National expansion plans for vehicle repair business
A multi-million pound deal will see DHMB, Yorkshire’s largest cosmetic vehicle repairer, set to expand throughout the UK.
Phil Newstead, an experienced Yorkshire businessman, has become the co-owner of the Leeds-based company.
He joins founder Dan Besau at the helm of DHMB, which boasts most of the county’s major car dealerships among its clients.
DHMB’s trading names are Dentrepairs.co.uk, SMARTrepairs.co.uk and Wheelrepairs.co.uk.
Newstead explained: “This is a very important deal and will enable the company to expand rapidly. Both Dan and I have rock solid experience of the SMART repair industry and we have a joint vision to develop the business throughout the UK.
“The next obvious market for expansion for us is the Greater Manchester area and this plan will be executed next year.
“We have an initial aim to double our tech base to 100 technicians over the next two years and double our turnover to £8m. The longer-term plan is to continue the geographical expansion through the Midlands with an aim of eventually providing nationwide coverage.
“At the moment, the SMART repair supply base is very fragmented and dominated by small independent operators. We believe that by strategic expansion and acquisition, we can build a national network that can then service customers with a national requirement.
“Whilst all growth to date has been organic, we are also keen to look at acquisitions and we will target similar successful independent SMART repairers.
“We can both see that our future is in providing a quality SMART repair offering across all of the UK, to warranty companies, insurers, dealer groups and vehicle remarketing companies.
“In these difficult, muddled days of Brexit, it is great to get a positive deal over the line. This is a real Yorkshire success story.”
Newstead explained that the company had been a franchise of Dent Wizard Ventures Limited (DWV) for 12 years.
During that time he was the managing director of DWV and worked closely with Besau to develop the business by introducing SMART repairs services and wheel repair services.
This resulted in the rapid expansion of DHMB, which now generates revenue in excess of £4m per year and has around 50 staff.
Newstead completed an MBO to buy DWV in 2011 from Manheim. He then developed the business from a very small base to a turnover of £6m, before selling the company for £16m to Amtrust two years ago.
Besau said: “This is a tremendous deal for the company. I have known Phil for years and his experience of this sector is second to none. His vision and commitment will be invaluable and will enable us to go to another level entirely.
“We have gone from strength to strength in recent years. The mobile business has proved popular and successful and, when I spotted a gap in the market for high-end alloy wheel repairs, I had the confidence to go for it, too.
“We already have a formidable client list, including many of the quality Yorkshire dealerships such as Bentley Leeds; BMW Leeds, Harrogate, York and Bradford; Mercedes Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and York; Ferrari Leeds; Aston Martin Leeds; and Audi York and Harrogate.”
