John Truslove helps keep auto engineer on the road to growth

Just a year after a skilled young auto engineer launched his car repair business he has moved into new and bigger premises with help from commercial property agents John Truslove.

Working non-stop through the year of Covid-19, Gavin Cunningham built his vehicle recovery and repair business to the point where he has now transferred to premises five times bigger than his original base in Redditch. At the same time his business has been creating jobs – by the middle of May he will have three mechanics working for him.

Ben Truslove, joint managing director at property agency John Truslove, was instrumental in helping Cunningham’s Autocare find its first set of premises a year ago and he was Gavin Cunningham’s first call when it came time to find somewhere bigger.

The firm has now moved from its 1,115 sq ft unit on the North Moons Moat industrial estate to take up a five year lease on a 5,126 sq ft unit at 39 Heming Road on the Washwood Industrial Estate in Redditch.

“It only took a couple of months,” said Gavin.

“We looked at a few places but I needed to find the right balance of larger space, affordability and location. The new premises are ideal and we can now expand to handle more work and extend our service to cover MOTs as we have the necessary engineering bay.”

“As always, the service from Ben and the team at John Truslove has been perfect. They understood what we were looking for and were able to help us find it in a fairly short time.”

Gavin had originally struggled to find landlords willing to take on a brand new vehicle recovery and repair business as a tenant until the team at John Truslove stepped in last year.

“I wanted a blank canvas where I could create a workshop and business based on everything I have learnt in my career,” he said.

“I have literally built this business from the ground up, exactly as I believe it should be, to provide the best possible service for customers.”

The new venture came after a dark time for Gavin, after losing a job that had seen him rise from a teenage tyre fitter to a regional manager.

But he sold possessions including his car to buy a recovery truck to start the business, enabling him to raise enough money to get his first set of premises.

Since then it has been non-stop. “We kept working throughout Covid, while some other garages shut up shop for a while. It meant we were able to pick up a lot of custom that has stayed with us because of the quality of our work and the way we run things. I believe if you have a positive attitude towards your customers, you will get a positive attitude back from them.

“I’ve been able to take staff on because of the workload and by the middle of May there will be four of us.”

“At the same time I’ve been backed all the way by my wife, Amy, who has kept working while I’ve been building the business. We are now expecting our second baby in the summer, so things are a bit chaotic but in a positive way. It’s been hard work but everything is going in the right direction for us now.”

Ben Truslove, joint managing director of John Truslove, said: “Gavin’s work ethic and drive continues to impress us. It became clear he was going to need bigger premises and fortunately our knowledge of the local commercial property market and our relationships with landlords puts us in the ideal position to help entrepreneurs like him find the right premises when it is time to grow.

“We have forged a strong relationship with Gavin and Cunningham’s Autocare so we were confident in being able to recommend them as a tenant to our landlord client, Evanacre. We look forward to seeing the business continue to thrive.”

Redditch-based chartered surveyors and valuers John Truslove was recently named Most Active Agent in Worcestershire in the Radius Data Exchange survey produced in conjunction with EG, the commercial property market magazine.

Joint managing director Ian Parker was also named Worcestershire Dealmaker of the Year AND Warwickshire Dealmaker of the Year for 2020. The survey year, which runs from August to August, saw John Truslove record a 36% increase in deals negotiated over the 12 months.

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