Consolidation of repair workshops is an industry trend affecting Australia and the world. In a two-part feature, Barry Edney takes a look at a different model from the UK and how it is helping businesses bounce back from the COVID shutdowns.
In my reports on the European collision repair market over the past couple of years, I’ve increasingly been mentioning the growth of consolidators and repairer groups. These groups became more and more frustrated by the old model, where shops trade volume for price, leading to many busybody shops but few profitable ones.
One of the groups that has emerged since the COVID lock down is Evolution Repair Group, founded by Anthony Heard of Braintree Motor Works. I have reported on Anthony’s business in past editions of NCR before COVID and before the launch of Evolution, so I thought it would be worthwhile to catch up with Anthony and find out why he founded Evolution, and his plans for the future.
For background, Evolution isn’t a network of owned shops like many of the consolidators. It is a group of independent shops collaborating to improve business performance, share expertise and to develop a common approach under a common banner.
I had such a great discussion with Anthony, the challenge was deciding what to leave out rather than what to include in this edition. I’ll begin with the early days of Evolution and next month, I’ll share more from Anthony.
Barry Edney: Can you tell us about how the group came about?
Anthony Heard: It all started when COVID hit, and I had to shut down my business. At that time, we had 19 staff members. I reviewed options with my accountant to check how long we could manage without trading. The bottom line was we had to make the tough decision to let nine people go. That was heart breaking. These are people I consider friends, and it was one of the hardest moments of my life. I even cried in the workshop. Fortunately, I was able to help those nine find new jobs but the thought of losing my business was devastating.
BE: What did you do after shutting down the business?
AH: Driving home that day, I realised many others must be in the same situation. I reached out to ten body shops I knew and asked how they were coping. Everyone was struggling, fearing they’d lose their businesses too.
We were about to have our best year ever, with a record profit expected. Our model of repairing fewer cars for more money was working well so I decided to help other body shop owners. Since COVID restrictions left body shops empty, I was able to visit and evaluate their operations without getting in the way or worrying about disrupting day to day activities. I offered to help them improve their operations if they paid me a monthly fee. Ten agreed, but after three months of free consulting, eight backed out. I was left with only two committed shops as our foundation.
BE: How did you help these body shops?
AH: I focused on showing them how to analyse profit per job instead of just looking at monthly totals, like jobs completed and total turnover. This approach helped them see which jobs were profitable and which were not. Over time, we grew from those initial two clients to 36 body shops. We share best practices and support each other. This collaboration led to the formation of what we now call Evolution Repair Group.
BE: How did Braintree Motor Group become Evolution Repair Group?
AH: Initially, we were called Braintree Motor Group, but we rebranded to Evolution Repair Group to better reflect our mission and growth. We started with five shops and kept growing. Now, we have 35 body shops subscribing monthly to share best practices. The idea is simple: what works in one body shop can work in another. We repair cars in fundamentally the same way but have different methods that we can learn from each other.
BE: The last time we spoke, you mentioned that you also buy as a group. How does that work?
AH: By banding together, we’ve gained significant buying power. For example, our group now gets the highest parts discount in the UK, similar to the large consolidators. Individually, we had little bargaining power, but collectively, we’re a major customer. This has allowed us to negotiate better rates and terms, significantly reducing costs.
BE: I understand there is a strong sense of community amongst the members. How did you build that?
AH: We put a lot of effort into constant communication and support. We have a big WhatsApp group where everyone checks in daily. If someone needs a courtesy car, van or extra staff, others step up to help. It’s a real community where everyone supports each other, which also strengthens our bargaining power with suppliers and insurers.
BE: How has Evolution Repair Group expanded since you started operating?
AH: We’ve added more staff to support our members. Chris Weeks, who used to lead the NBRA (UKs national body shop association), is now our managing director. We have operations and procurement specialists who help body shops with everything from daily operations to negotiating better deals on parts. This means we can provide much more support and drive profitability for all our members.
We also created our own insurance brokerage because we were frustrated by the slow claims process. By acting as the broker, we can handle claims from day one, reducing delays. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also increases efficiency and profitability for our clients. Currently, we insure vehicles for about 45 companies, and this number is growing steadily.
BE: What’s next for the group?
AH: We’re continually looking to expand and improve. Our focus is on sharing best practices and data to help each shop maximize profitability. We also plan to hold regional meetings and one large national meeting in July to keep everyone engaged and informed. Our goal is to ensure every member thrives, and we’re always exploring new ways to add value to our community of members.
BE: Can you tell us a bit about your background and how it led to the formation of your estimating business?
AH: I’ve been an estimator my entire life, and during my visits to various shops, I noticed significant gaps and missed items in their estimates. For example, I remember one shop where I kept seeing the same errors. I kept trying to correct these mistakes with repeated training, but the problems persisted. This led me to call my business partner, Paul Godard, and suggest creating our own estimating training company. Paul gave this some thought and then suggested that instead of just training, we could offer complete estimating services. This idea became the foundation of our current company Arturo, which is now the largest outsourced estimating company in the UK.
BE: How has Arturo company grown since it started?
AH: Our estimating team now has 13 people, and we handle around 1,200 estimates a month for 60 to 70 body shops across the country. All our estimators work from home, which allows them to focus solely on estimating without the usual distractions found in a body shop.