Former VW Rotherham duo launched specialist garage following redundancy blow
Two South Yorkshire entrepreneurs who were made redundant when Rotherham’s VW garage was forced to close during the pandemic are celebrating the success of their new business venture Volkstech as it marks its first anniversary.
Ashley Knowles and Marc Peasegood, technicians with a passion for the automotive industry and over 25 years’ experience between them, were Initially put on furlough before being told they had lost their jobs in June 2020.
However, the ambitious duo decided to use their redundancy pay out to launch their own specialist garage in Maltby, Rotherham, as well as using kickstart funding from UKSE which they invested in advertising their business. A huge Christmas flyer drop saw a surge in bookings for the garage.
One year on the pair are now on track to expand their expert team and specialist services having established a dedicated customer base
Commenting on the successful venture Marc Peasegood said: “The last year has been a rollercoaster for myself and the team, coming out the other side we are incredibly grateful especially with the significant loss of industry facilitated by the pandemic.
“Celebrating 1-year of our own business feels like a dream come true and with the support of UKSE we were fortunate enough to hit the ground running. Looking to the future we are now in a position to expand, and we are in a position where we are looking to take on an apprentice and eventually gain an MOT testing license.”
Steve Lyon, Regional Executive at UKSE said: “Ashley and Marc have worked incredibly hard over the last year to turn the challenges presented by the pandemic into a positive – launching a fantastic business with real growth potential.
”They are now on track to expand their team, and we are delighted to have been able to support them over their first official year.
“We are confident that they will continue to succeed, and we wish them all the best moving forward.”
UKSE also provides loan and equity finance of up to £1m to existing companies which are growing, particularly those creating jobs.
