Phil Newstead,  Managing Director, commented “We have always worked very closely with the overseas Dent Wizard businesses and, as the amount of severe Hail increases, we thought it was time to promote this service across the globe.”

Whilst Hail in the UK is generally seen a nuisance in other markets it can cause significant damage and become a major hazard within the automotive market, right across mainland Europe, South Africa, Australia and North America Hail is a major problem. In Germany and Switzerland last year hail caused major damage to tens of thousands of cars and Dent Wizard was the preferred repair for many body shops and insurers. The Dent Wizard approach is simple we use the highest skilled labour resource and provide a cost effect and efficient repair method to ensure the cars are repaired back to an as new standard as quickly as possible.

Phil went on to say “We have a partnership agreement in place with both Dent Wizard GMBH (Germany) and Dent Wizard Inc (USA) to provide skilled PDR labour resource; when hail hits these markets we all work together to ensure we have the right techs in place quickly to get the customer back on track.

2011 was a record Hail season for Dent Wizard and 2012 looks equally promising, we are very keen to hear from experienced sub contractors who believe they have the skills to work with the Dent Wizard team.

Dent Wizard offer excellent rates of pay, good credit terms and assistance with shipping, accommodation, tooling and travel.

For further information please go to our new Hail Repairs website.

Business Update

Despite the uncertain economic climate we’re delighted to report that our business is performing strongly in 2012, with network revenues well ahead of the same period last year and some really exciting news in the pipeline.  We have already won significant new business with British Car Auctions, Auto Protect and Mercedes-Benz (see below) and there is more to come in the near future, including approval from another major manufacturer.  Of course, this is great news for our franchisee network who will see the benefit of nationally-negotiated business delivered directly to them.

To help satisfy this increased demand we are now actively seeking self-motivated, and enthusiastic individuals to join our franchise network of owner-operators – opportunities currently exist with all three of our brands.  We’ll provide you with knowledge, expertise and back-up to run a successful business – you supply the hard work and dedication.  You can operate your business from home and we take care of your invoicing and cash flow right from the very start.  Although you will need to have some of your own capital available, we have a preferential arrangement with a leading UK bank to help you finance your start-up.

For more information  contact John Warren on 01675 471150 or 07824 348040 for a Franchise Information Pack.

Phil Newstead
Managing Director

Franchisee Of The Year

Jim Crossland, Wheel Wizard franchisee for Telford and Shrewsbury was awarded the company’s prestigious “Franchisee of the Year” title at an annual awards dinner held at the Forest of Arden Country Club.  Jim only joined the network in January 2011 but the planning and research he carried out before launching his business enabled him to hit the ground running and show an impressive profit in his first year of trading.

Managing Director Phil Newstead commented “Jim won this award on the basis of  his hard work and his commitment to making the business a success.  His dedication to customer service marks him out as a worthy award winner and we all look forward to working with him in the future as he takes  his franchise to the next level.”

Jim couldn’t be more delighted, saying “Winning this award has topped off a momentous year in my life.  The Wheel Wizard team have supported me all the way and I have every confidence that my business will go from strength to strength in 2012”

Flying High with Mercedes-Benz

Flying Colours, part of Dent Wizard Ventures, has been appointed a preferred repairer for Daimler Insurance Services Ltd, the insurance division of Mercedes-Benz UK.

Specialising in Smart repairs, Flying Colours operate a dedicated fleet of vans to undertake repairs at customer work or home addresses across the UK. This service, in conjunction with a new appointment booking system and enhanced repair options, is designed to provide an unrivalled repair experience for Mercedes-Benz customers.

Says Phil Newstead Managing Director of Flying Colours “To be working with such a prestigious brand as Mercededs-Benz is testament to the fantastic repair service that we offer.  Feedback from both Mercedes-Benz and ITAS who manage their UK bodyshop programme has been very positive and we look forward to consolidating our relationship over the coming months.”

New Business from Auto Protect

Auto Protect is the UK’s leading provider of specialist SMART warranty products.  The company has recently extended its relationship with Flying Colours, Dent Wizard and Wheel Wizard to service the claims generated under their insured warranty schemes.

Michael McVeigh Operations Director at  Auto Protect commented “Awarding a solus deal to Dent Wizard was an easy decision to make because they always deliver in terms of service, quality and price.  We expect to pass in excess of £1m of work to them under this new arrangement; they are now an integrated and vital part of our supply partnership.”

