Fix Auto reaches £2m support milestone

Fix Auto UK has secured more than £2m in government grant support and business rates reliefs for franchisee partners since the start of lockdown.

It says cash flow is vital for the survival of its independently owned businesses along with its own repair centres as the industry battles against the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

That milestone was reached when Fix Auto Ayr received notification late last week that, on appeal, it had been successful with its application for a £25,000 retail grant.

Furthermore, Fix Auto estimates that it has helped generate more than £600,000 for independent repairers outside its network after offering support and guidance to the industry. One of the successes was with Steer Automotive Group, which was  successful in applying for grants and rates relief for eight of its nine sites with one still pending.

Fix Auto UK’s managing director Ian Pugh said: We have unlocked more than £2m for our franchisees and our own repair centres in grants and retail rates relief and all because we challenged the system and refused to take no for an answer when our applications were initially refused.

“While we are seeing the first tentative steps of improvement in business, as an industry we clearly have a long way to go in this fight of ours and that’s before we experience the second wave we are being led to believe could come. In a business where cash is key, every penny goes towards safeguarding a business and I urge those repairers who clearly operate a retail service to apply for local authority grant support if they haven’t done so already,” Pugh added.

Steer Automotive Group chief executive Richard Steer said: “It has been said the coronavirus has brought our industry together and I couldn’t agree more. While we were aware of the retail grants, in truth we, like many repairers, really didn’t explore it as a possibility until Ian went public with Fix Auto’s achievements.

“I reached out to Ian who put me in touch with Rob Pugh and he gave us guidance on the steps they had taken to successfully apply for grants and rates relief. The message is simple, if you offer a retail repair service then, if you haven’t already, contact your local authority and do not take no for an answer – it may help save your business.”