The microcomputer rental company CCA Computer Group has opened an Applecentre in its Imperial Studios base in London. The Applecentre Chelsea, which is actually located in a smartly converted bus depot on Imperial Road, Fulham, will cater to those wishing to buy as well as rent. For hire will be desk top communications packages, laser printers and many of the models from the Macintosh personal computer range. Equipment can be taken out for periods of anything from a day to a year, or more if need be. Among the machinery available will be the 15.7MHz 68020-based Macintosh II at UKP123 per day, and the LaserWriter IINTX, also driven by a 68020 processor, which can be leased for UKP112 daily. The biggest benefit of the centre is that it gives customers the opportunity to evaluate machines and peripherals without gambling large sums of capital in the process. CCA is privately-owned, with backing from 3i and the Close Brothers merchant bank, who between them own about 70% of the business. The Applecentre alone employs a team of 15 people, out of a total workforce of 85 split between London and Cambridge. The UKP8m-a year group was formed in 1984 and is run by three executives whose experience lies more in selling than in any form of technical development, though the Applecentre director has been with Apple since the company began. CCA also deals in Compaq and IBM equipment, and rates decrease the longer the hire-period. A Compaq Deskpro 386/20 costs UKP594 per month for 12 months against UKP229 for a single day; an Epson FX1000 with tractor can be had for UKP30 weekly and UKP65 for a month. There is also a Rental Conversion Scheme, which allows clients who are leasing to convert and buy the equipment outright.
