The business is exciting with ever changing opportunities and demands
Challenging projects, people contact and a healthy profit potential ensure that the business retains its interest.
Pirtek operates as a well supported business format franchise together with Licensees who acquire the rights to own and operate one of the Pirtek Centres in various regions of the UK. Each Centre is owned and operated by the individual Licensee within the proven guidelines which have made the Pirtek formula successful not only in the UK but also in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.
Pirtek Licensees come from many walks of life, from banking to sales and marketing backgrounds, from industrial managers to marine engineers; few if any have specific hydraulic training, although a general industrial background can be helpful.
Pirtek provides an on-site service for many of its customers - "just like the AA" - this service often demands quick response for the crisis situation. There is a second side to the business which develops increasingly as the business matures. The Pirtek centre becomes a provider of a wide range of hydraulic and industrial products to end users in locations, such as plants or factories. This part of the business is not driven by the same urgency as the field service work.
The breadth of the Pirtek customer base is reflected in the size of the job or invoice value, which can range from a few pounds for some smaller fittings purchased at the trade counter, to many thousands of pounds for the larger job in a factory or plant.
Sales Revenue and Costs
Pirtek UK is a national distributor for its franchisees who purchase their products on a monthly, weekly or sometimes daily basis. Each franchisee is a regional distributor and sells those products to its own customers. It also sells its services, call out fees and labour. Pirtek's main product suppliers are from Italy, a country which is well known in the marketplace for the highest quality. Italian companies supply products which are constantly at the forefront of technology, mainly through the extensive research and development programmes the companies have in place.
When combined, the products and services which Pirtek franchisees sell produce a gross profit margin ranging between 50 - 65% of the sales invoice. At this level of margin, once the business becomes mature, healthy and consistent, profit levels can be maintained and a much bigger business can be built up.
The cost of opening a Pirtek Centre is normally around £220,000, of which Pirtek can organise financing for two thirds. This means the prospective franchisee needs to have liquid capital resources of around £70,000. For this the franchisee will start his business operating from a 2,000 sq. ft warehouse. The centre will be fully equipped with the plant and machinery required for manufacturing hose assemblies. A typical Pirtek Centre starts with three mobile workshops, fully fitted out to do over 90% of the jobs and of course a start up stock of products.
It also includes the Pirtek Virtual Office (PVO) computer system which is purpose built for the task and includes stock managemement, real time customer billing, as well as remote sales and service management.
First year turnovers usually range from between £170,000 and £200,000 and grow to £500,000 in the 3-4 year period.
The figures quoted above are of course only meant to be general examples, if you are interested in pursuing the opportunity that the Pirtek business provides, we would of course be happy to go through financial areas of the business in much greater detail.
Established franchises for sale
From time to time established Pirtek franchises are put up for sale and the opportunity may exist to aquire an ongoing business in an established area.
To find out more: info@pirtek.co.uk