01Move
DNA dimensions
MOTs/week (80–140), tyre fit-rate (35–60/day), online-to-bay conversion (18–24%), MOT pass rate, alignment attach % (≥38% of tyre jobs), 4-tyre vs 2-tyre ticket mix.
All playbooksServices
Tyre & MOT centre playbook.
A London fast-fit tyre + MOT centre running Class 4 + Class 7 MOTs, tyre fitting (premium + budget), wheel alignment (Hunter Hawkeye), TPMS + nitrogen + puncture-repair, plus brakes + exhaust + battery fast-fit. The 2026 win is a 4-bay + 2-MOT-lane forecourt doing 80–140 MOTs/week with online tyre-quote conversion at 18–24%.
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Overview
A London tyre + MOT centre in 2026 runs three engines: MOT class 4 + 7 (£54.85 cap + £40 retest, 80–140/week, gateway to repair work — 32% of MOT fails become same-day £180–£640 repair jobs), tyre fitting (premium £140–£280 per Michelin / Continental, budget £58–£90 per Linglong / Davanti, 35–60 tyres/day at 24–32% margin) and brakes + exhaust + battery fast-fit (£90–£420 ticket, 38–48% margin, 8–14/day). Maths for 4-bay + 2-MOT-lane: 480 MOTs + 1,400 tyres + 280 fast-fit jobs/month × avg £92 = £74k + repair migration £24k = £98k/month gross. Online tyre-quote conversion is the brand spine — Black Circles / Tyreshopper / Kwik Fit Mobile send 18–24% bookable leads at £18–£32 per booked tyre — a steady drip independent forecourts can never replicate organically.
112
MOTs/week
44
Tyres/day
42%
Alignment attach
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
MOT + tyre bays
Class 4 MOT bay (lift + brake roller + emissions + headlamp) — DVSA approved
£18,000–£28,000
Class 7 MOT bay (commercial up to 3.5t)
£24,000–£38,000
2-post lift × 2 (Bradbury / Stenhoj 4t)
£3,400–£6,400 each
Tyre changer (Ravaglioli leverless) + balancer × 2
£8,400–£18,000 each
Hunter Hawkeye alignment system + 4-post lift
£28,000–£42,000
Nitrogen rig + TPMS programmer
£2,400–£4,400
Diagnostic (Autel MaxiSys / Snap-On)
£3,400–£6,400
Brake lathe + exhaust + battery test bench
£3,400–£8,400
Compressor + air-tool fleet
£1,400–£3,400
02
Premises
Industrial / retail unit (400–800 m²) with 6+ car forecourt
£4,400–£14,000/month rent
Branded canopy + LED price totem + signage
£8,400–£22,000 capex
Customer reception + waiting area + Wi-Fi + coffee
£3,400–£8,400 capex
Tyre racking + warehouse bay (180–280 tyres stocked)
£2,400–£6,400
03
Compliance + accreditation
MOT Authorised Examiner (Class 4 + 7) + Nominated Tester × 2
£500 + £640 course + £900–£1,400 per tester
IMI TechSafe + EV-tyre safety training
£900 per tech
Public + product + £5m + motor trade insurance
£3,400–£8,400/year
Tyre Industry Federation (TIF) membership (optional, B2B fleet contracts)
£420/year
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Frontage + forecourt
≥6 car forecourt + signage visible from arterial road
Drive-by + Google search = 64% of bookings.
Catchment
≥60,000 vehicles within 3-mile radius
MOT renewal flow + tyre wear cycle pipeline.
Use class
B2 general industrial + planning for MOT
Class 7 commercial MOT planning especially council-sensitive.
ULEZ
Inside ULEZ — captive ICE customer wear pipeline
EV adoption increases tyre wear by 20–30% (heavy battery + instant torque).
Proximity to dealerships
≤10 min from 6+ main dealers
Out-of-warranty MOT migration pipeline.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
Inner London (Vauxhall / Hackney / Wandsworth)
£8,400–£22,000
High forecourt rent but premium tyre mix (run-flat + EV-rated).
Outer London (Croydon / Romford / Enfield)
£4,400–£10,000
Sweet spot: 4-bay + Class 7 demand.