The arrangement will see the Dent Wizard team repairing a significant number of vehicles spread throughout the UK, including wheel dent and SMART repairs.  The mobile service is completed to a manufacturer-approved standard and is the first arrangement of this type in the UK.

Dan’s the Man for Wheels in Leeds

Dan Besau, Dent Wizard‘s established Leeds-based franchisee  continues to roll his business forward with the acquisition of a Wheel Wizard franchise to run alongside his existing operation.  With a steadily growing customer base for his dent repair business Dan recognised that there was also a great opportunity for refurbishing alloy wheels.  Says Dan “It became to clear to me that our customers lacked a quality wheel repair service – the Wheel Wizard franchise was the obvious solution. I have launched 2 vans initially and demand is such that I expect to have 7 vans operating by the end of the year. ”

Wheel Wizard is the UK’s fastest growing provider of alloy wheel repair services.   We are  very keen to meet with prospective franchisees who would like to launch their own Wheel Wizard franchise and share in our success within this growing market.

Open Days at Dent Wizard – 10th and 11th May

Our Open Days are a great opportunity to see the Dent Wizard business at first hand and decide whether it is “right” for you.   One of the attractions of our franchise is that we take care of much of your administration and finance, including collecting the cash on your behalf!  This leaves you free to concentrate on doing the actual business of vehicle repairs whether it’s dents, wheels or paint.  So we’ll talk you through how our franchise model works including your training, the marketing and admin support available, national contracts and finances.  There’s be a workshop demonstration from one of our technician trainers and of course plenty of opportunity to ask questions.  We’ll also have one of our existing franchise owners on hand for you to speak to.  It’s very informal, lasting a couple of hours, and there’s definitely NO hard sell – we don’t need to!

The next Open days are planned for Thursday 10^th and Friday 11^th May, morning (10am) or afternoon (2pm) to suit you.  If you would like to reserve a place then please call me as soon as possible either on 07824 348040 or 01675 471150.  Alternatively if these dates are unsuitable please contact me and we can make other arrangements to meet with you.

John Warren has recently joined the Dent Wizard team to lead the expansion of the company’s UK franchise network.  John has over 20 years experience within the franchise sector, including several years spent as a franchisee so he has seen the benefits of franchising from both sides.

Says John, “I’m delighted to be joining the Dent Wizard business at this exciting time in its development.  There is a massive amount of potential in the automotive repair sector and I believe that Dent Wizard’s unique customer and franchise offer makes us perfectly placed to benefit from this.  I’m looking forward to bringing new franchisees into our network in the coming months and helping them build a profitable business”

If you want to know more about franchising with Dent Wizard, Wheel Wizard or Flying Colours then John can be contacted on 01675 471170 or through this web form.

Phil Newstead congratulates Neville Cooke, winner of Technician of The Year

The main focus of the evening was to award and congratulate those members of the team who had excelled in 2011 and to look towards the opportunities that 2012 would bring.

To kick off the event Phil Newstead outlined the strategy for 2012 and gave a summary of the prior year’s performance, he commented “Whilst 2011 was a challenging year for the UK economy Dent Wizard Ventures bucked the trend, revenues across all key sectors were ahead of budget and ahead of prior year. Despite the challenging conditions in many of our markets we gained market share, maintained our price position and drove more profit from the relevant markets. The dealer sector was challenging but revenue increased over prior year and market share grew, the insurance sector saw major growth (from a standing start in March 2011 we have forecast revenues of over £1M in 2012), and this immature market will continue to grow. The acquisition of the corporate re-marketing techs from Manheim also completed in Jan 2012 and this will bring an additional £750K in revenue to the business in 2012.”

Speaking with a particular focus on the Franchise sector Phil commented “We always knew 2011 was going to be a hard year to recruit new franchisees, and our main focus was to grow the team steadily and to concentrate on developing our existing franchisees businesses, with growth in this sector and the recruitment of 5 new franchisees we achieved the goals we set ourselves.”

The awards were split into 5 categories to represent the whole spectrum of the members of the dent wizard team, and the winners are detailed below.

Franchisee of the Year (Sole Operator)

Winner: Paul Ogden (Dent Wizard Northampton)

Having been a member of the network for several years, Paul has developed a profitable business in the Northampton area, always striving to deliver the highest repair standard Paul is one of the leading Dent Technicians in the UK and his passion and commitment t the Dent Wizard business is the main reason he was awarded this accolade. Paul Commented ” I am honoured to be recognised as one of the key players within the network, and to receive this award is a great achievement considering the strength of the overall network.”

