Passion for cars and friendship fuels Cambridge vehicle repair business success

Revive! East Anglia, headed up by three car enthusiast friends, has been shortlisted as one of the best small businesses in Cambridgeshire.

Cambridgeshire Small Business of the Year – Finalist

Revive! East Anglia, which is co-owned by Nathan Holmes, Andy Blackhurst and Adam Holmes (no relation), has reached the SME Cambridgeshire Business Awards Final 2023, in the highly-competitive Business of the Year category. The winners are set to be announced at the Cambridge Country Club on 28 September 2023.

The business was established by Nathan in 2007, under the name Revive! Cambridge, after he wanted to pursue a career which allowed him to indulge in one of his passions – cars. One of Nathan’s first decisions was to hire his friend, Andy, as a technician.

Andy was instrumental in rolling out a unique business offering, which saw one of the team’s technicians travel to the customer’s home or place of work to conduct car bodywork and alloy wheel repairs.

Expansion

This business model was so successful that the team had the opportunity to grow the business and form Revive! East Anglia, by purchasing the territories adjacent to Cambridge. It was then that Nathan sought the help of his close friend, Adam, in realising the firm’s ambitious expansion plans.

Adam had recently been made redundant from a high-flying corporate job with an energy supplier, and he had no intention of returning to the corporate world when he learned more about Nathan and Andy’s goals, and was offered the opportunity to work with cars and run a business.

A family-run business

The business then grew into a family affair as the team welcomed Adam’s and Nathan’s respective partners, Gemma and Emma, to also work on the business. This family-oriented environment has contributed towards a friendly and customer-centric approach, which is reflected in the businesses’ TrustPilot reviews where 98 per cent of customers rated the service as 5-stars (very good) or 4-stars (good).

The team’s hard work culminated in the business moving into a 6,000 square foot rapid repair centre situated at Glenmore Business Park, Waterbeach in 2022, enabling the team to carry out larger repairs in addition to the mobile work carried out by the franchise’s fleet of 11 vans.

Nathan commented: “Since launching in 2007, it’s been a long and hard journey, but the fact that I have done it alongside two close friends all while working on a shared passion has made it worthwhile. There are so many forward-thinking small businesses in our region, so to be shortlisted for this award is a testament to our team’s hard work over the years, and the outstanding customer service levels we provide.”

Andy added: “Revive! East Anglia has grown from strength to strength, and it has been a joy to do it alongside Nathan and Adam. We have a shared interest in cars, and so to work with them on our customer’s vehicles on a daily basis, as well as help the people of Cambridgeshire, has been a real pleasure.”

Adam concluded: “We love working on cars and meeting people in the East Anglia region. It’s what motivates us to get up each day and grow the business. The three of us are eager to grow much further in the coming years with the goal of owning multiple repair sites, and we cannot wait to learn of the judging panel’s final decision on 28 September.”

To learn more about Revive! East Anglia, visit here