Leurbost garage expand service offering

About the business

Lochs MOT Centre was set up by Donald Maclean, a fully qualified mechanic and fitter, in 2018. Donald has significant experience in a range of sectors, including in the wind and oil industries, and operates the garage with a team of three permanent and four part-time staff.

Business Gateway has been a fantastic support in helping us become a fully qualified EV repair centre, and we really couldn’t have done it without their advice and funding. I’m really proud that we are the only garage in the Outer Hebrides that can offer this service.

How Business Gateway has helped

Donald received one-to-one support from a dedicated Business Gateway adviser, as well as advice on his business plan and routes to funding.

Through Business Gateway, the team at Lochs MOT Centre also benefitted from grant funding from the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Grant Scheme (CERGS) and the Outer Hebrides Young Enterprise Support Scheme (OHYESS), which is funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and delivered by Business Gateway.

This funding helped with the purchase of the tools and equipment that were necessary for the new element of the business, which were all purchased locally from Autoparts Stornoway.

Lochs MOT Centre is now a fully qualified EV repair centre, and the garage also offers a callout service, meaning an end to drivers needing to travel to the mainland to have any work done on their cars.

Donald Maclean, Owner, Lochs MOT Centre Ltd, said: “I identified a real gap in the local market, with an increasing number of EVs and no local service facility available.

“Business Gateway has been a fantastic support in helping us become a fully qualified EV repair centre, and we really couldn’t have done it without their advice and funding. I’m really proud that we are the only garage in the Outer Hebrides that can offer this service.”