Double Joy for Fix Auto UK as the Group Welcomes Two New Franchise Partners

Fix Auto UK’s relentless pace to constantly grow and strengthen its network of independently owned repair centres shows no abating – with the announcement of another double appointment. 

The Group has welcomed Autocraft Express Accident Repair Shrewsbury, which is situated close to the centre of the historic Shropshire town where it takes its name, and Verrall’s  Accident Repair Ltd in West Sussex to the network. They will now operate as Fix Auto Shrewsbury and Fix Auto Worthing respectively.

Managed by Jake Hodnett for the past five years, the new Fix Auto Shrewsbury centre is part of  the Telford-based Autocraft Group Ltd.

The 5,500sq ft repair centre joins the network fresh from achieving its BS10125. The bodyshop boasts a team of seven technicians who are currently repairing up to 25 vehicles a week.  Strategically, the site is perfectly positioned to fill the void between Fix Auto UK centres in Birmingham and Wolverhampton and its well-established repair centre Fix Auto Oswestry on the Welsh border.

Said Jake: “We’ve acted as a second-tier support centre for the network for a while so we have had a taste of what the organisation can bring to the business. I am super ambitious and want to grow and develop the site further. Stepping up and joining as a full-blown Franchise Partner is that next step for us.”

Fix Auto Worthing is owned and managed by Jack Verrall, a 35-year-old hugely talented spray painter who is still very much active in the workshop thanks to the support of close family who he relies upon to oversee all operational duties.

Impressively, the seed to join the network was first sown while Jack honed his trade at a former Fix Auto UK centre before packing his spray gun and heading off for an adventure working his way around Australia. It was on his return to the UK five years ago he decided to set up his own business. Since then, and through a hard-earned word of mouth reputation, Jack has steadily built up his business which is now housed in a 6,000 sq ft state-of-the-art unit that, through a programme of personal investment including installing a highly efficient spraybooth that also accommodates commercial vehicles, in   preparation for joining.

Said Jack: “I am ambitious, but I have always tried to walk with my business before I can run with it. We have carefully built up a great reputation by simply repairing vehicles to the highest standards possible. We have now got processes in place and we have recently passed our BS10125, to take the business to that next level which is why I’ve joined Fix Auto UK. I’ve seen first-hand when I worked at a former Fix Auto site just how the network can help a business and I am now ready to be part of it.”

Fix Auto UK’s Operations Director Mark Hutchins,  commented: “We are in an extremely fortunate position whereby we’re able to honour our promise to both our Franchise Partners and our insurer clients to strengthen the network in key, strategic, locations.

“Jake runs an extremely efficient team at Fix Auto Shrewsbury, that site perfectly complements to our established centres in the Midlands. What Jack has achieved in a relatively short amount of time is inspiring. Both are extremely ambitious, too, which is the perfect quality when bringing new businesses on board.”