Helphire Group will launch its first overseas operation in Spain within the year and has announced sizeable expansion plans for the UK.

It already has nearly 30 offices in the UK, with plans to increase this figure to 50 within three years.

The company is on track to be up and running in Spain during the next financial year.

Group operations director David Robertson said: "There is an increasing wealth and interest in financial services in Spain.

"Insurance companies are doing well over there and we think there will also be an appetite for our services over there."

He added Helphire was in the process of putting a manager in place who would be picking his team over the coming months.

Helphire gives assistance to motorists following non-fault accidents by providing replacement vehicles and repair work.

Subsidiaries within the group offer a range of services from directly assisting the consumer to offering partial or fully outsourced case handling facilities to insurers, brokers, fleets and contract hire companies.

The start-up in Spain will echo the launch of Helphire in the UK more than a decade ago, with "the knowledge of lessons learned", according to Robertson.

Helphire floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1997 and its initial market capitalisation valued the company at £16m.

In 2005 the group joined the FTSE 250 and earlier this year was listed on the Indy 100.

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