Andy Pennell has been named BMW Estimator of the Year at the manufacturer’s annual bodyshop of the year awards.

Pennell of Mannick Autos in Colchester beat 10 other finalists to first place, with Scott Smith of Carr & Earl in Fawdington taking second place and Marc Baldwin of Chandlers in Brighton coming in third.

Audatex worked with BMW to set the standards for the competition, which required participants to demonstrate their technical knowledge as well as their customer handling, sales and engineer negotiating skills.

The top 10 qualifiers took part in a live Audatex estimate on a BMW X3 and also had to answer a questionnaire that included the practical use of the BMW Technical Information System.