Jonathan has been described as a serial entrepreneur, which he does not encourage as he prefers to be viewed as a businessman. He took an early interest in the developments in information technology which resulted in his close relationships and support to develop such brands as Acer into the UK marketplace through his PDS trade distribution brand. This helped foster the POS solutions business which was acquired by DGL, a £220m image and print business and Mr Parish resided on the Business Board until 2012 with a focus on business development and acquisition.

Jonathan is also a Trustee of SCT, which is a Charitable Trust delivering an annual income of £30m and which is responsible for an asset portfolio of £180m with respect to health and leisure facilities. These include the English Institute of Sport which has helped develop world class Olympic athletes such as Jessica Ennis-Hill together with a plethora of paraplegic athletes. Its entertainment facilities include the Motorpoint Arena, which has hosts UK, international and a variety of other events which help support the Charitable Trust’s key objectives. Mr Parish finds this work both inspiring and also rewarding and communicated that he has learnt a great deal over recent years from his involvement and interaction with other board colleagues that have such a wide diversity of knowledge.

In addition to the above Mr Parish, has a number of other commercial interests both in the UK and abroad but he always finds time to enjoy the Algarve which has become his family’s second home.

Current Projects

Jonathan founded VDL Car Hire with the support of his commercial team in response to receiving what he described as indifferent service and confusing commercial practices from both local and global car rental companies during his many years of traveling around the world. It was his goal to provide a simple, straightforward and transparent process to car hire, delivering real customer value!

VDL Car Hire was launched with the aim of enhancing the market by offering an innovative and extremely customer focused service with an emphasis on quality and value resulting in the delivery a fluid transition process from arrival to departure for all our customers.

Based on this vision, VDL Car Hire was initially established in the Algarve and is focused on providing a premier service for both visitors and residents of the Vale Do Lobo area.