Franchisee of the Year (Multiple Operator)

Winner: Paul Morris  (Flying Colours and Wheel Wizard Stoke on Trent)

Being one of the original Flying Colours Franchisees mean Paul is one of the most experienced SMART repairers to run alongside his Flying Colours franchise in the UK, he has expanded his business by acquiring the Wheel Wizard franchise and has developed a successful route for this business. Paul is always keen to help out and has been a major support at many national accounts, a solid and reliable member of the Dent Wizard team.

Paul commented “To be recognised as Franchisee of the year is great and I look forward to continue to grow and develop my business.”

Franchise Achievement Award

 Winner: Ian Hobson (Dent Wizard Leeds)

Ian is the senior technician for Dan Besau the franchise owner for Dent Wizard Leeds, he has played a key role in developing the business from a two tech business to the multiple operator business which it is today. Ian is a true ambassador for the Dent Wizard brand and the West Yorkshire business.

New Franchisee of the Year

Winner Jim Crossland (Wheel Wizard Stoke)

Prior to launching his business in Q1 2012, Jim contacted every potential customer in his territory and carried out a huge amount of research, at launch he flew from day one and is well on his to developing a tremendous business. Jim commented “Starting my own business was always going to be a big step, but selecting Wheel Wizard is the best move I have ever made.”

Corporate Technician of the Year

Winner:  Neville Clark  (Rugby)

Neville has been a solid and reliable technician in the 10+ years he has worked with Flying Colours, he was the first technician to join the newly formed insurance division and has been constant guardian of exceptional customer service standards.

Phil Newstead with Nelson Rodriguez

North London Franchisee Nelson Rodriguez has recently passed another milestone and has brought another employee into his rapidly expanding business. Nelson originally joined us as a Dent Wizard franchisee, he then added both Wheel Wizard and Flying Colours to his portfolio, with sales now topping £12K per month he has taken the bold step to add another employee to his stable. Nelson commented “The last few years have been hard, but I followed the plan laid down by the Dent Wizard Team, my repair skills are now second to none and my customer base is rapidly expanding.”

Phil Newstead Dent Wizard Ventures MD commented “Nelson was always going to succeed his hard work no nonsense approach has built him a solid reputation with the customers within his area, this is the next logical step and I am sure his business will continue to grow. I have absolute admiration for Nelson when we first met he had just arrived in the UK from Columbia, he has faced a lot of challenges but has overcome them all with a smile that hides steely determination.”

Nelson added “The work that Dent Wizard pass to me every day has been core to my success, I knew I would have to build my own customer base but the support from Phil and his team has been second to none, I would not be where I am today without them.”

This means that Wheel Wizard and Dent Wizard is now the approved repairer for all Wheel claims generated under the policies that are sold through this manufacturer approved scheme, the launch of the agreement was conducted at the Williams F1 Team headquarters on Oxfordshire.

The launch was attended by all the regional dealer relationship managers, and a number of senior Land Rover and Jaguar executives, the Wheel Wizard demo was completed by Jim Crossland the Franchisee for the Shropshire area, this was supported by a technical presentation given by Darren Lowe.

“This is the first manufacturer approved Wheel Repair product we have launched and to be working with two of the strongest UK automotive brands and to be a supplier to the UK’s leading insurance provider in AutoProtect is testament to the fantastic repair service that we offer, feedback from both Jaguar and Land Rover has all been positive and we look forward to working with the relevant teams to take this product to market.”  Commented Phil Newstead.

Michael McVeigh, Operations Director of Auto Protect added “When selecting a repair partner we look for two key elements, the highest technical repair standard and an outstanding approach to customer care, Wheel Wizard and Dent Wizard excelled in both these areas, and we are looking forward to working with the Wheel Wizard and Dent Wizard team on this strategically important link with Land Rover and Jaguar.”

The SMART Protect Policy is sold by dealers and provides up to three years of cover for dent, dings, scuffs, scratches and alloy wheel repairs all repairs are completed at the customer home address, further details are available from the Auto Protect Web site.

There was considerable competition for the Franchisee Of The Year award and it was very close but ultimately this prestigious accolade was awarded to Nelson Rodriguez who covers both Dent Wizard and Flying Colours in the North London area. Managing Director Phil Newstead said “Nelson has worked tirelessly over the last year and has successfully taken on an extra franchise – his dedication and commitment to getting the job done and keeping customers happy is a great example to everyone else. Congratulations Nelson!”.