About us
The British motorist's home for trusted local garages
Find a trusted local garage. Deal directly. Drive on.
Garage.co.uk launched in February 2025 as the United Kingdom's independent platform for finding and comparing a trusted local garage for an MOT, a service or a repair. We list independent workshops the length and breadth of the country and connect drivers directly to the right garage for the job in front of them, with no booking fees and no commission. You contact your chosen garage directly.
Bringing garages and drivers together
We built Garage.co.uk to be the easiest, fairest way to find a reliable workshop. Listings are ordered fairly on relevance, proximity and the responsiveness of the garage, never bought. The platform exists to put real local independents back on a level footing with the consolidated chains.
A trusted partner for every job
Every motorist gets a free MOT history check, a free vehicle tax check, a ULEZ, CAZ, LEZ and ZEZ compliance checker and an instant car valuation. When the work needs doing, we connect you to a workshop for car services and repairs near you.
One connected group, not a standalone tool
Garage.co.uk is operated by Car Operations Limited (registered in England, company number 15693826), a Unison Automotive company. Unison Automotive Limited is the holding company for the group's British motoring brands. Throughout 2026 we are bringing our platforms onto a shared operating system. A vehicle you check here this morning is already recognised when you value it on Car.co.uk this evening, or transfer a private plate to it through Newreg.co.uk next week. One ownership, one connected experience.
Car.co.uk
The UK's trusted online car buyer for any car in any condition, launched June 2020. King's Award for Enterprise (Innovation) 2026.Newreg.co.uk
The UK's leading private number plate dealer, online under our ownership since 1996.Trader.co.uk
The group's trade-to-trade marketplace, launching to the British motor trade in 2026.
Our ambition, from driveway to end of life
We are building the British motorist's single point of contact for everything that happens between the moment a car arrives on the driveway and the moment it leaves it. Buy it, personalise it with a private plate, service it, MOT it, repair it, and keep it road-legal in every Clean Air Zone. When a vehicle reaches the end of its useful life, exit it through Car.co.uk into our nationwide network of fully licensed, environmentally compliant partners, where every car is depolluted to Authorised Treatment Facility standards. Our recycling supply chain works with blue-chip manufacturers including Toyota.
What independence means here
We do not take affiliate kickbacks from the garages we list and there are no paid placements that buy a higher position. Every editorial article, checker and valuation is produced or operated by the in-house team. Our advice content is written by qualified motoring journalists, including Mark Smyth, a twenty-year veteran of the British motoring press. Our standards follow Google's E-E-A-T guidance on experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, visible in the byline, the dates and the references on every article.
Founded and led by
Steven T. Jackson OBE
Garage.co.uk is founded and led by Steven T. Jackson OBE. He brings 47 years in the UK metals industry, beginning aged thirteen in his father's scrap yard in Preston in 1979, and 37 years in the automotive industry, trading personalised registrations as a sole trader from 1989. He is the founder of Unison Automotive Limited (Companies House 03143909, incorporated 5 January 1996 as New Reg Limited), Car.co.uk, Trader.co.uk and Garage.co.uk. He founded Recycling Lives, which he left in 2020, and set up the independent Recycling Lives charity in 2006, now Onward Lives. He was appointed OBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to employment and the community in Lancashire, and he was the overall United Kingdom winner of EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019 and winner of its Societal Impact category, before representing the United Kingdom at EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020. Car.co.uk was ranked in the Sunday Times 100 in 2025 and 2026, and in 2026 the company received the King's Award for Enterprise for Innovation for the Car.co.uk system.
Leadership
The team behind Garage.co.uk
The senior team behind Garage.co.uk and the other motoring platforms of Unison Automotive.
Steven T. Jackson OBE
Founder, Unison Automotive LimitedFounder of Unison Automotive Limited (formerly New Reg Limited), Garage.co.uk and Car.co.uk, and lead developer of Garage.co.uk. 47 years in the UK metals industry since 1979, 37 years in the UK automotive industry since 1989 and 31 years in the UK internet sector since 1995. Overall United Kingdom winner of EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 and winner of its Societal Impact category. OBE 2013.
William Fletcher MBE
Chief Executive, Unison Automotive LimitedChief Executive of Unison Automotive Limited since December 2022. MBE in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to disadvantaged communities. Led the group into the Sunday Times 100 in 2025 and 2026.
Anthony Sharkey
Chief Operating Officer, Unison Automotive LimitedRuns day-to-day operations across the group. A director since March 2021 and with Steven for more than a decade, first at Recycling Lives.
Tim Elleray
Strategic adviserStrategy and commercial direction for Unison Automotive, drawing on a background in advertising and mergers and acquisitions.
Liam Derbyshire
Group search and marketing leadSearch and marketing across the Unison Automotive group.
Jonathan Taylor
Software engineer, NewReg.co.ukEngineering lead on NewReg.co.uk. Joined as an employee and became a business partner in 1996.
Rebecca Wilson
Administration Director, Unison Automotive LimitedRuns administration across the group. Has worked alongside Steven since the early 1990s.
Ready to find a trusted local garage?
Compare independent workshops near you, check any vehicle for free, and contact your chosen garage directly. No booking fees, no commission.
Garage.co.uk is operated by Car Operations Limited, registered office: 5 Parkgate, 117 Liverpool Road, Longton, Preston, PR4 5AA. Registered in England number 15693826.