A Fife-based vehicle repair business which took the decision to aggressively expand during the recession has seen turnover reach £5 million.
A Fife-based vehicle repair business which took the decision to aggressively expand during the recession has seen turnover reach £5 million.
D&G Autocare said it was planning further expansion with the addition of a new garage outlet in Kirkcaldy at the start of next year and another in the Central Belt, taking its overall branch portfolio to 13.
The company was founded in Dunfermline by George Simpson and David Hunter and managed to grow significantly through the teeth of the downturn.
Mr Simpson said the economic downturn was one of the reasons the company had been able to expand so quickly.
“We thought the doom and gloom of the recession was a good time to strike because we thought some other people might take their eye off the ball with marketing,” Mr Simpson said.
“People are taking care of what they’ve got now and our customers are very careful and cautious with their money.”
The business, which employs 70 people, is now planning to add two more locations in Kirkcaldy and Whitburn in the coming months.
“Our business plan has a goal of opening 20 garages and we still have a few years to do it,” Mr Simpson said.
“We have been blessed by employing young, sharp operators in our business who have allowed us to keep expanding without taking our eye off the ball.
“We opened up in the west end of Edinburgh at the end of last year and that’s been very quick to get off the ground.
“Then we opened up Musselburgh to service the other side of Edinburgh this year. Whitburn opens next month and that is part of a plan to expand to the west coast.
“We are also looking to move further north from Perth. Opening a branch in Dundee over the next few years would make sense.”
The company already has outlets in Crossford, Glenrothes, Inverkeithing and Perth as well as two sites in Stirling and Dunfermline and is working on identifying a suitable location in Kirkcaldy which it hopes to move into at the end of this year before opening for business in January.
“Our busiest time of the year is March, so if we open in January that will give us some time to build up to the biggest trading months,” Mr Simpson said.
“We will start with three or four staff in Kirkcaldy and hope to increase that number as the business builds up.”