A fast-expanding vehicle accident repair business with two sites in Kent is targeting further growth following the seven-figure acquisition of another vehicle repair business in the county.
Zeus Accident Repair Ltd, which was established in 2018 and is owned by cousins George and Joe Stavrinidis, has bought Dartford-based A Pile and Son Ltd in a deal supported by PMD Business Finance.
The deal will see Zeus invest significantly in A Pile and Son’s 24,000 sq ft Dartford-based repair centre, complementing its existing hi-tech centres in Rochester and Sittingbourne. The Dartford centre will be rebranded as Zeus Accident Repair London.
Both businesses are known for their specialism in providing accident repair services for some of the UK’s top insurance groups and vehicle rental firms. Between them they employ 34 staff and undertake thousands of vehicle repairs each year, predominantly on behalf of corporates with a proportion of private vehicle work.
George Stavrinidis, director of Zeus Accident Repair, said: “We’re really excited by the potential of our new Dartford centre which gives us significant additional capacity, including the space to do a lot more van repair work.
“We’re proud to welcome the fantastic team from A Pile and Son into the Zeus family and providing certainty and continuity for its clients. They will benefit from our approach to using the very latest technology and this will enable us to modernise operations at Dartford in line with our Rochester and Sittingbourne sites.”
PMD Business Finance, one of the UK’s largest independent business finance firms, provided a seven-figure funding package to Zeus which includes a commercial mortgage to acquire the property at Dartford.
John Platt, from the structured finance team at PMD Business Finance, said: “George is a real entrepreneurial character who I’ve worked with several times over the years to support his business growth aspirations.
“The finance package we have put in place gives Zeus the strong foundations it needs to successfully integrate A Pile and Son Ltd into Zeus and continue growing. The deal demonstrates our expertise in providing flexible finance options to support business acquisitions, as well as underlining our experience in the automotive sector.”
The acquisition of A Pile and Son Ltd by Zeus enables its existing shareholders to retire after 30 years of running the business.
The A Pile and Son name can trace its history in Dartford back to the 1940s. It was originally a cycle and motorcycle retailer, later becoming a haulage and coach-building business, before diversifying into vehicle repairs in the 1960s.
