth.

This includes the more than doubling of Rugged Rentals’ fleet from 34 cars to 70, the statement added.

Earlier this month, the company opened a car rental operation at LF Wade International Airport, with a ground-floor office next to BermudAir.

Rugged Rentals also offers public pick-up locations in Hamilton and St George’s, along with hotel pick-up options for guests at the several partner properties.

The Bermuda Investor Community said the investment marked its “first major refinancing of an established local business with a local company investor”.

The deal was promoted privately, the statement added, meaning that the opportunity to invest was only made available to certain existing contacts of the Bermuda Investor Community, based on their investment preferences.

Tallent Clark and Justin Robinson founded Rugged Rentals in 2019 and steered the business through the challenges of Covid lockdowns and the slow return of tourists to the island.

Mr Clark, the company’s managing director, said: “During the Covid lockdown we supported our community and donated our fleet of vehicles to nursing homes, which allowed the nurses to get to and from work and grocery shop for their patients.

“We were happy to provide this service to those in critical need and remain deeply committed to supporting the wellbeing of our community in times of hardship.

“It was our privilege to play a small role in helping essential workers continue their vital efforts, and we are proud to have contributed to the safety and care of some of the most vulnerable members of society.

“Following this investment in our community, the support of the Bermuda Investor Community team was invaluable as we refinanced the business for growth.”

Caroline McGill, chairwoman of the Bermuda Investor Community, worked alongside the founders to develop a deal structure which satisfied the requirements of the previous lender, as well as bringing in a strategic investor to provide new capital for growth as well as extensive business expertise.

Ms McGill said: “It was a pleasure to work with TJ and Justin to help them secure the future of their business. We had a number of interested parties at the table and, through a year-long process, secured the best deal for them.

“I am excited to see this iconic Bermuda business go from strength to strength. We have a lot of exciting opportunities in the pipeline, ranging from equity for start-ups to secured debt for established cash generative businesses.

“We expect to see a lot more requests for refinancing support, as well as capital raising for business acquisitions as a number of local business owners seek to retire and sell their businesses to the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

The Bermuda Investor Community’s mission is to support the growth and diversification of the Bermuda economy by developing alternate paths to local capital (debt or equity), where private investment is often more appropriate than traditional bank lending.

The investor community has also supported CariGenetics in raising over $3.2 million to date for the world’s first Caribbean-focused genomics company, and Cactus, the ground-breaking tech firm specialising in data capture and transmission for the casualty and specialty insurance market, in securing its $500,000 pre-seed round.

The Bermuda Investor Community platform is open to all qualified investors at no cost and with no commitment, and to all businesses which are contributing to the growth of the Bermuda economy.

The BIC contributes all of its profits to Ignite, Bermuda’s entrepreneurial accelerator.

• For more information, visitwww.bermudainvestorcommunity.com