The East Midlands-based firm is a leading provider of vehicle servicing, maintenance and repair work and currently has a network of 230 independent outlets providing low-cost, added-value servicing to fleet operators, including some of the UK’s largest leasing companies.

Now, the business is to recruit a further 70 fleet Service Centres to complete its national coverage and meet increased customer demand, following organic growth and a number of new business wins in recent months.

The Prestige network is headed up by two well-known fleet industry figures: non-executive chairman Bill Daulby who was formerly fleet sales manager, Ford of Britain; managing drector, Automotive Leasing, and a director of Nissan UK Holdings, AFG Holdings and LeasePlan UK Group: and CEO Martyn Lewis, formerly board director at Arval and subsequently managing director for sister company, Artegy. Other board members include commercial director Joe Bhamra, formerly with Dial Contracts, Masterlease and Lex Autolease, where he worked within the supplier networks and vehicle management divisions.

Joe Bhamra said that at a time when, according to the latest research, many fleets faced rising SMR costs, Prestige provides significant benefits for fleet operators using the Prestige network.

“To begin with, unlike some of our competitors, we do not charge management fees. We provide savings of up to 40% on all SMR work through our network compared to franchised dealers, and our in-house validation team controls each element of an SMR transaction on behalf of a customer.

“At the same time, fleet customers have access to our state-of-the-art web-based Unity fleet management tool which allows them to book and monitor the progress of all SMR work online, as well as providing consolidated invoicing and management information reporting.”

He added: “Unity also provides a downtime management module which ensures that vehicle downtime is kept to a minimum, an especially vital benefit for LCV fleet operators and their drivers. We validate all transactions for pricing and quality, too. Unity also provides embedded tyre tread depth and vehicle damage reporting for fleets to flag up any areas that require additional attention,” he said.