Steer Automotive Group have fully accelerated their growth plans by acquiring the combined businesses of Apollo Motor Group and Balgores Motors.
The two businesses total 32 repair locations, £90m turnover and 700 staff and their acquisition builds on Steer’s network, extending further into the south of England and increasing Steer’s scale and capacity in the region. Plans are already in place to continue to the development with a number of new sites planned over the second half of the year.
Apollo Motor Group was founded in 1985 by Graham and Tracy Eyles, and has steadily expanded over the last twenty years into the powerhouse it is today with 20 sites located across the South East and South West of England, focussing on providing first class repair services to their long list of insurer clients. Led by the current management team of Paul Clements, Chris Dore, Bradley Eyles and Mark Fletcher the business has a strong reputation nationally for the quality of its operations and in particular its focus on their staff and Academy for which they have won numerous awards.
Balgores Motors was founded in 1982 by owner, Paul Austin. With a strong regional footprint based out of Essex, the business has grown into 12 sites with a heavy bias towards prestige Vehicle Manufacturer approvals which are the envy of many operations. Led by Gary Dench, Steve Austin and Andy Pennell the company has a reputation for the technical quality of its repair operations and the culture of the workforce, many of whom have achieved long service awards.
“I have known Graham, Tracy and Paul for many years and have watched the successful development of their businesses into the superb operations they are today. We have a clear focus on acquiring strong well established businesses that support our growth strategy and when the opportunity presented itself we jumped at the chance to add Apollo and Balgores to our operations. I’d like to personally thank Graham, Tracy and Paul for trusting us with the next chapter in the development of their companies. We are very excited about the prospects and look forward to working with the incumbent management teams on the journey ahead” said Richard Steer, Chief Executive.
Graham and Tracy Eyles said “We’re very proud of what we’ve built at Apollo and when we decided it was time to let someone else take on the baton it was clear that Richard and the team at Steer were the obvious choice to do that. We’d like to thank all our colleagues, customers and partners over the years who have helped us along the way”.
Paul Austin said “Over the last 40 years Balgores has become synonymous with quality repairs and outstanding customer service but now is the time for Steer Automotive Group to take the business forward. I look forward to seeing the business continue to prosper and thank everyone involved who has supported us in making Balgores what it is today”.
Apollo Motors Group, Balgores Motors take the existing Steer portfolio to 93 repair locations and over 2,200 colleagues.