ATS Euromaster, which supplies fleets with a range of services including tyres, MoTs, exhausts and brakes, is planning to cut the number of its UK centres from 450 to 370.

Due to an ongoing review, it is not known whether these centres will be sold or closed.

“The company intends to operate with fewer but larger service centres that will offer enhanced facilities,” said an ATS spokesman.

“Around 80 service centres are affected. However, in order to reduce the number of redundancies we are doing everything we can to re-deploy as many people as possible.”

Chris Hufflett, ATS group operations director, added: “Motorists and fleet managers are having to become more efficient, and the service we offer needs to reflect that.”

ATS will focus on three divisions – retail, comprehensive and truck – and will upgrade some of its remaining centres as well as investing in its 1,100-strong van fleet.

The network reduction will leave ATS’s main rival, Kwik-Fit, with a substantial lead. Kwik-Fit operates 662 centres.

Its other big rival, Nationwide Autocentres, has more than 220 centres and is planning to grow by around 25 sites a year to a minimum network size of 400 centres.