M25 commuter belt (Watford / Sutton / Dartford)
£3,400–£6,400
Volume MOT + budget tyre + fleet.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
ReqMOT Authorised Examiner (Class 4 + 7)
DVSA
£500 + audit
12 weeks
ReqNominated Tester × 2 (one per class)
DVSA
£640 course + £100/year refresher
8 weeks
OptIMI TechSafe + EV-tyre training per tech
IMI
£900 per tech
6 weeks
ReqPublic + product + £5m + motor trade
A-Plan / Tradex
£3,400–£8,400/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability + tools-in-trade
Broker
£900–£2,400/year
1 day
ReqEnvironment Agency T8 exemption (tyre + battery + oil)
EA
Free
2 weeks
ReqWaste carrier (upper tier) + tyre carrier registration
EA
£154/3 years
2 weeks
ReqPlanning consent (MOT bay)
Borough council
£480–£1,400
10–16 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Setup
Weeks 1–8- Companies House + unit search + planning enquiry (MOT bay × 2)
- Insurance + DVSA pre-application + Nominated Tester course booked
- Tyre wholesaler accounts (Stapletons + Micheldever) opened
02
Phase 1 — Fit-out
Weeks 6–18- MOT class 4 + 7 + Hunter Hawkeye + tyre bays install
- Tyre racking + opening stock (180 tyres) delivered
- Reception + signage + LED price totem live
03
Phase 2 — Pre-launch
Weeks 16–22- DVSA MOT AE approval received (4 + 7)
- Black Circles / Tyreshopper / Kwik Fit Mobile partner accounts live
- GBP + Google ads + leaflet to 20,000 homes
04
Phase 3 — Soft launch
Weeks 20–24- First 60 MOTs + 200 tyres fitted week 1
- Alignment + brake fast-fit attach campaign live
- Fleet contract pitch (PHV + black-cab garage)
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 24+- 112 MOTs/week + 44 tyres/day
- Alignment attach > 40%
- First PHV fleet contract signed
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Unit lease + deposit + planning + dilaps
£18,000 → £54,000
MOT bays (class 4 + 7) + lifts + Hunter Hawkeye
£84,000 → £160,000
Tyre changers + balancers × 2 + nitrogen + TPMS
£22,000 → £44,000
Diagnostic + brake + exhaust + battery kit
£6,400 → £14,000
Branded canopy + LED totem + signage + reception fit-out
£14,000 → £32,000
Software + IT + comms
£900 → £2,400
Insurance + DVSA + IMI + licences
£4,400 → £10,000
Opening tyre stock (180–280 tyres)
£8,400 → £22,000
Pre-launch marketing
£3,400 → £8,400
Working capital (3 months)
£22,000 → £54,000
Typical total
£183.5k–£400.8k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Unit rent + business rates + utilities
£5,400 → £18,000
Tyre COGS (52–62% tyre revenue)
£22,000 → £44,000
Parts + consumables (brakes + exhaust)
£4,400 → £12,000
Wages (4 fitters + 2 MOT testers + reception + admin)
£22,000 → £42,000
Online lead fees (Black Circles + Tyreshopper)
£1,400 → £4,400
Insurance + DVSA + IMI + Software
£640 → £1,800
Marketing + GBP + Google ads + leaflet
£1,400 → £4,400
Typical total
£57.2k–£126.6k
Numbers that compound
How a tyre & mot centre actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 12 MOTs + 24 tyres fitted. £2.4k revenue.
02Day 7
First week: 60 MOTs + 180 tyres + 18 fast-fit jobs. £14k revenue.
03Day 30
Steady: 320 MOTs + 980 tyres + 80 alignments. £48k revenue. Black Circles overflow live.
04Day 90
Full ramp: £78k/month, 112 MOTs/week, 42% alignment attach.
05Day 180
Mature: £98k/month, PHV fleet contract signed (480 cars), MOT pass rate 86% (vs 79% national average).
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a tyre & mot centre.
02Move
Suggested route
Become DVSA Authorised Examiner (Class 4 + 7), partner with Black Circles / Kwik Fit Mobile / Tyreshopper for online lead overflow, offer Hunter Hawkeye alignment as a £58–£90 attach to every tyre job, build a brakes + battery + exhaust fast-fit lane, layer EV-rated + run-flat specialism.
03Move
Automations
Online tyre-quote + book-online, pre-MOT SMS + email reminders (60/30/14/3 days), tyre wear-photo SMS to defer-decline customers, GBP + Trustpilot review post-visit, finance-pay link for £400+ jobs.
04Move
Integrations
Tyre Wholesale (Stapletons / Micheldever) live stock feed, GarageHive / Pro-Align, Stripe + V12 finance, GBP, GoCardless DD, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
MOTs/week, alignment attach % and online-to-bay conversion vs DVSA London cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors ex-Kwik Fit / Halfords Autocentres / National Tyres area directors and Hunter Hawkeye trainers.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a tyre & mot centre often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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