Halfords Autocentres has identified Scotland as a major development area for the business and will be opening new sites to significantly boost its Scottish presence.
Halfords Autocentres has 247 garages, only 10 of which are in Scotland. The company believes there is a growth opportunity for between 400 and 600 centres across the UK.
The business was fully rebranded Halfords Autocentres by the end of February this year and since then it has been trading well, growing sales by 9% in the six months to 30 September 2011.
“We have brought the Halfords brand into the car servicing sector”, said Paisley-born CEO Bill Duffy. “We stand for helpful, honest and reliable service with dealership quality work at affordable prices. It’s an offer motorists appreciate faced as they are with rising costs of fuel and insurance.”
Over the next 12 to 18 months, Halfords Autocentres will invest over £1m opening new locations in Scotland. This follows the openings of a new Autocentre in Inverness and a third Autocentre in Edinburgh earlier this year. Longer term it is anticipated that overall there could be the potential for 30 Halfords Autocentres in Scotland creating 150 new jobs.
Duffy, said: “Halfords Autocentres is perfectly placed for further expansion north of the border. We are very encouraged by the way that our business has gone in Scotland where customer feedback about the service we provide and the way we operate has been excellent.
“As a Scotsman I take a particular interest in our development plan here and we are already identifying further sites for opening”
Halfords Autocentre in Stirling is scheduled to open in early 2012.
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