Manchester’s very own branch of The Wheel Specialist turns 10 years old this month, marking a decade since the very first franchised location of this alloy wheel refurbishment success story opened its doors.

Being impressed with the business, and spotting an opportunity, it was in 2006 that Andy Thompson (franchisee) first suggested to company Directors, Neill & Ginny Murphy, that he should be the first franchisee of their wheel repair and customisation outfit.

Operating from their premises in central Birmingham, Ginny and Neill Murphy devised the process, procedure and support necessary to replicate the extremely successful business model, and it was March of 2007 that the Manchester branch opened its doors.

Enjoying immediate success back in 2007 the wheels have only continued to turn in the right direction with total turnover for the Manchester branch almost doubling again in the last five years alone. Andy believes a big part of his franchise’s growth in more recent years is keeping ahead of market changes, and this saw the implementation of an in house “Diamond Cutting” lathe. The specialist machines can now be found at all branches of The Wheel Specialist nationwide, they are able to fully restore, ever growing in popularity “Diamond Cut” wheels back to their former glory, though Andy maintains that more traditional alloy wheels which can be fully refurbished and colour changed in-house remain the bread and butter of the business.

“It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made” said Andy, who aside from being a franchisee, is now also the group Technical Director for The Wheel Specialist.

Reflecting on the time that had passed since opening he stated “Over the past decade the group has certainly come a long way, with now 24 branches across the country and another four due to open.” Speaking about up-take he said “We now offer a truly nationwide service, servicing trade and public alike with great quality and customer care, I in fact believe in the business so much I recently bought another franchise in Nottingham!”