With help from Redditch property agents John Truslove, award-winning businessman and serial entrepreneur, Mike Smith, has set up a ChipsAway franchise in Bromsgrove with the intention of expanding it out to further locations in the Midlands.
The new ChipsAway business has opened in a 4,241 sq ft unit on Bruntsford Park Road on a five year lease; the plan being to make Bromsgrove into a superhub and then establish a number of satellite offices around the region.
ChipsAway is an international automotive repair business for bodywork scratches, employing the industry-standard, in-house developed, SMART system. Bumper scuffs, alloy wheel scrapes, dents and the like also fall within the scope of work undertaken by Mr Smith and his team of fully-qualified, SMART repair specialists.
The business already operates at both the static site at Units 1 & 2 on Buntsford Park Industrial Estate and mobile units. This facilitates year-round repair-work, including large panel resprays, being carried out regardless of the weather while also allowing the flexibility of carrying out certain repairs at the customer’s premises.
Ben Truslove, a director of John Truslove, said: “Mike is a remarkable man, highly personable, with a wealth of business acumen. We were very pleased to be able to assist him and I am sure the new venture will prove a great success.”
Mr Smith’s CV takes in Thorn Electrical, Mars Corporation, GKN and the Marley Group. He has been an adviser to the Ministry of Defence on supplier contracts including parts for Warrior armoured vehicles, Chieftain tanks and Harrier jump jets. And he has his own business arm, Court Hall Associates.
Based in Worcestershire and Surrey, he maintains ChipsAway is completely different from anything he has done before. His interest was sparked by a minor car accident that necessitated calling the firm out, and, when he looked into it, the business appealed.
ChipsAway, part of the Franchise Brands group along with Ovenclean, has around 300 franchisees across the UK.
