£600,000 UKSE Investment Drives Expansion for Cardiff-Based Accident Repair Business
A £600,000 investment from UKSE is helping Wales's largest independent accident repair business accelerate its growth plans, create skilled jobs and strengthen its position in a growing market.
Cardiff-based 1st Choice Accident Repair Centre has secured the funding through a combination of equity and debt investment from UKSE, a Tata Steel subsidiary that supports businesses across the UK with growth finance.
The investment will support the company's ambitious business plan, which forecasts turnover increasing from £5 million to £8 million while expanding its workforce by more than a third to over 50 employees.
Business Investment in Wales Supporting Growth and Job Creation
The funding has enabled 1st Choice Accident Repair Centre to implement a new management and ownership structure designed to support long-term growth and innovation.
Director Matt Willecome said the company is targeting new opportunities with major customers, including one of the UK's largest leasing firms and a leading Japanese vehicle manufacturer. The business also sees significant potential in the expanding electric vehicle market.
"We are finding fresh markets and new clients which will drive our growth, and expect that a significant part of this will be from electric vehicles," he said.
Alongside business expansion, the company is continuing to invest in skills development and new technologies. Recent investment in advanced spray booth technology has improved operational efficiency while helping to reduce the company's carbon footprint.
1st Choice also maintains a strong reputation for customer service, achieving a 94% customer satisfaction rating.
UKSE Investment Helping Welsh Businesses Expand
Commenting on the investment, Michelle Noble, UKSE Area Manager in Wales, highlighted the role that flexible finance can play in helping businesses achieve their growth ambitions.
"The new Board and ownership structure is the ideal platform for growth and creation of skilled jobs, and we have every confidence that 1st Choice will achieve its goals.
"As the largest independent accident repair business in Wales and one of the top 20 in the UK, the company has enormous potential."
UKSE remains committed to supporting ambitious businesses through investment that helps accelerate growth, innovation and job creation, helping to strengthen local economies across Wales and the wider UK.
Supporting Business Growth Across Wales
As part of Tata Steel, UKSE provides finance packages including loans and equity investment to businesses with strong growth potential. By supporting companies such as 1St Choice Accident Repair Centre, UKSE continues to play an important role in helping businesses grow, create employment opportunities and strengthen local economies across Wales and the wider UK.
The latest investment highlights how access to growth finance can help businesses scale operations, invest in new technology and create skilled jobs, delivering long-term benefits for both companies and their communities.
About Tata Steel UK
- The Tata Steel Group has been named one of the most ethical companies in the world, and is among the top producing global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes.
- Tata Steel in the UK has the ambition to produce net-zero steel by 2045 at the latest, and to have reduced 30% of its CO2 emissions by 2030.
- In October 2024, Tata Steel ceased ironmaking at its Port Talbot site and temporarily paused steelmaking pending the construction of a 3.2Mtpa Electric Arc Furnace, due to be commissioned late in 2027 / early 2028. For that period, the business will import slab and hot rolled coil to support manufacturing and distribution operations at sites across Wales, England and Northern Ireland as well as Norway, Sweden, France, Germany and UAE. It also benefits from a network of sales offices around the world.
- Throughout 2024 Tata Steel UK has been undergoing a restructuring that will reduce the size of its workforce to around 5000 direct employees, supplying high-quality steel products to demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering.
- Tata Steel Group is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world.
- The group recorded a consolidated turnover of around US$26 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2025.
- Tata Steel has long played a key role in enabling the UK economy to become more circular. Its products are highly durable, reusable and recyclable, It applies a sustainability assessment tool during its new product development process to measure the sustainability credentials of its new offerings.
- More information about the crucial role that Tata Steel UK already plays in driving the UK to a more circular economy, and its plans to play an even greater role, can be found in its recently-published Sustainability Report covering 2023-2025.