![The vintage Airstream caravan is hugely popular and is among those which people can hire under the Camplify business ...](/content/dam/images/g/m/g/6/j/f/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gu824u.png/1486520986254.jpg)
![](/web/20170303070509im_/http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/1/4/4/8/9/0/image.imgtype.afrAuthorAvatar.120x120.png/1435477665366.png)
Newly-listed motorhome group Apollo Tourism & Leisure has become the biggest shareholder in Camplify, which uses a similar business model to online marketplace Airbnb to enable people to hire out a motorhome or a caravan from private owners anywhere in Australia.
Apollo has spent $1.75 million acquiring a 25 per cent stake in Camplify, set up in 2014 with original backers including the NRMA road motorists organisation and Artesian Capital.
Apollo chief executive Luke Trouchet said on Wednesday the deal gave the company a serious position in an emerging growth area which may in the future be a disrupter of its own business model.
"We've got a seat at the table. There is potential for disruption but we're not seeing any of it at the moment," he said.
Apollo on Wednesday also announced an acquisition of a traditional motorhomes and caravans retail business in Penrith in Sydney's west, for which it also paid $1.75 million.
It has bought 100 per cent of Sydney RV, which is one of the biggest retail outlets for new and used caravans, and motorhomes, in Sydney, selling 900 of them during 2015-16 along with a range of accessories.
"It was a nice fit," Mr Trouchet said. It will be managed as a stand-alone operation by current general manager Norman Roe, who sold his 25 per cent stake for a mixture of cash and Apollo shares priced at $1.386 each.
The other main shareholder was paid cash and is heading home to the United Kingdom.
Mr Trouchet said the Camplify acquisition wouldn't soak up much capital, and having the backing of the NRMA had given Apollo extra confidence in the business which was expanding its customer base fast as cashed-up Baby Boomers and "grey nomads" looked for different experiences.
"That gave us a lot of confidence," he said.
The peer-to-peer model attracted a new set of customers who were mainly local people wanting to transact with others in their local catchment area to hire a different range of vehicles which could encompass a 30-foot caravan, a trendy Airstream vintage silver caravan or a high-end Winnebago motorhome. It was a complementary operation which filled a geographic gap.
"If you're in northern NSW you're not going to drive all the way down to Sydney to pick up one of our motorhomes," Mr Trouchet said.
Apollo, which listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in early November, 2016 after a float with an issue price of $1, has a total of 3,000 vehicles in its fleet across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It has 9 per cent of the motorhome rental market in the United States and is preparing to open new outlets in Florida and New York to try and claw away more market share as the country undergoes a radical political shift under new president Donald Trump.
Apollo's existing rental vehicle business in the United States is based on the west coast. Apollo shares were trading at $1.31 at noon on Wednesday.