Garage design business drives towards £15m turnover target
A garage design and equipment supplier which is run by entrepreneurial brothers and counts BMW, Lamborghini and Porsche as clients is targeting £15m turnover this year.
Hull-based JD Garage Equipment designs garage layouts and installs equipment for some of the UK’s largest car dealerships. The company is run by James and Nicolas Everard, who acquired the business from their father John.
Customers include Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Renault, Lamborghini and Porsche via dealerships such as Sytner, Pendragon, Vertu, BMW UK and Renault Retail Group.
The growth of JD Garage Equipment has been boosted by three investments totalling £427,000 from Finance Yorkshire’s Business Loan fund.
The loans provided working capital that helped the business to increase turnover from £2.3m to £10.9m over the past four years while increasing its profit margin. The workforce has grown to 72 staff.
JD Garage Equipment moved to larger headquarters near the M62 last year and has acquired land to build an extension, which will expand the floorspace by 50%.
James Everard said: “We operate in an industry where many traditional companies have failed to innovate. We run a dynamic business that prides itself on the new concepts, designs and ideas that we present to our customers.
“The business is experiencing tremendous growth – we plan to be turning over £15m by our next year-end in March 2018. Word of mouth is helping us to identify and recruit talented people to support that growth.”
He added that JD Garage Equipment had recently set up a division that will supply vehicle lifts to multi-storey car park operators.
Finance Yorkshire chief executive Alex McWhirter said: “JD Garage Equipment is an exciting business with tremendous potential. They have grown their customer base by offering a fresh approach coupled with excellent customer service.
“Our investments were critical at a time of rapid growth when the business required working capital. I’m delighted that we have been able to support their success and look forward to seeing the business continue to expand.”
