Profile: Ian O’Connor

That was a decade ago and the world was a different place. Electric vehicles had far from taken off; it was preCovid and pre the convenience-delivery boom; and it was before businesses were really talking in net zero terms.

But something got Ian’s fire burning.

“I came up with the brand Eskuta ten years ago when there was no such thing as an e-scooter,” he said. “I thought it sounded very contemporary, maybe a little bit Italian, and I was playing on the fact they were electric too.

“I did some research, found some manufacturers, had some meetings and the manufacturer I met is still the one we work with today. I wanted something that was more like a motorcycle rather than a traditional scooter and that’s what we found.

“But the product wasn’t fit for the European market so we worked with them to develop it and improve the quality and engineering behind it.

“I went to the market to try to get some funding, but the money was expensive and it required lots of governance. So, I went to a good friend of mine, Greg Devine, who had a successful automotive engineering company called Cad Cam in Coventry, just for some advice really.

“I showed him and his partners the business plan and they backed me straight away. I bought Greg and his partners out about three years ago when they wished to exit to concentrate on other projects but they had a big part to play in the getting the business off the ground.”

Eskuta (pronounced a-scooter rather than e-scooter) began trading in 2015 and, fast forward eight years, it is going from strength to strength.

The company, which employs 12 people from two units on Bermuda Business Park in Nuneaton, is now into the design throes of its Series Five model and has more than 6,500 vehicles in service across the UK.

Ian said: “We’ve got contracts to supply and service Eskutas with Just Eat, which has been a major partner with us since 2017, and we work with Deliveroo and Uber Eats riders. We’re now in the convenience store market too so we work with Booker Group which is Londis, Premiere, Budgens and Happy Shopper.

“Then we got an influx of more orders from restaurants at the start of the pandemic because deliveries were the only way they could remain open and viable so we really scaled our business.

“The same kind of thing happened with convenience stores, and that delivery market started to grow. It’s still in its infancy but it’s growing, and the reason for that is that consumers are conditioned to getting deliveries and we want convenience in everything we do.

“Everybody is busier in terms of their lifestyle and delivery plays a part in that.”

Other sales channels are opening up too.

“We’re doing much more in the health sector,” said Ian. “We work with care in the community companies where their carers are going out to individuals and they need a form of transport.

“Many of those workers are not from the UK – they don’t have a driving licence – so it’s giving them the flexibility, it’s reducing costs, helping recruitment and staff retention. It’s giving something back to the worker.

“We’re working with some large distribution and manufacturing businesses where they have huge sites and they need to get people moving around on them.

“Clearly, when you’ve got highly-skilled, highly-paid people you want them to get around as quickly and easily as possible.

“I’d like to say we’ve sold to butchers, bakers and candlestick makers but I haven’t done the candlestick maker yet!”

On top of that, Eskuta is working with Transport for London and, in the coming years, is predicting a growth in overseas sales in Europe, South America and North America.

The products arrive from China around 70 per cent built and then the team at Bermuda does the rest.

The company has just invested more than £100,000 to improve its storage capacity in order to hold more stock as the consumer market begins to take off.

Ian said: “The USP of our product is that it’s not like a traditional looking cycle. Most electric cycles in the UK are traditional in as much that they look like a bicycle.

“What we do is very different. We’ve taken a small, lightweight motorcycle and we’ve manufactured that into an e-bike because it has an application that is different.

“Most e-bikes are built for leisure but, with our market, it is not about supporting fitness, it’s about getting you from A to B as fast as possible.

“It has got built-in lights, an immobiliser, motorcycle controls, indicators, suspension, brakes and tyres so the consumer is getting a motorcycle solution – albeit at a lower speed – without all the costs associated.

“You don’t need a licence. You don’t need insurance. These are usually the biggest costs. It looks great too.

“The basic design came from Honda in the 1990s. They brought out a product that looked similar to what we’ve got but there were no takers. It had a massive battery, it was very expensive and nobody wanted it. It was a different world back then, as we know.

“Our manufacturer in China took on the patent when it lapsed and we own part of that as well.

“We’ve developed it over a period and with each iteration of the product, it’s become more and more on-trend.

“It appeals to a really wide demographic. We’ve got 14/15 year-olds who are using it to go to school and we’ve got mums using it to get around, we’ve got commuters and, of course, the last mile deliverers.

“It’s about 80 per cent B2B at the moment but our consumer side is growing and that’s partially driven by people seeing them at their door and saying ‘I want one of those’.

“The interesting thing is that when I started the business the world was a very different place. It’s only eight years ago and when I look back we’ve seen a massive sea-change.

“Consumers have changed. Every business is, in one way or another, looking to get to net zero. How do we move people? How do we move goods?

“Eight years ago, there was a real reluctance to take on anything electric because there was a nervousness about it.

“But now the spec is so good and it’s getting better all the time. If the battery is fully depleted it takes about seven hours to charge. If you retain about 30 per cent of the battery it takes about an hour and a half.

“It gets you up to 50 miles but we say to customers it will be around 40. They’re electric not magic.

“Ultimately, we can say to potential customers that we can make them more efficient, save them money, make their employees happier and help in the efforts towards net zero. Yes, you have to buy or lease our product but it ticks all of those boxes for you. What’s not to like?”

About Ian O’Connor

Married: No (with partner Natalie for 10 years)

Children: Two – both grown up, two grandchildren and Nat’s daughter, Ruby, who has lived with us since she was three.

Hobbies: Football, no time for anything else!

Favourite Book: Kane & Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

Favourite Film: Forrest Gump

Last Holiday: Spain

Gadget: iPhone