erento buys Finnish online rental site

Online rental portal erento has entered the Finnish market by acquiring iRent.fi, an online rental marketplace founded in 2008.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed price, adds to erento’s existing websites in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the US, and increases its exposure to the consumer to consumer (C2C) rental market. erento was established in 2003 to cater for business-to-consumer (B2C) rentals.

iRent.fi, which was developed with Fiare, a Scandinavian company that specialises in e-commerce websites, has 2000 private individuals and 1000 professional companies offering a wide range of goods and equipment for rent.

Eugen Russ, erento’s recently appointed CEO, said he was optimistic about the partnership between the two companies; “iRent.fi comes at the right time for us. erento started 10 years ago with business-to-consumer online rentals; iRent.fi helps us meet the demands of the modern renter.

“We want to reclaim the private market which includes peer-to-peer rentals. Renting, borrowing and sharing are now as popular as ever. In today’s society we are moving away from the rigidity of ownership and moving in the direction of temporary item use. For example, this change is evident with the increased numbers of car-sharing outlets now available.”

The so-called ‘sharing economy’ is becoming an increasing trend in western Europe, with online businesses offering private individuals the ability to car share, to rent out their spare bedrooms, and even rent items such as high fashion.