Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 2, 2026

CarTrawler

CarTrawler is an Irish car rental provider. Its headquarters are located in Dublin. It has offices in New York City, Melbourne, and London.

Last revised
Jul 2, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
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499 w
Citations
21
Source
Wikipedia ↗
CarTrawler
IndustryIT
Founded2004
FounderGreg Turley
Niall Turley
HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
Key people
Peter O’Donovan (CEO)12
Patrick Kennedy3
Revenue€173.8 million4 (2023)
€8.3 million5 (2024)
Number of employees
400+6 (2024)
ParentTowerBrook Capital Partners
Websitecorporate.cartrawler.com/en-gb/

CarTrawler is an Irish car rental provider. Its headquarters are located in Dublin. It has offices in New York City, Melbourne, and London.7

As of August 2024, CarTrawler had a network of over 2,200 vehicle rental service providers in 150 countries. It also manages online car rental websites under the brands Holiday Autos and Argus Car Hire.8

History

CarTrawler was founded in 2004 by brothers Greg and Niall Turley.5 In February 2014, as part of a debt-secured deal worth €450 million, CarTrawler was sold to investment firms BC Partners and Insight Ventures Partners.9 BC Partners received a controlling stake for an undisclosed amount, while Insight Ventures Partners acquired a minority stake. A "significant portion" of the shares remained with local management.10 It was reported that BC Partners and Insight Ventures Partners used €150 million in debt financing to complete the transaction.11

In August 2015, CarTrawler entered into an exclusive partnership agreement with Ryanair.12 In September 2017, Ryanair announced an extension of this agreement for another two years.13

In May 2020, British private equity group TowerBrook Capital Partners invested €100 million to acquire CarTrawler.11415 The acquisition was driven by the company's difficulties amid COVID-19 restrictions.516 It was noted that BC Partners and Insight Ventures Partners suffered significant losses from this deal.1718

References

References

  1. Caoimhe Gordon (2024-08-23). "Revenues rise 5pc at CarTrawler". Irish Independent.
  2. Caoimhe Gordon (2022-10-04). "CarTrawler appoints new chief executive". Irish Independent.
  3. "New and notable appointments at Matheson LLP, ACCA, Community Finance Ireland, Irish Beverage Council, CarTrawler, Virgin Media Television and Azets Ireland". Business & Finance. 2023-04-06.
  4. "CarTrawler reports higher revenue and profits for 2023". RTE. 2024-08-23.
  5. Ciarán Hancock (2024-08-23). "CarTrawler pays €47m dividend to parent as profits rebound". The Irish Times.
  6. Charlie Taylor (2024-09-19). "CarTrawler to cut 10% of workforce amid strategic shift - but new roles will follow". Business Post.
  7. "CarTrawler lands €100 million investment to drive growth and strengthen platform". WiT. 2020-05-19.
  8. "CarTrawler: Irish brothers sell car rental firm to private equity group". Irish Independent. 2014-03-25.
  9. Fiona Reddan (2014-03-24). "Irish car-hire technology firm to be sold for €450m". The Irish Times.
  10. Kevin May (2014-03-24). "CarTrawler majority stake bought by BC-Partners in big bucks deal". Phocus Wire.
  11. Joe Brennan (2020-05-06). "Cartrawler set to fall under control of UK firm TowerBrook". The Irish Times.
  12. Alex Lawson (2015-08-25). "Ryanair CarTrawler: Airline launches new car hire service as charm offensive continues". The Standard.
  13. "Ryanair Extends Partnership With Cartrawler For 2 More Years". Ryanair. 2017-09-11.
  14. Joe Brennan (2023-08-02). "CarTrawler backer has 'no plans to sell' as firm returns to profit". The Irish Times.
  15. Gwyn Topham (2020-09-24). "Willie Walsh takes CarTrawler role after leaving BA owner IAG". The Guardian.
  16. Charlie Taylor (2023-04-02). "British investor looks to unload a roadworthy CarTrawler". Business Post.
  17. Joe Brennan (2020-05-19). "CarTrawler management to take stake in TowerBrook takeover". The Irish Times.
  18. Ellie Donnelly (2020-05-20). "BoI among lenders to take hit as CarTrawler is sold for third time". Irish Independent.