Final Rentals, the Cardiff-headquartered technology platform for independent car rental companies, has announced a record first half of 2026.
It has opened more than 25 new rental locations across four continents in 26 weeks, gained recognition on the Sifted 100 as one of the UK and Ireland's fastest-growing tech companies, and unveiled a landmark Gulf partnership that added more than 13,000 vehicles to its network — without the company owning a single car.
Highlights of H1 for the firm included:
- January — London: first UK consumer location, live at Heathrow Airport, Kensington, and Battersea.
- January — Pakistan: launched at Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad airports with partner Fast Track Travel & Tours, bringing digital pre-arrival car rental booking to the market for the first time.
- March — Sifted 100: named among the UK & Ireland's fastest-growing tech companies by the Financial Times-backed Sifted, with 177% year-on-year growth — the only Welsh tech company on the list.
- April — Geneva: airport and city-centre pickup, taking the network past 20 European destinations.
- May — Greece: women-led master franchise covering Athens, Thessaloniki, and the Greek islands; 32nd franchise country.
- June — Gulf partnership: strategic agreement with Autorent (Bahwan International Group) connecting 13,000+ vehicles across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman to the platform.
Final Rentals operates like a marketplace, not a rental company. Its platform handles bookings, pricing, inventory, and marketing for independent rental operators in more than 65 countries giving small, local businesses the global distribution that multinationals have had for decades.
Ammar Akhtar, Founder and CEO, Final Rentals, said:
“Our expansion is built on partnerships, not acquisitions. Every partner that joins Final Rentals brings their local story, their local team, and their pride of place. What we do is give them a global voice.”
Founded in Dubai and headquartered in Cardiff since 2022, Final Rentals scaled through FinTech Wales' Foundry accelerator and is backed by Fuel Ventures, Angel Invest Wales, and the E100 London Business School angel network.
Ammar continued:
“There is an ecosystem in Wales that nurtures founders and rewards ambition. Being based in Wales puts us in high regard in our target markets… we're standing on the shoulders of ‘brand Wales'.
“I aim to build Final Rentals into a £100 million valuation company in the next three years. The platform is proven across six continents, the model compounds with every partner. From Wales to the world isn't a slogan – it's the plan.”
