A fifth of service garages face closure in the face of rising costs
publication date: Nov 15, 2008
| The UK's service and repair sector will lose £2 billion over the next five years, forcing the closure of one in five garages. | |
| As recession plunges the sector into crisis, the market will contract by 5pc in the years to 2013, culminating in the loss of £400 million per annum. According to the ‘Castrol Professional Car Service & Repair Trend Tracker 2008' report, the decline is on top of previous falls of 14.5pc from 2000-2004 and 6.5pc from 2004-2008. Combined the market is predicted to drop a massive 26pc in the 13 years since the millennium. |  |
| As a result, the number of service and repair outlets will fall by 19pc by 2013. The forecast drop comes after years of decline - Trend Tracker said there had been a 17pc fall in outlets since 2003. While the report said most of these closures would be borne by the independent sector, it predicted the franchised workshop sector would decrease by 15pc. The only sector reported to have good prospects was the relatively small manufacturer-authorised repairer sector, with up to 32pc more sites forecast to open over the next five years. | |