Formula One Autocentres has added three sites to expand its network to 43 and wants to open seven more in the Midlands, south and south east.

The newest outlets are at Doncaster, Chesterfield and Harrow and the growth will be built on a company ‘guarantee’ to “beat any price in town”.

Formula One Autocentres is one of a group of fast-fit companies that believes it can put pressure on franchised dealers and single garages for service and repair business by investing in technology.

Phil Glencross, group chairman, founded the company when he and his father Stan opened a filling station at Stanstead Abbotts, Herts, in 1969. The business is now run by his sons Paul (managing director) and Leon (sales director).

Paul Glencross says: “We’ve always been proud of our independence. As a family-owned business, we’re not tied down to any single manufacturer or supplier, which means we’re free to offer the biggest deals on the widest choice of top products.”

Five years after opening their filling station, the Glencross family bought a garage and founded their tyre retailing business, Leaside Tyre & Exhaust Centre. They grew the network to 10 by 1985. The network was bought by Shell in 1987, and in the same year the Glencross family opened their first Formula One Autocentre in Bedford.