sales duties for about 18 months before moving to Pirtek Kidderminster and Wolverhampton in a purely sales role. After only six months, the Pirtek Kidderminster franchise came up and Jason jumped at the opportunity to become a franchisee. He maintained being an active participant in the day- to-day work of the centre as well as its administration. “I believe in being hands on,” he says. However, 18 months later, in 2003 Jason injured his back, at which point he decided on a change of direction with his Pirtek career. “I sold Kidderminster and went to work for Pirtek UK for two and a half years as a troubleshooter going into any centre needing help, dealing with centres that were changing hands – Exeter, Galway, Inverness, Cambridge Poole, Preston.” Always looking for the next opportunity, when the Worcester franchise became available in 2005, Jason got in touch. Worcester was a satellite of the Gloucester centre and Jason says he knew the owner well. “I approached him, thinking maybe it was time to get in the fold. We brokered talks and I took it over in June 2006.” “It was quite an interesting time because Worcester was barely doing double figures, but I knew the area and knew we could make it work. It was a brave move at the time, but I’ve never looked back.” The first opportunity to expand fell into Jason’s lap in 2007. “I knew the then licensee at Kidderminster wanted to This was the real beginning of Jason’s journey as a multiple franchisee.
Multiples - A matter of growth
Having started as an MSST at Pirtek Birmingham in 1997, Jason Woods (above and below with Pirtek Kidderminster centre manager Paul Shelley) has followed a roundabout route to being Pirtek UK’s largest multiple franchisee. Although he has been with Pirtek continuously since that time, he has worked for and owned a number of different franchises in various roles before ultimately uniting five of them under a single banner.
After working on the vans for two years at Birmingham, Roger Wynne the former franchisee invited Jason to become a salesperson for the centre, which he did for about a year. “I took that on and gave it a go. Roger obviously saw something in me,” Jason says. Jason didn’t let the grass grow under his feet, however. When the position of centre manager came up at the franchise he took the challenge on top of his
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