Modern Tyre Service 9th largest tyre retailer in the UK

Following the publication of our latest coverage of the development of tyre retail business in the UK in the May issue of Tyres & Accessories (see “Mind the gap: UK retailers continue right-sizing” online and in the print edition), it has come to our attention that one company that has grown into a significant position of influence within the market during the last few years was overlooked.

Therefore we have now included Modern Tyre Service’s numbers in our 2014 rankings and are pleased to announce that with 30 branches, the Northern Ireland-based business should rightfully have been counted in 9th position. The problem seems to have stemmed from the fact that we at T&A made the mistake of writing UK on the title of our table, but only counted branches within Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Of course the UK is by definition the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as managers at Modern Tyre Service pointed out, is an oversight that fails to acknowledge this important part of the overall market. Therefore we have included Modern Tyre Service on this revised version of the table and now have a reference point for future versions of this data.

Top 10 UK tyre retail chains by branch count – 2015 Updated: 09/06/14
Firm 2008/2009 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 Change
ETEL
670 676 796 791 775 (-16)
ATS Euromaster 482 369 369 358 348 (-10)
National Tyres & Autocare 214 207 225 225 228 3
HiQ
147 150 140 131 127 (-4)
Micheldever/Protyre
34 53 53 46 56 10
McConechy’s Tyre Service
52 52 49 45 52 7
Malvern Tyres Group 29 35 41 40 51 11
Bathwick Tyres 28 32 32 32 32 0
Modern Tyre Service 30
Mr Tyre 24 25 25 25 27 2

Still growing

As we have seen, Modern Tyre Service should be referred to as the 9th largest tyre retail chain in the UK, however this does not include the company’s business south of the border, which adds a further 10 branches to the count. If we could count all 40 branches in our research this would put the company one place higher in 8th position. However, in the interests of consistency and comparability we are sticking to counting the branches of companies operating in the UK. However, having said that, a theoretical total of 40 branches would still put them 11 branches short of the next level. Stranger things have happened, but for the time being it looks like there is clear water between this position and those beneath.

For its part, Modern Tyre Services has grown steadily throughout almost five decades. Growth accelerated in 2002 when the business took over Motorway Tyres’ sites within Northern Ireland and last year the company negotiated a deal to buy out the three last remaining ATS Euromaster depots In the province. The next major leap saw the company enter the Southern Irish market (something that took place within the last few months) after buying 10 Hanover Tyres depots for the receiver.

With all this going on it would be easy to overlook the fact that the company celebrates half a century in business in 2015, something the company is likely to share more about in the Autumn.

Comments
Micheldever shortlisted for national customer experience award June 17, 2014
[…] By Chris Anthony Micheldever Tyre’s retail division Protyre, has been shortlisted as a finalist in UK Customer Experience Awards 2014. Now if their fifth year, the awards celebrate and reward excellence in customer experience and support organisations and businesses that wish to promote an exceptional customer experience. Protyre is the fifth largest tyre retailer in the UK. […]
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