Sirius in the fast lane after crucial business support from county council
“Without the support and assistance from Warwickshire County Council, and the grant award to help with procurement of tools and equipment, we probably could not have moved the business on. The whole process has been a tremendous help to us.”
Funding support and advice from Warwickshire County Council has helped make 2018 a "turning point" year for a high-performance sports car business.
Sirius Automotive Ltd, which has a base in Kenilworth, was formed in 2014 since when founder Abdul Ghafoor has overcome many challenges, from finding partners and organisations willing to help to turn concept into reality to recruiting individuals with the skills to help drive the business forward.
A big boost came in 2016 when Subaru agreed to supply new engines for the petrol cars. This was a significant development because Subaru supplies very few manufacturers and this ensures that customers have an immediate outlet for servicing their cars. The following year came further progress with the finalisation of the design of the car range and the selection of Hammink Performance, based in Holland, as the manufacturing partner to produce the cars.
Mr Ghafoor's business partner John Garbett also set about developing a business and marketing strategy to generate funding. This led to the involvement of Warwickshire County Council - and substantial further progress.
“2018 was a turning point for us,” says Mr Ghafoor. "We engaged with Warwickshire County Council for business support with some reservation as our previous experiences with other providers were not positive. But from the outset our advisor Jagdish Soor understood the challenges that we were facing. He arranged a series of meetings that enabled us to define a very cohesive and concise strategy going forward.
“Without the support and assistance from Warwickshire County Council, and the grant award to help with procurement of tools and equipment. we probably could not have moved the business on. The whole process has been a tremendous help to us.”
By the end of 2017, three cars - a track car, coupe road car and 100% pure electric convertible - were ordered for production and all three will be finished and available for sale by the end of December.
Further partnerships have been created to help move the business move forward. Sirius merged with Dragon Electric Vehicles to help begin an electric vehicle conversion business. As regulation and clean air policies become implemented there will be a scrapheap of vehicles available to convert to pure electric. The 20 years’ skills and experience that the merger brings is crucial to assisting Sirius Automotive in the early stage development of this market.
“Our short-term plan is to finish the production of cars in Holland, and then to implement our sales and marketing strategy” said Mr Ghafoor. "Our site in Kenilworth helps us to refine the cars further and provides us with the base from where we can begin to grow.”
Jagdish Soor commented: "Sirius Automotive came to us with very ambitious plans for an early-start business wanting to design, develop and manufacture three versions of its sports car, including EV technology. The wide range of experience within Warwickshire County Council business support team enabled a robust mentorship programme to be put in place for the client and it is very pleasing that the client will take delivery of their first cars in December 2018."
To find out more about the range of support available to grow your business, please contact the Growth Hub on 0300 060 3747.